Peace In Our Time update from Haaretz, with thanks to Nicolei:
Palestinians set fire to at least four synagogues in evacuated Gaza Strip settlements early Monday, a day after the cabinet reversed an earlier decision and said Israel Defense Forces should withdraw without demolishing the synagogues.
The Palestinians torched synagogues in Kfar Darom, Morag, Netzarim and Neveh Dekalim.
Supporters of the demolition had warned that the Palestinians would desecrate or destroy the synagogues, but opponents – including Israel’s chief rabbis – said Israel must not be responsible for the destruction, no matter what the Palestinians do.
As they left their homes last month, the settlers took the Torah scrolls from their synagogues, as well as prayer books and other holy items – symbolizing the end of the use of the buildings as houses of prayer.
The fires caused little structural damage in the fortress-like concrete and stone structures, but the Palestinian Authority said the buildings would be destroyed.
Thousands of celebrating Palestinians swamped the evacuated settlement of Neveh Dekalim early Monday just after Israel Defense Forces soldiers withdrew, setting fire to a building that just last month served as a rabbinical college.
There were similar scenes throughout Gaza as Palestinians headed straight for empty synagogues Israel left intact.
Flames shot skyward from the synagogue building in the isolated former settlement of Morag in southern Gaza, minutes after Israeli soldiers left and hundreds of Palestinians stormed in.
“They [Israelis] destroyed our homes and our mosques,” said a man who gave his name only as Abu Ahmed. “Today it is our turn to destroy theirs.”
Nice to see that the forces of moderation are in control. How much evidence of this kind will convince the dhimmis in the Administration that their appeasement policy is wrongheaded? Evidently it doesn’t matter how much piles up; their policy is impervious to reason and fact.