The Jewish cemetery in the city of Derna, in eastern Libya, was completely destroyed due to construction work for a small power plant that began at the site about a year ago. This was reported by Roi Kais on Kan Reshet Bet.
Pedazur Benattia, Chairman of the "Or Shalom" organization - a center for the preservation of Libyan Jewish heritage, provided new footage from the cemetery to Kan News.
According to him, he is attempting, through Israeli and Libyan government officials, to see what can be done regarding the issue, in light of the footage showing the cemetery being destroyed.
In recent years, Benattia has been working through his connections to ensure the preservation of the cemetery in Derna. He stated that efforts have been made to preserve other Jewish cemeteries across Libya in coordination with local authorities, but these are only a few cemeteries, as most of the Jewish cemeteries in Libya no longer exist.
The footage provided shows extensive damage at the site, including damage to the purification rooms that were part of the cemetery.