May 20, 1948 Worldwide Indifference to Jordanian Havoc in Jerusalem

Jordanians Destroy 58 Synagogues in Jerusalem and 75% of Tombstones on Mount of Olives

Such indifference has a long, dishonorable history. When the Jordanian Legion illegally occupied east Jerusalem and expelled its ancient Jewish community, the world watched unmoved (three years after the Holocaust). It couldn’t be bothered (less than a decade after Kristallnacht) when the Jordanians (a.k.a. Palestinians) destroyed no fewer than 58 synagogues in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the famous Tiferet Yisrael and Rabbi Yehuda Hahasid synagogues. The ruined remnants of some synagogues were converted into donkey stables, cowsheds and public lavatories.

Even the dead couldn’t be allowed rest. No less than 75% of the tombstones in the Mount of Olives Cemetery were ripped out. Some were used to pave pathways to Jordanian army latrines or to construct pissoirs near the Western Wall. These weren’t the ravages of war but deliberate abuse intended to degrade. Headstones in urinals aren’t vandalism. They’re hate unbridled.

Source: Honig, Sarah. “Death of a Landlord.” The Jerusalem Post, September 15, 2005.