A US tourist has been arrested for vandalizing Roman-era statues at the Israel Museum, sparking ethical questions about destroying cultural artefacts based on personal beliefs. The incident involved a 40-year-old visitor who damaged cultural artefacts dating back to the 2nd century CE, reportedly because he believed they contradicted Torah beliefs.
The man, who was from the United States and on a tour in Jerusalem, entered the Israel Museum and proceeded to damage several sculptures that he found offensive to his religious sentiments, according to the police report.
Photographs released by authorities depict sculptures knocked off their pedestals and broken into pieces in the museum's archaeology wing. Among the damaged pieces were the head of Athena from the 2nd century CE, discovered in 1978 near Beit She'an, and a statue representing the Roman god Nemesis, along with a Griffin statue from the northern Negev dating to 210-211 CE.
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Authorities later confirmed that the destroyed artefacts were ancient Roman statues from the 2nd century CE, displayed in the archaeology wing. The man claimed the sculptures were "against the Torah." He was detained by a museum security guard and subsequently arrested by the police.
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Authorities are so disturbed by this act of vandalism that they plan to question the man and request that the judge deny him bail. Despite the damage, the police stated that the incident would not disrupt the museum's normal operations, though they described it as "severe" and "worrying."
Additionally, it's unclear whether the statues on display were original artefacts or copies. This incident occurred during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which celebrates the harvest and attracts many visitors, including those travelling from North America to the region.
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