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'Speak to your enemy through bullets'
Photo: Yossi Dagan

'Loyal to shahidim' inscribed on historic site

Tombs of Joshua ben Nun, Calev ben Yefuneh in Samaria desecrated on Tenth of Tevet fast day. 'Barbaric act,' says Shomron Regional Council head

Abusive inscriptions at Jewish tomb site: Worshippers who came to pray in the early hours of Friday morning at the Samaria site where according to tradition, Joshua ben Nun and Calev ben Yefuneh are buried, were in for an unpleasant surprise – abusive inscriptions in Arabic graffitied on the walls of the site.

 

The head of the Shomron Regional Council called the desecration, carried out on the fast day of the tenth of Tevet, "barbaric".

 

The phrases "We swear – we will stay faithful to the blood of the shahidim", "We are the defenders of the national project" and "Conciliation, speak to your enemy through bullets" were grafittied on the tomb and signed "Fatah was here".


Grafitti on sacred tomb 'barbaric' (Photo: Yossi Dagan)

 

The worshippers who made their way to the tomb, which is located between the cities of Barkan and Ariel, included yeshiva heads, rabbis as well as secular Israelis and tourists. The prayer service was organized by the Samaria regional council and the One Shechem organization, and the excursion into the tomb site was done in coordination with the IDF including protection which was provided by the IDF's Ephraim regiment.

 

Upon entering the site the worshippers found out that the tomb had been grafittied with abusive inscriptions in Arabic. The worshippers claim that this isn't the first time that the site has been desecrated, but this time, they claim, the desecration was especially ruthless.

 

Shomron Regional Council Chairman Gershon Mesika was furious over the desecration. "Only barbarians are capable of carrying out such despicable acts," he said. "People who can desecrate a holy place in this manner don't deserve to be called civilized." In his opinion, "if Jews had desecrated an Islamic tomb in this way, the world would be up in arms."

 

The IDF only allows Israeli citizens to pray at the tomb of Joshua ben Nun on special occasions. Yehudah Libman explained the significance of the date of the visit, the Tenth of Tevet, also known as 'General Kadish' day. "On the Tenth of Tevet we pray for the transcendence of the soul of those whose date of passing is unknown, it is also the day we visit the grave of Calev ben Yefuneh."

 

Ali Waked contributed to this report

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.17.10, 09:34
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