Appeal: Olmert must save Gush Katif Judaica
Following to Ynet report on gross neglect of religious artifacts from former Gaza synagogues, leading lawyer appeals to prime minister, citing treatment as 'scandalous and illegal'
In July, Ynet reported that Judaica from the various community synagogues from the cleared out Gaza communities had been severely damaged. Some of the articles were completely ruined, cast on the floor and covered in mold and dust.
Lawyer Gilad Corinaldi, who has been leading the issue of the Gaza synagogues since the 2005 Disengagement, recently sent a harsh letter to outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Director-General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Avigor Ohana, in which he states: This is the final straw in terms of the desecration of our synagogues, not to mention a terrible blow to the respect of the community, its spiritual life and its feelings."
In the warehouses
"In recent months, media outlets reported that the government and relevant public bodies had demonstrated severe neglect in terms of proper storage and treatment of these holy artifacts," Corinaldi wrote.
Already in July, Ynet exposed the fact that the state had failed to keep up with payments for the storage units housing the Judaica from former Gush Katif synagogues, and consequently, the articles were "desecrated and abused," he wrote.
"To add insult to injury, the government recently approached the Gush Katif refugees via media outlets, announcing that they needed to come pick up the religious items stored until now in the warehouses or they would be destroyed," he elaborated in his letter.
"If only you revealed an awareness that, to date, not a single permanent structure has been built to serve as a synagogue for the 'Gush Katif evacuees'. But no, you are asking that they take back their religious artifacts. Where will they keep them?" he asked in the letter.
Covered with mold and dust
In a conversation with Ynet, the lawyer said that government's failure to live up to their commitment and their consequent decision to rid themselves of the religious objects is "scandalous and illegal, demonstrating a complete lack of cultural, religious and basic humane sensitivity."
Corinaldi noted in his letter to Olmert that, even prior to the disturbing report about the state of the Gush Katif Judaica, he had inquired about the subject.
He was told by the Prime Minister's Office that "the articles taken from synagogues in Gush Katif and northern Samaria is being stored in large warehouses in order to allow for transfer to permanent synagogues to be built in the future."
"The intention is for symbolic artifacts to be incorporated into new, permanent synagogues, as per the wishes of the local community, within the confines of the laws affiliated with the 2005 Disengagement," Corinaldi quoted the PMO as saying.
In his letter, copies of which were sent to the State Comptroller's Office and to the attorney general, the lawyer cites that the treatment of the religious artifacts constitutes "a gross violation of a distinct commitment (to the evacuees) by the government, which was anchored in law and, as such, demonstrates contempt of court."
"Furthermore," writes Corinaldi, "the attempted last-minute return of the artifacts, in the manner of an end-of-year liquidation sale, is an appalling insult, not to mention an insensitive lack of respect to holy objects."
In summary, Corinaldi demands from the prime minister to cancel the order for the former Jewish inhabitants of Gaza to come pick up the Judaica, but rather to ensure that the artifacts are properly stored until such time as they can be moved to a permanent community synagogue.
