Museum of Tolerance Special Report / Tolerance takes it tollIt's a long article and the position it takes is obvious. I'm not in Jerusalem and I can't comment on most of it. But I will say, in reference to the last two paragraphs quoted, that "fresh breaks" in excavations are unfortunate, and those digging try to be careful to avoid them (people will tease you and possibly scold you if your pot comes out with one), but they do happen. I'm sure with human remains even more care is taken, but two fresh breaks in an operation of this size does not strike me as evidence of unseemly haste or lack of care.
Skeletons, High Court rulings, bigwigs embroiled in other scandals, a world-famous architect and some Hollywood panache − all are part of the story of the Museum of Tolerance, slated for one of the most sensitive parts of Jerusalem: on top of a Muslim cemetery. For the first time, Haaretz reveals evidence of a highly dubious, five-month rescue excavation that took place secretly on the site, plus other previously unknown details. A three-part saga.
By Nir Hasson
Holes, Holiness and Hollywood
On the connection between the esteemed California-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, run by one of America’s most famous rabbis, an enterprising Jerusalem contractor and the feverish excavation at what was then probably Israel’s most secret civilian building site.
Part I: ‘Removal of nuisances’
Sometimes a lack of sensitivity or even an innocent mistake exposes a major truth. On the Web site of Moriah, a public company for infrastructure work that belongs to the Jerusalem municipality, one can find descriptions of various projects in which the company is involved. Among them is the Museum of Tolerance: “The Simon Wiesenthal Center, the entrepreneur for the construction of the Museum of Tolerance in central Jerusalem, asked Moriah to carry out preparatory and infrastructure work for the project,” says the site. Immediately afterward, under the heading “Objective,” it says: “Carrying out infrastructure work, removal of nuisances in the area of the project ...” What the site calls “nuisances” are in fact skeletons, bones and skulls. Hundreds of skeletons that were buried in Jerusalem’s central Muslim cemetery over a period of some 1,000 years.
A Haaretz investigation indicates that the “nuisances” were cleared away from the site swiftly and clandestinely during five grueling months of nonstop work. Testimonies of participants who worked at the site, which were recently obtained by Haaretz, indicate that the skeletons were removed as quickly as possible to enable the start of construction on the museum. “That wasn’t archaeology, it was contract work,” claimed one of the workers.
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The five months of excavation are documented in a series of exclusive pictures that are published here for the first time. In one picture a worn cardboard box takes up most of the photograph. Someone drew a schematic bone on the box as in a child’s drawing and wrote “scattered items,” and afterward erased the words. Other words are also erased. The number 4316L marks the “locus” − a sequential serial number in archaeological jargon. The box is far too small to contain the bones that stick out from both sides; the cover doesn’t close and is torn. At least one bone looks as though it broke in the course of the work, according to the archaeologists, since the fracture line looks fresh and light in color.
Another photograph depicts an ancient skull that was apparently exposed to the light hundreds of years after its owner was buried in the Jerusalem soil. In the area of the crown one can see new fractures, perhaps from an imprecise blow from a hoe. Above it there is still a large rock, and to its right a cardboard box. In the top half of the picture one can sees it is broad daylight and young Israelis, the excavators, are engaged in their work. Anyone who so wishes can perhaps find in the hollow eyes of the skull a look of amazement at what it is seeing.
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Haaretz also publishes a response to this article in defense of the project:
Museum of Tolerance Special Report / In response to the revelationsExcerpt from the section by the excavator, Archaeologist Alon Shavit:
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, archaeologist Alon Shavit, the Antiquities Authority and the Moriah company respond to Haaretz investigation on the Museum of Tolerance.
By Nir Hasson
As to the weather conditions, Shavit says there is no way to put such work on hold for three or four months. Most of the digging was done under tents, and on very rainy days that “we did have to deal with a lot of mud.”Background here and just keep following the links back.
He adds that on those sections which were not declared to be part of the “purple area,” where no excavation permit was needed, he and his staff sought to unearth the skeletons in the most controlled way and with the best documentation. He believes the security measures at the site did not undermine the transparency of the project.
“The findings were presented to the scientific community throughout the excavation process,” Shavit says, adding that during that process, each skeleton was placed in a separate numbered box, as is standard in archaeological excavations, and each skeleton was clearly labeled in order to identify the precise spot where it was found. However, the bones were in bad shape since the site had been neglected for many years, and because it had been reused for repeated burials, in keeping with Muslim tradition. Many of the skeletons were found in heaps. Those remains were documented as well. All the remains were reburied near where they were excavated, within the Muslim cemetery.