Three Arab Assaults on Jewish Historical Cultural Sites

One:

A five-person gang of would-be thieves allegedly raided an ancient historical site in Israel over the weekend, apparently attempting to loot valuable relics and causing irreparable damage along the way.

The alleged thieves, all Palestinians from the West Bank town of Beit Ula, are suspected of sneaking into Israel from Judea and Samaria and vandalizing the site. The historical area can be traced back to the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt

...The thieves allegedly came armed with a sophisticated metal detector and an array of digging tools and equipment, and attempted to execute an amateur excavation in the hopes of unearthing historic coins and ancient underground hideouts. In the process, the perpetrators broke down ancient walls and destroyed buildings that are thousands of years old.

..."We are talking about a most severe case. The bandits caused devastating and irreversible damage to the ancient site. The devastation caused was unrestricted and unprecedented, even for the relatively small size of the site," said Amir Ganor, director of the Antiquities Robbery Prevention Unit on Sunday. "Unfortunately the site has been almost completely destroyed, Ganor added. "In one fell swoop, these bandits, with a blatant disregard and following a greedy quest for financial gain, managed to erase layers from our history."

Two:

The Jerusalem District Police on Sunday closed the Mughrabi Bridge, which connects the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, and is the only access point to the holy site for Jews and tourists...Hamas officials on Monday said that Israel's closure of the Mughrabi Bridge marks the beginning of an assault on on the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa compound, which houses the Al-Aqsa mosque.

Hamas officials previously said implementing the closure would be a "criminal act which constitutes a flagrant violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims." Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, meanwhile, told AFP last week that the closure of the temporary bridge "shows their determination to judaize Jerusalem and to take over the city's Muslim holy places."...

MK Danny Danon (Likud), chairman of the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee...said on Sunday, "We need to exercise sovereignty over Jerusalem not just by law but in practice. We can't risk the safety of Jewish worshippers and security forces because of threats coming from foreign sources. If the Temple Mount is open to Muslims, it must be open to Christians and Jews as well. It is possible to allow access to the Temple Mount from alternative locations until a new bridge is built."

P.S. Take note of this reaction.

Three:

Palestinian officials are openly talking about using UNESCO to prohibit Jews from worshipping at Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs...Karl Vick of Time got himself a scoop sure to raise red flags:

Now that Palestine has been voted into UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, officials are preparing applications for the organization’s marquee designation: a World Heritage Site. Candidates are abundant. Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity stands atop the cave where believers kneel to kiss the spot, confidently marked by a starburst, said to be where Jesus Christ was born. Jericho, which marked its 10,000th birthday last year, is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the planet. And Hebron boasts the final resting place of Abraham, whose covenant with the Almighty led to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

There’s not much about the site that’s in doubt, including what Palestinian officials aim to do with the property if they get control of it — stop Jews from praying there.

The stated reason: The massive stone structure built atop the cave by King Herod, a Jew, and held for a time by Christian Crusaders, has since the 14th century been a Muslim house of worship. The Ibrahimi Mosque has minarets, rugs, washrooms for ablutions and anterooms lined with racks for storing shoes.

“It’s a mosque!” says Khaled Osaily, the mayor of Hebron. “You don’t have to be an architect to see it! Will you allow me to pray in a synagogue or a church?”

...of course...right now, anyone can pray at the Ibrahimi Mosque...

This must be combatted, vigorously.

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The US Consulate in Jerusalem is NOT Looking for Jewish Talent

Caught this on Facebook:

We are proud to announce the all new talent competition: Ahla Sout… Ghaneeha! Join us for auditions this month in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Nablus! And watch the competition on Wattan TV in June and July!

Here's the flyer:

How many Jews do you know who live in those locations?

Well, maybe in Jerusalem. Anyone out there willing to register for the competition? You can sing "Jerusalem of Gold".


And found here that they did it last year, too:-

Palestinian Talent, US Experience Launch Ghaneeha
Tuesday, 24 August 2010, 5:42 pm
Press Release: US Department of State

Palestinian Talent And American Experience Launch Ghaneeha
Ghaneeha singing contest draws Palestinians from around the West Bank

Washington - A partnership that brought together Palestinian talent and American experience has literally given West Bank youth something to sing about.

The Ghaneeha competition, held in July, was the first-ever televised Palestinian talent-search show. Initiated by the Jerusalem-based Sabreen Association for Artistic Development and supported by the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, Ghaneeha was broadcast locally and internationally by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.

"We thought that it would be a good idea to get the kids more excited about music if they could get on TV and win prizes," said Norah Shaqur, public relations director at Sabreen. "It is all part of motivating the kids."

Ghaneeha's 10 finalists performed in Ramallah on July 3 before a panel of judges and 800 spectators. Noor Freitakh, a 16-year-old from Nablus,won the competition with a stirring rendition of a song by Syrian-Egyptian singer Asmahan, "My Sweetheart Come Back to Me."...

No discrimination is the American way, yes?

See any Jews at last year's final concert?

Cultural oppression?

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Will The US Provide Grants for the Jewish Cultural Heritage Preservation of Judea and Samaria?

Found over at the American Consulate General site:

Consulate General staff and Dr. Adel Yahya, Director of the Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE), met to commemorate the first grant given to Palestinians under the U.S. Department of State’s Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. The project will assist three historic villages in the West Bank – Beitin, Aboud, and Al-Jib – to preserve their cultural heritage and promote tourist destinations, while also raising awareness among residents of the villages about their cultural heritage, assisting local specialists and curators on the methods of cultural preservation, and educating the communities on the illegal procurement and sale of antiquities. The director of PACE and its staff thanked the Consulate General for its support and noted the importance of this grant, especially as it involves training Palestinians on the methodology and techniques of cultural heritage preservation.

Al-Jib, you should know is the Israelite Givon:

The first scientific identification of al-Jib with the ancient Canaanite city of Gibeon was made by Edward Robinson in 1838.[4] Archaeological excavations led by James Pritchard in 1956, 1957, and 1959 confirmed this identification with the discovery of 56 jar handles inscribed with the Semitic triliteral gb'n.[4] The inscriptions were dated to the end of the Judean monarchy and have been cross-referenced against geneaological lists in the Book of Chronicles. While they include many Benjaminite names, they also include non-Israelite names, attesting to the intermixing of local population.[4]

In the Book of Joshua, ancient Jib or Gibeon is described as "a large city, like one of the royal cities." The flat and fertile land with many springs which surrounds it gave rise to a flourishing economy, attested to in the large number of ancient jars and wine cellars discovered there. The jars could hold 45 liters of wine each and 66 wine cellars two meters deep and dug out of rock have been unearthed in Jib.[4]

4 - Brooks, Simcha Shalom (2005), Saul and the Monarchy: A New Look, Ashgate Publishing

and Beitin is Bet El or not.

Can we get grants for Jewish culture?

Or, at the very least, stop Arabs from destroying that heritage?


UPDATE

Why Aboud?

Here:

Aboud: The story of Aboud is another illustration of how the barrier is making life difficult for the remaining Christians in the West Bank. Aboud is a small village northwest of Jerusalem near Ramallah and is six kilometers from the Green Line, Israel's internationally recognized border. The Christian history of Aboud dates back to when Jesus and the Holy Family passed through Aboud enroute from the Galilee to Jerusalem. There are remains of nine ancient churches dating back to the early centuries and visited by pilgrims from all over the world. Today, Aboud is home to approximately 2200 people, half of which are Christian. In the 1980's land was confiscated from Aboud without any compensation for the construction of two settlements. In 2005, the Israeli military issued additional orders for the confiscation of land without compensation to build the barrier. The route of the barrier will confiscate around 1000 acres of land, leaving the settlements ample space to expand. The consequences for Aboud have been catastrophic. Thousands of olive trees have been uprooted with no adequate compensation. Many of these trees are over a thousand years old and are a part of the town's Christian heritage. More importantly, they are a major source of income for Aboud's families. One olive tree produces up to $200 of profit per season. The Israeli government's offer to buy or compensate each destroyed tree for $15.00 is not an equitable solution. In addition, the barrier will strengthen Israel's control of the water supply. Aboud sits on the Western Aquifer, one of the main sources of water for the area. The Israelis also control a small water reservoir on the east side (Aboud side) of the barrier. While this may appear to give control of the water to the residents of Aboud, it does not. The reservoir is surrounded with a high chain link fence topped with barbed wire. It is always locked and only Israeli officials and settlers have the keys. It is seldom accessible to the people of the village. The Israelis ration the water in Aboud during the summer months while the settlements enjoy a 100% flow of water year round.