According to a report in the ‘Israel Today’ newspaper, many gravestones in the Mount of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem have been desecrated recently, and some have even become homes for stray dogs seeking shelter from the cold.
The appalling destruction of the headstones/tombstones was discovered after family members of loved ones buried on the Mount of Olives visited the site and were horrified to see dozens of violated graves and many pieces of marble having been stolen from the gravestones.
Ben Tzion, whose relatives are buried on the Mount of Olives, told of how he arrived at the cemetery and was an eye-witness to the vandals in action: “I came to pray and noticed Arab-speaking youths shattering the tombstones with a hammer and hoe and stealing sections of the marble. It’s an outrage. They drink alcohol, smoke and urinate in the cemetery. Even in Iran and Iraq nobody dares to touch the graves of Jewish rabbis and here in Israel – nobody says anything”.
The Jerusalem Municipality responded to ‘Israel today’ by stating: “The Jerusalem Municipality regrets this phenomenon and is taking action to eradicate it. The Municipality and the government of Israel have invested in excess of 15 million shekels in recent years as part of a long-term plan to increase the security around, and to renovate the Mount of Olives cemetery. The plan is still in its operative stage.
