Israeli police have arrested an American tourist at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem after he hurled works of art to the floor, damaging two second-century Roman statues
Israeli police have arrested an American tourist at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem after he hurled works of art to the floor, defacing two second-century Roman statues. The vandalism late Thursday raised questions about the safety of Israel's priceless collections and stirred concern about a rise in attacks on cultural heritage in Jerusalem.
The Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the harvest festival, ends Friday at sundown. The prominent Israel Museum, with its exhibits of archaeology, fine arts, and Jewish art and life, described Thursday's vandalism as a “troubling and unusual event,” and said it “condemns all forms of violence and hopes such incidents will not recur.” Museum photos showed the marble head of the goddess Athena knocked off its pedestal onto the floor and a statue of a pagan deity shattered into fragments.
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