The tomb of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is located in the Israeli-Arab village of Kafr Kana, near the Golani Junction.
In recent weeks the iron bars at the entrance to the tomb have been bent and broken. The entire structure, which sits atop the cave in which the prominent rabbi is buried, was also set on fire.
The fire damaged the site, blackening the stones and obscuring explanatory plaques explaining its significance. The stone steps leading down to the grave are smashed, and one of the walls has been torn apart as well. The site is also apparently being used as a dumping ground for garbage from the local village.
The scorched tomb of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel.
Israel National News correspondent Michael Freund contacted the Tourism Ministry, which is responsibly for maintaining the site, and was told that the vandalism occurred during the Passover holiday and that workers would be sent to the site Sunday to clean it up. The ministry official told Freund that the tomb is attacked regularly by local Arabs – as often as twice a month.
During the Israeli-Arab riots in October 2000, just weeks after the burning of Joseph's Tomb in Palestinian Authority-controlled Shechem, Israeli-Arabs torched Rabban [Our Rabbi] Shimon's tomb, causing most extensive damage to the site.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel served as the Nasi, or leader, of the Jews just before the destruction of the Second Temple, 2,000 years ago. One of his most quoted sayings, from the Ethics of the Fathers, is, "Action, not study, is the primary thing" – calling upon the Jewish people to realize that wisdom is a means toward rectifying the world for the Kingdom of Heaven. He was murdered by the Romans, and his tomb has remained an important site for Jewish pilgrims throughout the years.
In a contrasting item, thousands of Jews visited the tombs of Yehoshua bin Nun and Calev Ben Yefuneh in the Shomron last night, under the cheerful protection of an IDF unit. The tombs are located in an area that is under Israeli military control, but Palestinian Authority civil control. Entrance to Jews is permitted only on specified occasions - such as the anniversary of the death of Yehoshua, which occurs today.
IsraelNationalRadio's Yishai Fleisher, one of the visitors, said, "The historic significance of these two Biblical figures in our times cannot be overstated. They represent the willingness to inherit the Land because of G-d's command, as well as the timeless connection of the Jewish People to the Land. Kalev was the first to visit the Patriarchs' Tombs in Hevron after 210 years of exile..."