What Muslim "holy" sites? There is no such thing. B
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1047609.html Government mulling proposal to repair Muslim holy sites For the first time since Israel declared its independence in 1948, the government is considering renovating sites holy to Muslims that have laid abandoned and neglected for 60 years. For the past few months, a ministerial committee on the Arab community in Israel has been debating the issue, considered by many to be of tremendous importance and sensitivity. The initial phase of the plan entails renovating 12 particularly dilapidated sites, including Zidani mosque in Tiberias; Nebi Rubin mosque in Palmahim; al-Rabasiyeh mosque near the village of Sheikh Danun; Ein Zeitun mosque near Safed; Amka mosque near Amuka and Yavne mosque. Also, Muslim cemeteries in Be'er Sheva, Sidna Ali in Herzliya, Azur and Ashkelon will be renovated. Most of these sites are If the ministerial committee decides to give the plan the go-ahead then it will commit the next government after the upcoming election to carrying it out, no matter what political coalition is formed. However, it is not yet certain whether the committee will act on the plan before elections are held. Last summer, a joint bill on renovating sites holy to Islam in Israel was submitted by Jewish MK Michael Melchior (Labor) and Arab MK Ibrahim Sarsur (Ra'am-Taal), but their proposal did not receive the support of the government. "These places are continually neglected in a way that is not becoming of an enlightened state," Melchoir and Sarsur's bill read. "The State of Israel, which takes care of the holy sites to Jews in the country and demands other countries to respect places holy to Judaism in their territories, should also take care of the holy sites to Islam." Indeed, the Israeli public was outraged when Hamas systematically bulldozed synagogues in the former settlements of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip following its pullout from the territory in 2005. According to the proposal submitted to the ministerial committee, a joint panel consisting of representatives of the government and the Arab public in Israel will be created to carry out renovation work. Its objective will be the rehabilitation, preservation and maintenance of those places holy to Islam throughout Israel. The prime minister will be charged with appointing the qadi, an Islamic judge, to head the committee and it will be budgeted similarly to the way funds are allocated to the national organization responsible for the maintenance of sites holy to Judaism. After the 1948 war the Israeli government took possession of much of the property left belonging to the Arab population, which either fled or was expelled from their homes during the war and in its immediate aftermath. Unlike Muslim sites, sites holy to Christianity remained in the hands of the churches after the 1948 war and were not seized by the state due to international pressure. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
