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5 Shevat 5763 - January 8, 2003 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Trans-Israel Highway Contractors Desecrate Ancient Graves
by Betzalel Kahn

Despite explicit pledges by representatives of the Trans- Israel company, the Ministry of Transportation and the Antiquities Authority to halt damage and destruction of ancient graves recently discovered along the planned route for the Trans-Israel Highway, last week workers continued with devastating excavations. Police brutally arrested dozens of chareidim who came to protest the disturbing desecration.

Burial caves have been found at two of the highway's work sites. At Site 10, located near Moshav Meor, seven splendid caves containing over 100 graves and a magnificent stone used to seal the tomb were uncovered. Archaeologists date the graves -- indisputably Jewish -- to the Roman Period.

At the second site, located outside Chadera near Shaar Ephraim, two burial caves were found along the planned route. Trans-Israel promised to place them 5-6 meters (15-18 feet) away from the highway by building a supporting wall, but despite these pledges, in addition to special engineering plans to avoid damaging the graves, company executives decided to carry out destructive excavation work.

During a meeting last week at Site 10, Deputy Minister Rabbi Meir Porush, Chief Rabbinate Bureau Director Rabbi Rafael Frank and representatives from the Antiquities Authority, police, Transportation Ministry and the Trans-Israel Highway agreed that all excavation work would cease immediately and a more formal meeting would be scheduled to discuss engineering solutions to avoid harming the graves.

Although the Antiquities Authority, Transportation Ministry and paving contractor Derech Eretz consented, just minutes after the meeting ended archaeologists resumed destructive excavation work, until dozens of chareidi protesters and activists from the Association for the Prevention of Grave Desecration arrived on the scene.

On Tuesday, when Derech Eretz workers began to desecrate graves at the Shaar Ephraim site, House Committee Chairman MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni arrived and proceeded to obstruct further excavations with his own body. The excavation work stopped for several hours but resumed on Wednesday. Burial caves collapsed when the area was dynamited, leaving none intact. Arab laborers could be seen, surrounded by human bones and coffins.

In the evening Rabbi Gafni discussed the problem with Prime Minister's Bureau Director Avigdor Yitzchaki and with Transportation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi. Hanegbi promised to insure the agreements would be honored.

Activists from the Association for the Prevention of Grave Desecration say that when the project began five years ago contractors sought solutions to problems that arose, but recently their attitude took a sharp turn. Although engineering solutions have been presented, highway contractors are now unwilling to consider them.

Several attempts have been made to ask businessman Lev Levayov, who heads the Derech Eretz parent company Africa Israel, to exert his authority and have the grave desecrations stopped, but so far to no avail.

 

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