CAMPAIGN

The Ma’man Allah or Mamilla cemetery, “Sanctuary of God,” is located in West Jerusalem.

This particular cemetery is known as the Ma’man Allah or Mamilla cemetery, “Sanctuary of God” and is located in West Jerusalem. It was a burial site for princes, scholars, Sufis, muftis and judges as well as Jerusalem’s Arab bourgeoisie.

There are about 15,000 believed to be buried in the cemetery. The cemetery is an archeological, historical, and religious treasure and one of the most important cemeteries for Palestinians. Family members of the deceased continue to visit relatives buried in the cemetery.

Not only is it unethical and immoral, but Israel is in violation of international law by allowing the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) to continue construction of the ‘Museum of Tolerance’ over portions of the Mamilla Cemetery.

Instruments of international law such as the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) guarantee the right to protection of cultural heritage and cultural property, including religious sites such as cemeteries.

Israel is also in violation of the right to freedom from discrimination, as set forth in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the ICCPR and the ICESCR.

The petitioners of the Human Rights Council resolution of October 21, 2009 requested that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) consider this complaint on an urgent basis and investigate and report on Israel’s violation of the above human rights that degrade or damage non-Jewish religious sites, as a pattern of violations of the human rights of Palestinians and Muslims.