The state has been trying to buy a plot of land on which the grave of the Tana Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel is located – but the owner of the land is holding out for a better deal, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said in a Knesset discussion Wednesday. Misezhnikov was asked by MK David Azulai (Shas) what the government was planning to do about a series of incidents in which the grave has been vandalized, the latest occurring last week. Misezhnikov said the government has been trying to buy the plot, but the owner of the land in the village of Peki'in has been demanding in exchange a large plot of land that has building rights – as opposed to the agricultural plot the government has been offering.
Misezhnikov said that the government wanted to buy the grave and make improvements to it, turning it into a pilgrimage site for religious Jews. Until a deal is made for the plot, Misezhnikov said that police had installed security cameras and increased patrols in the area to prevent a repeat of the vandalism.