Hundreds protesting planned demolition at synagogue
Supreme Court wall vandalized ahead of court-ordered demolition of synagogue, which must be carried out by November 17; Worshipers threaten violent resistance.
Hundreds of youths congregated on Wednesday at the synagogue in Givat Ze'ev that has been slated for demolition by November 17 because it was built on privately held Palestinian land.
The vast majority of the youths were not from Pisgat Ze'ev but rather the West Bank.
Members of the Ayelet Hashachar congregation, in the neighborhood of Givat Ze'ev were gearing up for a final attempt to prevent the destruction of the structure where they have prayed for the last 18 years. The worshippers emphasized that they didn't plan on backing down, and that they "would prevent the demolition at any cost."
The High Court had previously ruled that the structure was illegally built on land owned by a Palestinian, and ordered the structure destroyed by Wednesday after years of appeals and delays.
However, the court ruled on Wednesday that the demolition could be delayed. Although the government requested a three-week delay, until November 26, the court ruled that implementation of the sentence could only be postponed by 12 days, meaning it could occur no later than November 17. "We are assuming that the authorized bodies will not again wait till the last minute for implementation," wrote Justice Naor.
On Wednesday morning, a message sprayed on one of the Supreme Court's walls read: "You don’t destroy synagogues - we want a Jewish state", ahead of a debate in the legal hall surrounding the destruction of the synagogue.
Moriah district police opened an investigation into the incident.
Several dozen people spent the night in the structure in a bid to prevent the demolition. "There will be a struggle here. We have gas canisters, and we are taking off our gloves," the congregation's beadle, David Harosh, said.
In an unrelated case, the state misidentified the home of a terrorist, Alaa Abu Jamal, and as such cancelled its demolition order for the home after high court intervention. The state asked to retain its right to issue a new demolition order for the terrorist's home without prejudice.
