The Israeli Defense Ministry has told Israel’s High Court of Justice that it cannot relocate the synagogues of Gush Katif, or those of the other Jewish communities in Gaza and northern Samaria. The only alternative, it says, is to destroy them.
The ministry was responding to a court petition calling for the removal rather than the destruction of the synagogues.
In its legal brief, Defense Ministry lawyers said the synagogues could not be relocated because they were made out of concrete.
The ministry said, however, that it would take out and save items that symbolize and preserve the memory of each synagogue. The ministry also said the synagogues would be destroyed only after all religious items were removed, and after the buildings would no longer be considered a holy place.
Defense officials have suggested blowing up the synagogues instead of bulldozing them. In their opinion, bulldozing the buildings would have a more negative impact on the sensibilities of religious Jews.
The ministry was responding to a court petition calling for the removal rather than the destruction of the synagogues.
In its legal brief, Defense Ministry lawyers said the synagogues could not be relocated because they were made out of concrete.
The ministry said, however, that it would take out and save items that symbolize and preserve the memory of each synagogue. The ministry also said the synagogues would be destroyed only after all religious items were removed, and after the buildings would no longer be considered a holy place.
Defense officials have suggested blowing up the synagogues instead of bulldozing them. In their opinion, bulldozing the buildings would have a more negative impact on the sensibilities of religious Jews.