The Jerusalem Region Planning and Construction Committee is
scheduled to discuss a plan to build a 15- room facility to
lodge priests on the Mount of Olives at a site believed to
contain Jewish graves from the First Temple Period. Activists
from the Association for the Prevention of Grave Desecration
are actively engaged in efforts to block the planned
construction initiated by the Coptic Church.
The proposed site is located on the western slope of the
Mount of Olives and is designated on maps as preserved
cemetery grounds. The triangular one-half- dunam (one-eighth-
acre) lot has a 100-square-foot structure on the northeast
boundary and a water pit on the western side. The remainder
of the fenced lot consists of terraces with olive trees.
The Association of the Prevention of Grave Desecration has
gathered written evidence showing the site was formerly a
graveyard. During the period of Jordanian rule hundreds of
Jewish graves on the Mount of Olives were unearthed and a
book published subsequently included dozens of photographs
clearly showing the names on gravestones later destroyed.
Ten years ago a master plan for the entire area was approved.
The plan declared there would be no digging at the site since
the ancient trees growing there were designated for
preservation, thereby transforming the area into a preserved
site where digging and construction are prohibited.
The City of Jerusalem's Preservation Committee discussed the
issue three years ago, rejected the plan for construction and
did not approve any additional construction of the Mount of
Olives. One month later the decision was reversed and the
committee granted conditional approval.
Three months later, at the beginning of the year 2000, a City
of Jerusalem engineer recommended rejecting the proposal,
saying the plan would interfere with the landscape and
topography, and involved uprooting trees and dense
construction.
When the Coptic Church recently renewed its request, the
Planning and Construction Committee decided to release the
plan for public review before issuing a decision. Objections
were submitted by the Association for the Prevention of Grave
Desecration, the Jewish Graves Council and the Sephardic
Community Committee.
According to the objection filed by the Association for the
Prevention of Grave Desecration's Rav Michah Rothschild,
"Over 500 graves were desecrated in this area during the
construction of the church on the adjacent Lot 19. Familial
burial caves containing numerous stone coffins and many
Jewish names were found dating from the days of the Second
Temple and after its destruction. The cemetery was desecrated
by the Church during Jordanian rule. However, the grave
desecraters spared the large trees found in the area and
refrained from digging nearby, writing in one of their books
that there is a high likelihood of finding additional graves
here.
"In this plan [the promoters] are now asking to build
quarters for priests on the land beside the trees although
the law guarantees [their] preservation. We strongly object
to any further grave desecration at this important
cemetery."
The Chairman of the City Planning and Construction Committee,
Deputy Mayor R' Uri Lapoliansky, confirms that due to various
objections received the committee decided to demand the
project promoters and engineers perform a test and produce
ultrasound photographs to check for the presence of graves at
the site.
After receiving this data, both the promoters and the
protesters will present their respective arguments. R'
Lapoliansky says if testing by an independent company
indicates the presence of Jewish graves he would not back the
plan and it would be rejected and totally removed from the
agenda.
This innovative technique of underground scanning and
photographing using ultrasound devices came into use a few
years ago in order to detect the presence of burial caves on
construction sites and proposed road routes. In numerous
cases the device has prevented mishaps and solved potential
problems prior to groundbreaking. Today the Planning and
Construction Committee requires every contractor or
organization requesting a building permit to perform
ultrasound testing before receiving approval.
