Vandals have damaged the synagogue in Tiberias, authorities suspect Haredim

On Monday, the Hamat Tiberias synagogue, dating from the fourth century, was attacked by vandals who painted walls with graffiti-style spray cans and smashed the mosaic floor. The Israel Antiquities Authority suspects the deed of extremist ultraorthodoxes, who claim that authorities damaged ancient graves during excavations.

A series of acts of vandalism swept Israel: on some archaeological sites, the inscription appeared: "For every desecrated grave, a monument will be desecrated."
Photo: Moti Dolev / Haaretz Daily

Damage on Tuesday morning was discovered by employees of the Israeli Department of Nature and National Parks. The work of the vandals brought one of the workers to tears, and the other added: “here it is, Afghanistan.”

Similar acts were carried out in other historical places: on some archaeological sites the inscription appeared: "For every desecrated grave, a monument will be desecrated." On others - “For Shuka” (perhaps it is about Shuka Dorfman, the head of the Office of Antiquities).

Tiberias police are investigating the case, and the authorities are trying to compensate for the damage and agree on a possible reconstruction.

The synagogue in the Hamat Tiberias National Park was discovered in 1921 by the writer and translator Nacham Slushets. Found it at the first major excavations that were carried out by Zionist Jews in the Holy Land.

“The most beautiful part of the fourth-century mosaic is badly damaged,” said Dror Ben Yosef of the Antiquities Authority. - Attackers made a hole in the floor and damaged the image of the holy gates and minors. It seems that they worked hard to damage the floor. "

The circle of the zodiac laid out in mosaic seems to have been struck with a pickaxe. “These are haredim, who believe that if a zodiac circle is drawn here, then this is no longer a synagogue,” commented Ben Yosef. “In this case, the zodiac circle is a Hellenic motif in a Jewish interpretation.” The corner of the mosaic was split off entirely.

Ben Yosef also added that perhaps this synagogue was the place where the Jerusalem Talmud was composed, and the mosaic depicted important symbols, such as the holy gate with a curtain, a minor, a palm branch and a censer. The mosaic took shape in inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin.

According to Ben Yosef, Haredim extremists also threatened other monuments. “We will protect the monuments,” he said, “whoever encroaches on their holiness. These people have harmed our historical heritage. ”

According to Dina Avshalom-Gorni from the Office of Antiquities, restoration work will be carried out, but this is not enough. “This mosaic will never be the one that people prayed 1,600 years ago,” she said. “Here you can feel and understand how people used to live, pray, learn the world and communicate.” Now we will not be the same. We are dealing with vandals destroying heritage sites. Something needs to be done to stop it. ”

Over the past few months, damage has been done to several archaeological sites. The mosaic of Hurvat Khanot near Jerusalem was damaged, a 1300-year-old hearth near Yavne and a repository of artifacts in Afula. Threats were also received by members of the public squad, which protects cultural monuments.

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