Friday, September 16, 2005

Mosques and Synagogues I

Filed under what goes around, comes around

Meron Benvenisti has a column in Haaretz detailing the many mosques Israel has destroyed, and the many graves Israelis have desecrated. I admit to being shocked, having bought into the myth that only non-Jews disrespect the holy sites of other faiths. Money quote:
The Palestinians may wonder whether the principle that one must not harm holy sites applies only to synagogues, or to abandoned mosques and churches as well. Does the demand that the Palestinians - or an international body - take responsibility for the synagogues apply also to the Israeli government vis-a-vis the abandoned mosques in Israel? And if we are in such a hurry to expose the Palestinians' shame to the world, are we ready to expose Israel's shameful behavior vis-a-vis the Moslem holy sites as well? Out of some 140 village mosques that were abandoned due to the war in 1948, some 100 were totally torn down. The rest, about 40, are in advanced stages of collapse and neglect, or are used by the Jewish residents for other purpose
Though I share the outrage expressed by other bloggers at the destruction of synagogues in Gaza, there's no reason for us to pat ourselves on the back. The claim that "Jews don't destroy Mosques" is false: When the situation was reversed, and it was mosques that were abandoned, we behaved similarly.

[Link fixed]