SACRED SPACE AND MURDER

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The traditional burial site of Abraham

 is located in Hebron (in Arabic, al-Khalil) on the West Bank.

Two sites, the Cave of the Patriarchs and the Mosque of Ibrahim

 (the Arabic name of Abraham) hallow this space, which is considered sacred by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.

 Periodically during the past sixty years conflicts and tensions have intensified at this site. On February 25, 1994, however, the sacred space became the venue for mass murder. It was the Jewish holiday of Purim, a day commemorating the deliverance of Jews from extinction by their oppressors. As hundreds of Palestinian Muslim men and boys were gathering for prayer at the mosque, Baruch Goldstein, an American medical doctor living in the nearby Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, entered the mosque disguised as an Israeli soldier.

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He opened fire with an automatic weapon,

 killing twenty-nine and wounding many more

 before being killed by those he sought to murder.

 Were the repulsive story of a devout and deranged man

 to end here, it would not be cited in this book.

Many individuals in all religions have perpetrated

 horrific acts of violence. But, sadly, there is much more.

 In the view of some extremist Jewish settlers and activists, Goldstein became a hero.

 His grave became a pilgrimage site complete with streetlights, a sidewalk and paved area for people to gather,

 and a cupboard with prayer books and candles.

The marble plaque on his grave reads,

"To the holy Baruch Goldstein, who gave his life

 for the Jewish people, the Torah, and the Nation of Israel."

 On the sixth anniversary of his attack in the mosque,

the BBC reported on a celebration by extremists who

gathered at his grave "dressed up as the gunman, wearing

 army uniforms, doctors' coats, fake beards."

 The story concluded by noting that an estimated

 ten thousand people had visited his grave in six years.

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The overwhelming majority of Israelis find
 the behavior of Goldstein and those who venerate him
 as repugnant as do all people of goodwill.
 Extremist settlers, however,
 exhibit a religious zeal that can be frightening.
 Many Israelis note that this zeal is one of the
 largest obstacles to a negotiated peace with the Palestinians,
 and yet the settlements in the occupied territories have
 continued to grow as the government of Israel subsidizes them
 with more than $300 million each year.
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From WHEN RELIGION BECOMES EVIL
by Charles Kimball
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