Although the Transportation Ministry has officially
acknowledged that the graves slated for disinterment in Acco
are indeed part of an ancient Jewish cemetery, Minister Meir
Shetreet is pursuing the original plan to raze the site to
make room for railroad tracks and a tunnel, apparently in
"revenge" for the UTJ vote against the Disengagement Plan.
Dozens of northern residents arrived at the site to protest
this week. On Monday they saw tractors plow through the
graves. Inspectors appointed by the Religious Affairs
Ministry (while it was still in operation) were at the site
to prevent grave desecration during the excavations, but they
stood in astonishment as bulldozers scooped up human
skeletons indiscriminately.
Among the inspectors was Rav Rothschild. "We stood near the
[ancient] graves as the bulldozers approached," he said.
"Using the teeth of the forward earth scoop they began to
destroy one grave after the next, and destroyed human bones
and skeletons before our eyes. It was an appalling sight like
none I've ever seen before."
The police charged into the protest rally, arresting 40
demonstrators. In order to isolate them the protesters were
sent to different detention centers and police stations in
Arab towns in the Galilee where they spent hours in damp
holding tanks.
Led by Maran HaRav Eliashiv, maranan verabonon issued
an announcement calling on the public to take action against
the desecration of ancient graves in Acco, which resumed last
Sunday.
The announcement reads, "[Our hearts should tremble and be
moved] over the terrible decree upon us . . . Graves are
being destroyed and the deceased are being stolen from the
ancient cemetery in the city of Acco, the site of the burial
of our forefathers and rabbonim from the period of the Tanoim
and Rishonim from the time of the Ramban, zechuso yogen
oleinu.
"Over twenty graves have already been destroyed and robbed .
. . in the ancient cemetery in Acco and there are plans to
quickly empty many more graves and steal the deceased during
the next few days, and there can be no meis mitvzah
greater than this, for the decree is being carried out right
now.
" . . . Due to our many sins a disgrace has been done in
Yisroel, the work of the soiled hands of our own [brethren]
who have thrown off the yoke of Torah and mitzvas--in
addition to uprooting the belief in the eternalness of the
soul in this decree, Rachmono litzlan.
"And according what we have heard all of the efforts to
remove this misdeed from Yisroel have fallen on deaf ears. If
we remain silent at such a time while their hands are poised,
Hashem yeracheim, it would also create a precedent for
the looting--under police patronage--of all of the cemeteries
in Eretz Hakodesh, and what that might lead to nobody can
know. This would also endanger cemeteries abroad, where there
are no more Jewish residents, as we have seen, Rachmono
litzlan.
"The geonim of the preceding generations cried out
regarding the great awakening to do teshuvoh, for we
must awaken to avert the curse, Rachmono litzlan, of
`Vehoyso yad Hashem bochem uva'avoseichem.' For from
this Chazal learned that through the sins of the living the
dead stir.
"Therefore all who have yiras Hashem in their hearts
and feel pained over kovod Shomayim and kovod
avoseinu have a holy obligation to do whatever is in
their power to annul this terrible decree and to protest
through any possible means until this disgrace is removed
from among us."
High fences were erected around the site to prevent
demonstrators from interfering.
Earlier digging was interrupted through the involvement of
MKs Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz and Rabbi Moshe Gafni, who spoke
with the Prime Minister and Transportation Minister on the
issue. Sharon directed Shetreet to stop the excavation work
until a solution was found and Shetreet met with Rav Michoh
Rothschild, one of the heads of the Association for the
Prevention of Grave Desecration. During the meeting Rav
Rothschild presented Minister Shetreet with clear proof from
sifrei kadmonim to debunk claims by archaeologists
that the cemetery is not Jewish.
He also presented Minister Shetreet with various proposals to
lay the tracks without harming the graves. A bridge overpass,
for example, would be safer than a tunnel and save the cost
of excavation.
Although Shetreet agreed to meet to seek a viable solution to
the problem, later it became clear this promise was merely a
ploy: in reality Sharon and Shetreet had ordered the digging
work stopped as part of political maneuvers to persuade the
chareidi MKs to back the disengagement plan.
According to chareidi public figures, "The moment the
chareidi MKs voted against the plan in the Knesset as
maranan verabonon shlita instructed them, the Prime
Minister and Transportation Minister decided to descend upon
the ancient graves and completely raze them. Therefore this
is not merely a fight by the chareidi public against the
destruction of the graves, but against the Government of
Israel, which seeks to uproot ancient graves, among other
things, as an act of personal political retaliation by the
Prime Minister against the entire chareidi public."
Following the announcement by the Transportation Ministry
Spokesman that excavation work would resume, MK Rabbi Gafni
said, "When harm is done to Jewish graves in other parts of
the world everybody is up in arms, including the government.
[Yet in this case] the government itself is doing the
extremely grave act of destroying and harming a Jewish
cemetery. I call on the Transportation Minister, and I will
also speak with him personally, to stop the destruction of
the cemetery and continue discussing alternative
solutions."
A large protest demonstration in Jerusalem is currently being
organized.
