Muslim Protest 021010

8/14/2019 Muslim Protest 021010

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WHERE: Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance, 9786 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035WHO: Attorney _laria LaHood, Jew York-based Center for Constitutional Rights; attomeyLeonard Weinglass New York-based civil rights attorney; Los Angeles Rabbi Leonard Beerman;*Los Angeles Rabbi Steven Jacobs; Stanley Sheinbaum, long-time L.A. Jewish civic leaoer and -former President of the L.A. Police Commission; Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director, SouthemCalifomia C.A.I.R..; Shakeel Syed, Executive Director, Southem Califomia Shura Council; Pasadena-based Rev. George Regas founder and President of the Regas Institute; and James Lafferty,Executive Director of the ational Lawyers Guild in Los Angeles and the host of this pressconference.(The following persons, and others, will be appearing at either the press conference in Geneva orJerusalem: Professor Georges Abi Saab Honorary Professor of International Law at the GraduateInstitute ofInternational and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.Mr. Patrice Mugny, Administrati e Counselor, Department of Culture, City of Geneva, SwitzerlandMs. Rania Madi, Geneva Coordinator BADIL Resource Center, Ramallah, Palestine.Ms. Yael Lerner, Publisher, Al-Andalus Publishing House, Tel-Aviv, Israel.)For more information on locations and times, contact David Lerner at Riptide Communications,212.2-60.5000.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to-advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed bythe United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 byattomeys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal andeducational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.Visit www .c{~rjusti i.X~.Org.


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CONTACT: James Lafferty, 323.653.4510Jen Nessel, 212.614.6449, [email protected] Lerner, Riptide Communications, 212.260.5000

Descendants File Protest with United Nations over IsraeliPlans to Build on 12th Century Muslim Cemetery

Simon Wiesentltal Center Intends "Museum of Tolerance" for Site DespiteDesecrationFebruary 10, 2010, Los Angeles, New York, Jerusalem, Geneva - Today, parties defending a 1ihCentury Muslim cemetery and holy site from desecration by Israeli authorities and a U.S. developerbrought their case to the United Nations and held press conferences in Geneva, Jerusalem and LosAngeles. The filing of the "Petition for Urgent Action on Human Rights Violations by Israel:Desecration of Ma'man Allab (Mamilla) Muslim Cemetery in the Holy City of Jerusalem," tookplace in Geneva; the cemetery, Maman Allah (also known as Mamilla), is in Jerusalem; and theSimon Wiesenthal Center, which has plans to build a Museum of Tolerance on the site, is based in LosAngeles. The Center for Constitutional Rights in New York is representing descendants, including60 signatories from 15 of the oldest Jerusalem families with ancestors going back to the 12th century.The Petition may be consulted at www.mamillacampaign.org.Said Stanley Sheinbaum, Jewish leader in Los Angeles and former President of the Los AngelesPolice Commission, "In regard to the proposed construction of a new Simon Wiesenthal Center on the ;ancient Mamilla Cemetery, I would with great respect for both Palestinians and Israelis suggest thatIsraeli governmental authorities seek out an alternative building site upon which to build the Museumof Tolerance. It seems to me that to desecrate hundreds of human remains on this sacred burial site inorder to build a center dedicated to tolerance is particularly ironic.""The callous disregard for the most basic values of tolerance involved in building this museum in themost ancient and revered Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem is not just an affront by the Simon WiesenthalCenter to the many Jerusalemites whose families, like my own, have had ancestors buried there formany centuries," said Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies Department of Historyat Columbia University in New York. "It is also a blatant violation of the ethical, moral and legal.responsibilities of the Israeli government, which itself repeatedly protested the desecration of ancientJewish cemeteries in Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967."


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The construction project has resulted in the disinterment and disposal of hundreds of graves and humanremains, the whereabouts of which are currently unknown. Frank Gehry, the original architect for themuseum, has withdrawn his designs and his participation in the project.This will be the first known time Palestinian individuals have taken collective action against Israel tobring such an issue before a UN forum and comes after all remedies in Israel were exhausted. Thefamilies, NGO's and attorneys argue the desecration of the cemetery violates international conventionsprotecting cultural heritage, the manifestation of religious beliefs, and the right to family.Said Maria LaHood, Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Attorney, "Left with no recourse inIsrael, families of people buried in Mamilla cemetery have come together to petition the UnitedNations to safeguard their international human rights to be free from discrimination, to manifestreligious beliefs, and to have their cultural heritage protected. We call on the international communityto denounce this shameful desecration of a historic Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem."The plan to build a "Center for Human Dignity - Museum of Tolerance" on the remains of importantMuslim figures and men, women and children buried there over the course of a thousand years hasfaced widespread opposition from Muslim, Christian and Jewish personalities in Israel, Palestine andaround the world. Nonetheless, the Israeli Supreme Court has ruled in favor of construction of theMuseum, and the Israeli government has refused to halt the disinterment of human remains and thedestruction of the ancient cemetery.The Center for Constitutional Rights and others are petitioning the United Nations Special Rapporteurson Freedom of Religion and Belief and on Contemporary Forms of Racism; the Independent Expert onCulture; the High Commissioner for Human Rights; and the Director General of UNESCO on behalfof Palestinian families whose ancestors are buried in the cemetery. The parties are asking theseinternational bodies to act urgently to demand that the government of Israel halt further construction. of .the "Center for Human Dignity - Museum of Tolerance" on the Mamilla Cemetery site, investigatehuman rights violations, document and reveal to petitioners the whereabouts of all human remains andartifacts, recover and rebury all human remains where they were originally found in coordination withthe proper Muslim authorities, and declare the Mamilla Cemetery an antiquity to be preserved andprotected.The Mamilla Cemetery has been a Muslim burial ground and holy site since as early as the 7th century,when companions of the Prophet Muhammad were reputedly buried there. In addition, numerous Sufi 'saints and thousands of other officials, scholars, notables, and Jerusalemite families have been buriedin the cemetery over the last 1000 years. The Muslim' Supreme Council declared the cemetery anhistorical site in 1927, and the British Mandate authorities pronounced it an antiquities site in 1944. Itwas an active burial ground until 1948, when the new State ofIsrael seized the western part ofJerusalem and the cemetery fell under Israeli control.The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed bythe United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 byattorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal andeducational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.Visit www.ccrjustice.org.

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Erasing the PastThe Destruction of an Ancient Muslim

Cemetery in Jerusalem

InternationalHumanRights

What isthe MamillaCemetery?The Mamilla Cemetery is an ancient Muslim burialground and holy site believed to date back to the 7thcentury, when companions of the Prophet Muhammadwere reputedly buried there. Numerous saints of the Sufifaith and thousands of other officials, scholars, notablesand Jerusalemite families have been buried in the ceme-tery over the last 1000 years. The Muslim SupremeCouncil declared the cemetery an historical site in 1927,and the British Mandate authorities pronounced it an an-tiquities site in 1944. It was an active burial ground until1948.

The ancient burial ground with the museum site in the far background.Photo Credit: Michael RatnerAfter the new State of Israel seized the western part ofJerusalem in 1948, the cemetery fell under Israeli control,and like other Islamic endowment properties, or waqf, theMamilla Cemetery was taken over by the Custodian forAbsentee Property. Since then, Muslim authorities havenot been allowed to maintain the cemetery.What isthe IICenter for HumanDignity-Museum ofTolerance"?The Israeli government and the Simon Wiesenthal Center(SWC) are currently building the "Center for Human Dig-nity- Museum of Tolerance" on a portion of the MamillaCemetery. This construction project has resulted in thedisinterment of hundreds of graves, and the whereaboutsof the countless human remains that have been disposedof are unknown. Israel and the SWC plan to continue theerection of the museum atop thousands of more graves.

The Center for Constitut ional Rights (CCR) and othergroups have filed a petition on behalf of thePalestinian descendants of those buried in the cemetery.The petition, which was filed with several internationalbodies, urges Israel to: halt construction of the museum;investigate human rights violations; rebury human remains;and declare the Mamilla Cemetery a protected antiqui-ties site.

Why isthe Mamilla CemeteryImportant?The importance of the Mamilla cemetery to Muslims iswell-known to Israel. In 1948, the year control of thecemetery was taken over by Israel, the Israeli ReligiousAffairs Ministry recognized Mamilla "to be one of themost prominent Muslim cemeteries, where seventy thou-.sand Muslim warriors of [Saladin's] armies are interredalong with many Muslim scholars. Israel will always knowto protect and respect this site."l, As recently as 1986, inresponse to an investigation by the United Nations Edu-cation, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)regarding Israel's development projects on Mamilla, theIsraeli government stated that "no project exists for thedeconsecration of the site and that on the contrary thesite and its tombs are to be safeguarded."2 Despite thesereassurances and the cemetery's inclusion in a IsraeliAntiquities Authority list of "Special Antiquities Sites," Israelin fact destroyed a large section of the cemetery duringthe period in which the statement was made.

The Destruction of theCemeteryDespite officially recognizing its importance, Israel hassteadily encroached on the Mamilla Cemetery with theerection of buildings, parks and even parking lots. Theconstruction of the "Center for Human Dignity - Museumof Tolerance" is only the latest such development project.Israel and the SWC have attempted to justify this devel-opment by claiming that the cemetery is no longer sancti-fied, based on a 1964 proclamation by a Shari' a orIslamic law judge who lacked legitimacy in the Muslimcommunity. The President of the Shcri'c Court of Appealsin Israel has since deemed this ruling to be void, and af-firmed that the sanctity of cemeteries is eternal in Islam.

666 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 1001 2 21 2-6146464 www.ccrjustice.org


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All developments on the grounds of the Mamilla Ceme-tery have resulted in its desecration and the undignifieddisinterment of graves, human remains and other impor-tant artifacts. Palestinians have consistently opposed thedestruction and desecration of the cemetery, through le-gal petitions to Israeli bodies and other actions, withoutsuccess. According to Gideon Suleimani, Chief IsraeliArchaeologist assigned by the Israeli Antiquities Authorityto lead the excavation of the museum site, over 400graves containing human remains were exhumed or ex-posed during his partial excavation of the site. Suleimaniestimated that there are four layers of graves, many dat-ing from the 1 2 thcentury, with at least 2000 graves re-maining under the Museum site. Several hundred morehuman remains were disinterred during other phases ofpreparation of the site.

Can International Laws ProtectMamilla Cemetery?Israel is violating numerous international human rightslaws by permitting the construction of the "Center for Hu-man Dignity- Museum of Tolerance" on Mamilla Ceme-tery.The museum's construction constitutes violations of thehuman rights of all Palestinians and Muslims, whose for-bears are buried in the cemetery, and the human rights ofthe innumerable Palestinians from Jerusalem whose directancestors are buried there. The desecration of this ancientand historically important cemetery also violates the rightsof people of many faiths and cultures who believe thatsites like Mamilla Cemetery belong to the internationalcommunity's heritage and should be protected and pre-served. The right to protect cultural heritage and prop-erty; to freedom from discrimination; to freedom of relig-ion and belief; and the right to culture and family are allinternationally protected human rights.

What Legal Remedies AreAvailable?Israel has an obligation to respect and protect the holysites of its minority religious and ethnic populations, includ-ing Mamilla cemetery, under international law, UnitedNations resolutions and under its own domestic law.Despite Israel's legal obligations, the Israeli SupremeCourt ruled in favor of construction of the museum and thegovernment has refused to halt the disinterment of bodiesand the destruction of the ancient cemetery. For this rea-son, the petitioners have decided to bring this issue to theinternational community with the aid of human rights or-ganizations such as CCR. The petition has been filed withthe UN. Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religionand Belief and on Contemporary Forms of Racism; theIndependent Expert on Culture; the High Commissionerfor Human Rights; and the Director General of UNESCO.The petitioners are urging these bodies to demand thatthe Government of Israel: halt further construction of the"Center for Human Dignity-Museum ofTolerance" onthe Mamilla Cemetery site; document and reveal to peti- .tioners the whereabouts of all human remains and arti-facts; recover and rebury all human remains where theywere originally found in coordination with the properMuslim authorities; and declare the Mamilla Cemeteryan antiquity to be preserved and protected.

Notes1 See AkivoEldor,Israel Prize lour eo le opposes Mus eum 01 Tolerance,HA'AR ET Z, Dec. 31, 2008, available 01 http://haaretz.cam/hasen/spages/1 051 047.html.2 UNESCO 125 EX/15, 17 July 1986, Addendum 1, at 7.


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Muslim Protest 021010

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