Israel yesterday gave formal approval to the ironically named “Museum of Tolerance.” This museum, supposedly to promote coexistence, will be built in west Jerusalem over a centuries-old Muslim graveyard:
The Israeli government has approved a Jewish group’s plan to build a museum over a centuries-old Muslim graveyard in Jerusalem, an official confirmed Wednesday, in the final go-ahead for a project delayed for years by Muslim opposition.
The bitter wrangle over construction of the Museum of Tolerance reflects the explosive potential of religion-based disputes in Jerusalem, where Jews and Muslims often play down the other side’s historical ties to the city. The museum, which is meant to promote coexistence, is a project of a U.S.-based Jewish group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
The irony of a Jewish-sponsored Museum of Tolerance going up in part on a Muslim cemetery has made the project a target for critics since it was announced in 2003.
The Israeli government is quite open about its desires to prevent Muslims, who make up a large minority inside Israel (and a very large population inside Israeli-controlled lands) from having any political position inside western Jerusalem:
Muslims sought to stop the project on religious grounds, saying the old graves must not be desecrated. Israelis charged that with their opposition to the museum, certain Muslim groups were trying to establish a political foothold in the Jewish part of Jerusalem.
It is hard to overstate the irony of a “Museum of Tolerance” dedicated to coexistence that is located specifically to enforce one ethnic group’s claims to the land above another ethnic group. Far from coexistence, this museum stokes conflict.