Richler was subsequently treated for shock. “I’ve heard of people’s cars being stoned on their way to the Mount of Olives, but I never thought this would happen to me,” she said of the experience.
During his tour of the cemetery, Danon demanded a stronger police presence.
“If Jews who come to visit their loved ones in a cemetery at any one of the capitals of the world were harmed – whether in Paris or Warsaw – or Jewish graves were smashed, there would be a large outcry, and police would be urgently needed to address the issue,” he said. “The Israel Police must make this issue a top priority.”
Although a police substation was constructed adjacent to the cemetery nearly two years ago, Abe Lubinsky, chairman of the International Committee for the Preservation of Har Hazeitim, said the effort has fallen far short of what was promised.
According to Lubinsky, while the small substation is supposed to be manned by nearly a dozen officers during three shifts over 24 hours, presently only a handful of officers are regularly on duty.
“The government put 147 surveillance cameras on the mountain, which has helped lower grave desecration, but people are still being stoned on the way there, and some nearly lynched,” said Lubinsky, whose Holocaust-survivor parents are buried at the site.
“This site must be accessible 24-hour-a-day so people can safely visit their loved ones,” he added.
While Danon said he was pleased that the grave desecrations have lowered since the surveillance cameras were installed, he noted that there must be a zero-tolerance policy on visitors being attacked.
“I’m happy that there has been a decrease in incidents, but we want no incidents,” said the deputy defense minister, who also has family buried at the cemetery. “We must have freedom of religion and safety for all people in this country, including Jews.”
To that end, Danon said he is working with Israeli Police.
“This is not under my jurisdiction, but I will continue to speak with the head of the Interior Police to add more forces to be present here to ensure the safety of visitors,” he said.
Danon then grimaced as he looked at thousands of the graves overlooking the Temple Mount and walls of the Old City.
“These grave sites must be respected,” he said. “People choose to be buried here because it is right in front of the Temple Mount, and we must ensure it is safe.”
Moreover, Danon said that any framework for peace negotiations would need to take into account that the cemetery would obviously remain in Israeli hands under any possible agreement.
“I think it is very important that we speak about future agreements [with respect to Har Hazeitim] because it’s important to understand that if Jews don’t have full sovereignty of holy sites, there will be no freedom of religion.”
Danon went on to issue caution against leftist activists who encourage handing over the Mount of Olives to Palestinians in a peace deal.
“For all the people on the left who say we should move from areas like this, they need to understand that it would mean that people won’t be able to come here anymore,” he said. “That will be the reality.”
Jeff Daube and Harvey Schwartz, both co-chairman of the Israel Steering Committee for the Mount of Olives preservation NGO, also voiced grave concern over the ongoing violence against Jewish visitors.
“We don’t just want to ensure security, but to also enhance the mountain to make it the educational center for Jewish history and Zionism,” said Daube.
Indeed, Daube said plans are underway to construct a visitor and education facility on the site, with the help of a NIS 10 million government allocation. Meanwhile, Schwartz emphasized the import of the site with respect to Jewish history.
“A people that forgets its past has no future,” he said, noting that Har Hazeitim is the third most visited site in Jerusalem. “In one of Israel’s most historic locales, this is not acceptable and it’s important that the general population understands its significance historically and that we enforce a zero-tolerance policy.”
Daube, who works closely with the United States Congress, which represents many American Jewish families who have relatives buried at the site, cautioned that if action is not taken soon to protect visitors to the cemetery, a death may be imminent.
“Unless this place is made 100 percent safe, I’m going to predict that there will be a death as a result of this,” he said.
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