By Dr Salim Nazzal
22 February, 2012

The story began in the summer of 2011 when Zionist occupational authorities decided to remove great parts of an historic Muslim cemetery located just to the west of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem that date back 1500 years. The mammilla cemetery is one of the most historical cemeteries in the world. Had it been in any other country the authority of that country would have done everything possible to protect it and to preserve it as a national and historical site. Because in history and its sister science, archaeology, cemeteries are of importance like other historical sites which help in the study of history by preserving it.

This cemetery contains companions of Prophet Muhammad and thousands of Palestinian and Arab prominent figures, Sufis, scholars, and ancient Jerusalem families. The historical significant of the cemetery had been recognized by the British occupational authority before the arrival of the polish and Russian invaders to Palestine under the protection of the British occupation.

The reason given by the Zionist state is more disgusting than the act itself. They say they want to build a house of tolerance in place of the cemetery.

But there is nothing in the history of Zionist Jews in Palestine which support their claim of tolerance. Is it the norm of the chosen people, which means all non Jews are none chosen, to support the concept of tolerance? Is calling Arabs insect, sub-humans, animals, and viewing non Jews as less worthy than Jews anything to do with tolerance?

This is in theory, but when we move to the area of fact, everything done by polish Russian Zionists since their occupation of Palestine contradicts the concept of tolerance.

Is the expulsion of native Palestinians from their home in 1948, and 1967 and the daily land theft, terror, air raids, arrests; anything to do with tolerance? Is making mosques into bars and places for prostitution anything to do with tolerance? Is attacking churches and writing anti Christian slogans on the walls and spiting on the face of Christian priests anything to do with tolerance? And more, is the Zionist occupation which in its self which is the mother of evils in the whole region anything to do with tolerance?

The answer is undoubtedly a big No! Israel has nothing to do with tolerance because there is a sharp contradiction between Zionism, which is a racist ideology, and tolerance.

But the question is; what is the motive of Zionists in removing an historical site apart from their attempt to conceal their ugliness’?

The history of Zionism in Palestine answers this question. Polish and Russian Zionists know very well they are alien in Palestine. They are aware of the crimes they have committed and are committing. They know they were resisted in Palestine from day one when they invaded Palestine. Their policy was to impose facts on the ground to force Palestinians and the world to live with them. For that reason the cultural genocide which they commit goes side by side with the physical genocide. Zionists seek to destroy anything of non Jews in Palestine as part of their plan to weaken the Palestinian resistance by cutting it from its own roots. For that reason they have been engaged in a 63 years process of destroying anything Palestinian. But since Palestine has become a full member at the Uinsco such question must be put on the agenda of the Uinsco in order to protect the human heritage in Palestine from being stolen or destroyed by Zionists.

And the question remaining is, how much this will help the Zionist invaders is an opened question for the future. But history provides us with enough examples which demonstrate the shortsightedness of the invaders throughout history.

Dr. Salim Nazzal, a Palestinian-Norwegian historian on the Middle East, He has written extensively on social and political issues in the region.