Opponents of Mamilla cemetery desecration take the case to international bodies
(Mondoweiss) -- by Philip Weiss --
This just in. A group of human rights orgs have filed "urgent petitions" with UN bodies in Geneva to stop the desecration of the Mamilla cemetery in Jerusalem, where thousands of graves going back to Salahdin are being bulldozed to make way for a goddamn "Museum of Tolerance."
'Israel has an obligation to respect and protect the holy sites of its minority religious and ethnic populations, including Mamilla cemetery, under international law, United Nations resolutions and under its own domestic law. Despite Israel’s legal obligations, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favor of construction of the museum and the government has refused to halt the disinterment of bodies and the destruction of the ancient cemetery. For this reason, the petitioners have decided to bring this issue to the international community with the aid of human rights organizations such as Center for Constitutional Rights.'
"This case has a wince factor," says Michael Smith of WBAI. Here are photos/description of Mamilla’s importance. The great Rashid Khalidi, whose own ancestors are buried/tumbling in Mamilla, is all over the case. "This is a cemetery that includes the remains of attested historical figures going right back to the Crusades, saints and religious figures and judges– every Muslim family in Jerusalem was buried there," he says. " An array of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian religious figures are against the project, which shows a degree of callousness that must be exposed. There is no recourse in Israel on this issue. All recourse has been exhausted."...LINK
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