RESTORE JOSEPH'S TOMB

Right On! Restore Joseph's Tomb (JPost)
Quietly, and without much fanfare, an important and painful anniversary slipped by this week virtually unnoticed by most of world Jewry. It may seem hard to believe, but it was just six years ago, on October 7, 2000, that a turbulent mob of Palestinians assaulted Joseph's Tomb in Shechem (Nablus), demolishing the millennial-old holy site in a matter of hours. In scenes broadcast worldwide, Palestinians armed with sledge-hammers put on a memorable display of their notion of religious tolerance as they hacked, chopped, smashed and destroyed one of the most hallowed sites belonging to the Jewish people.

As a result, the pristine sounds of Jewish prayer which had once filled the skies over Joseph's Tomb were replaced by plumes of smoke as the invading Arab throng pillaged the compound, setting alight holy books and other sacred religious objects.

Much, of course, has happened in the interim on the Palestinian front, from suicide bombings to the destruction of Gush Katif to the kidnapping this past summer of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Nonetheless, it is worth taking a look back at that horrible day, if only because it encapsulated everything that was - and still is - wrong with Israel's approach to the Palestinians. [READ ON..]