Shocking testimony is constantly streaming in regarding ghastly excavation work at the ancient cemetery in Jaffa, where bulldozers are working feverishly and with total disregard for the honor of the dead or the chareidi protesters regularly at the site.
In response to the digging work, which is in complete violation of government agreements reached, United Torah Judaism is demanding that archaeologists and the Antiquities Authority immediately put a halt to all excavations and the setup of a ministerial committee as stipulated in the coalition agreement.
The ongoing disrespect for the dead at the Jaffa cemetery and other locations was raised at UTJ's weekly meeting. During the long discussion about the spike in the instances of grave digging projects around the country, the faction members unanimously called for the coalition agreement to be honored by launching a committee to regulate the issue.
Faction Chairman MK Rabbi Menachem Eliezer Mozes was entrusted to speak with the coalition directorate chairman and the director-general of the Prime Minister's Office to accelerate the setup of the committee.
Eyewitnesses told Hebrew daily Yated Ne'eman that they saw four bulldozers operating at the site from morning to night on Monday, tirelessly unearthing burial caves and haphazardly disposing of dirt and bones. Dozens of archaeologists arrived at the site, working by hand at top speed, reported eyewitnesses.
The large number of policemen deploy to the site kept everyone at a distance, using pepper spray if demonstrators drew near.
