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Joseph´s Tomb Gravestone Destroyed

The Arab destruction of Joseph's Tomb is practically complete. Some time in the past two weeks, Arab vandals hacked away at the large two-meter stone marking the gravesite of the Biblical figure, leaving barely more than a pile of rubble.

Chief IDF Rabbi Brig.-Gen. Yisrael Weiss recently visited the site in Shechem, and discussed its current sorry state with regional IDF commanders. The tomb, under Israeli jurisdiction according to the Oslo Accords, was taken over by Arab mobs when the PLO initiated its ongoing terrorist war.

The Moslem occupiers initially desecrated Joseph's monument and destroyed religious books inside the tomb compound, before proclaiming it a mosque. It was liberated by the IDF during last April's Operation Defensive Shield. Currently, even though Israeli authority has been restored to the site, no Israeli worshipers are allowed to visit, and the holy site is not regularly guarded. Several members of the Chassidic Breslover sect have been arrested attempting to reach the tomb, although many have successfully reached it.

The Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva, located for many years at the holy site, issued a press release demanding the "immediate safeguarding of Yosef's Tomb by the IDF, the ability to worship there again, and the return, finally, of Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai, which was expelled from there at the outbreak of the current Oslo War."

It's Official: Arabs Destroy Joseph's Tomb The destruction of Joseph's Tomb of the past two weeks is now "official." Prime Minister Sharon and Defense Minister Mofaz confirmed at this morning's Cabinet meeting Arutz-7's report of the end of last week: Arab vandals entered the holy site in Shechem sometime in the past two weeks and turned the large stone marking Joseph's grave into a pile of rubble. The two smaller stones on either side of the gravestone, known as Ephraim and Menashe, were left basically intact.

Minister Natan Sharansky called upon the Foreign Ministry to publicize photos of the destroyed site. "If we would have razed the gravesite of one of the founders of Islam," Sharansky said, "billions of Moslems would have taken to the streets. It's inconceivable that the world should not know about this travesty." Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Sharon said they would in fact publicize the photos.

Last week, a group of Jewish chaplains found that the site of Joseph's Tomb in Nablus had been destroyed- the building cracked open with hammers, a huge hole in its dome, the tree at its entrance smashed, and the grave littered with trash and car parts.

Palestinian violence and vandalism destroyed this ancient tomb. Joseph was one of the Biblical patriarchs. (www.wiesenthal.com)

Email the World Heritage Committee wh-info@unesco.org

and demand that they strongly condemn the destruction of Joseph's Tomb.

You can say something like,

"The Palestinian destruction of Joseph's Tomb in Nablus is a crime against cultural heritage, and needs to be protested in the strongest possible terms. This is an ancient site that has existed in Israel for thousands of years. To see it destroyed in a shameless display of barbaric violence is a tragedy and an outrage. I urge you to condemn this crime."

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