Even though it “safeguarded religious sensitivities and respected the [Muslim] historical burial site.” Regardless, the Muslim spokesman vowed that “We [Muslims] will not forgive you for building the tolerance structure.” Because, you know, Israel was right on the verge of being “forgiven” by Muslims before this latest “atrocity”…
“Muslims protest Museum of Tolerance,” by Yaakov Lappin for the Jerusalem Post, November 6:
Hundreds of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians held a demonstration at the Mamilla Muslim cemetery in central Jerusalem on Thursday in protest at a High Court decision to allow the construction of the Museum of Tolerance nearby.
On October 29, after a prolonged legal battle, the High Court rejected a petition by the Al-Aqsa Company for Development of Holy Muslim Assets against the museum’s construction. The High Court of Justice ruled that the $250 million museum, being built by the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, safeguarded religious sensitivities and respected the historical burial site.
Muslim opponents say the museum, which is being constructed adjacent to Independence Park and the Mamilla Cemetery, violates the cemetery’s sanctity. According to Muslim tradition, a number of companions of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, are buried at Mamilla.
“We came to announce to the entire world in the name of all Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, those within the Green Line and in the Diaspora – we will not reconcile with you and will not forgive you for violating the graves of our mothers, fathers, and grandparents. We will not forgive you for building the tolerance structure,” Sheikh Kamal Hativ, deputy chairman of the Islamic Movement Northern Branch said during the protest.
“The cemetery has in any case been in existence before Israel, and the graves of our forefathers will remain after Israel,” Hativ added.
Turning to US President-Elect Barak Obama, Hativ said the building works were being funded by American Jews…