THE MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE in Jerusalem has been scaled down and has lost its architect:
Museum of Tolerance halves building plan
January 25, 2010 (Jerusalem Dispatch)
by Dan Slobodkin
A Museum of Tolerance will open in Mamilla within four years, though at half the size and cost previously planned,
Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told the Los Angeles Jewish Journal on Sunday.
“While it seemed perfectly possible in 2002 to raise the money, by 2009 we were forced to reconsider in light of the declining economy,” he said by phone from Independence Park in Jerusalem, where he is currently staying to attend a granddaughter’s wedding.
Last week celebrated architect Frank Gehry announced he was stepping down from the controversial project. His design called for eight separate buildings, totaling 240,000 square feet at an estimated cost of $250 million. The plan has been scaled down to one large building of 120,000 square feet, at an estimated cost of under $100 million.
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This museum project has been beset by controversy ever since it was realized that it is being built over an old Muslim cemetery. The latest on that:
Since then the site has been plagued by legal holdups following claims the site for the museum lies partly on an ancient Muslim cemetery, but two weeks ago the High Court rejected a petition to reopen the case and fined the plaintiffs.
Background
here and follow the links.