Demons, treasure, and tomb violaters in Jerusalem

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CREATIVE EXCUSES: Man Caught in Attempted Tomb Robbing: ‘I Wanted to Banish the Demon that Guards the Cave’ (Tazpit News Agency/The Jewish Press)

According to IAA spokesperson, during his preliminary investigation the family’s patriarch told investigators at the scene that he was in fact an exorcist by profession and a remover of curses. He explained that his sons alerted him to a presence of a demon guarding the cave.

“The man, claiming to be an exorcist admitted to his investigators that his purpose was to rob the burial cave of its potential treasure.” Rotstein told Tazpit. “However, he stated that he was so convinced that there would be a great treasure in the cave because a demon was guarding it and he came to banish the demon from the cave.”

The unit chief explained that it is a well-known phenomenon in the Arab population, even when discovering natural caves, to send in a “specialist” to clear it from evil spirits and demons.