How To (Not) Make Peace

One might wonder about Israel's true commitment to peace with Israel, when one reads about the plans to build a "Museum of Tolerance." The site selected in Jerusalem is on top of a historic Muslim cemetery. The museum, which is claimed to be an attempt at "unity and respect among Jews and between people of all faiths" does not seem to include Muslims in that "unity."

The museum is funded by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. The cemetery dates back 100-1500 years, and was claimed under Israel's "absentee property" laws (laws that have led to Israel's usurpation of Palestinian land in the past. Muslim religious authorities were not contacted about the plans. Now the siting decision is being challenged with an Islamic Court petition, but the excavation of graves continues.

Osnat Goaz, a spokeswoman for the Israel Antiquities Authority, which is carrying out the excavations, said it was common in Jerusalem to build on cemeteries. Adding that in such cases the bones were reburied, she said: "Israel is more crowded with ancient artefacts than any other country in the world. If we didn't build on former cemeteries, we would never build."

Was this siting of the "museum" just an oversight on the part of Israel, or do Muslims really count for little in the Israeli government's eyes? One might wonder what this "museum" is going to be filled with. If it is examples of tolerance such as the desecration of a sacred and historic site of another religion, then the entire meaning of "tolerance" is in question. It looks a lot more like hegemony to me.