“SURE, we’d all think a lot better of the Muslims if they showed more tolerance of other people’s religions. But try to convince me it wasn’t a calculated propaganda exercise that the Israelis left the synagogues standing among the wreckage on their way out of Gaza, knowing that the world’s headlines would run with their destruction by the Palestinians.”
Gordon Drennan, Burton, SA
Meron Benvenisti, Former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, wrote recently that the Israelis probably hoped the destruction of synagogues would be a propaganda coup. Furthermore:
“The Palestinians may wonder whether the principle that one must not harm holy sites applies only to synagogues, or to abandoned mosques and churches as well. Does the demand that the Palestinians – or an international body – take responsibility for the synagogues apply also to the Israeli government vis-a-vis the abandoned mosques in Israel? And if we are in such a hurry to expose the Palestinians’ shame to the world, are we ready to expose Israel’s shameful behaviour vis-a-vis the Moslem holy sites as well?
“Out of some 140 village mosques that were abandoned due to the war in 1948, some 100 were totally torn down. The rest, about 40, are in advanced stages of collapse and neglect, or are used by the Jewish residents for other purposes.”