Sanhedrin tombs in a sad state

THE SANHEDRIN TOMBS in Jerusalem are in a sad state:

As state slumbers, volunteers step in to rescue neglected Sanhedrin Tombs
By Nir Hasson (Haaretz)

If ever you want to find the Sanhedrin Tombs in northern Jerusalem, don't use the half-lira bill from the 1950s as your guide.

That banknote depicted an impressive burial site from the Second Temple period, which the Israel Antiquities Authority calls "one of the most important antiquities sites in Jerusalem and in the country as a whole." But today it is neglected, unmarked, and covered with graffiti and soot - and the bureaucratic bickering about who's responsible indicates that isn't likely to change any time soon.

The ultra-Orthodox residents of Sanhedria, the neighborhood where the tombs are located, have expressed little interest in maintaining the ancient burial caves, though they were recently cleaned up by a group of Russian-speaking immigrants who have little connection to Judaism. However, the dirt quickly accumulated once more and the signposts they put up have been removed.

Rafi Kasimov, who coordinates the Land of Israel program for Russian speakers at the Conservative movement's Schechter Institutes, called on the ultra-Orthodox to join his students' attempt to restore the site.

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Hats off to those Russian-speaking immigrants. I hope the Ultra-Orthodox local residents do take an interest, but it sounds as though the authorities need to step in if the job is to be done properly. I hope the municipality and/or the IAA take notice.