Although I still support the U.S. and coalition forces decision to liberate the people of Iraq from Saddam Hussein, and protect us from what then was an understandable fear of weapons of mass destruction, this was not what I would have expected would be the outcome of our effort.

As is unfortunately typical of Islam, they are once again taking over a Jewish holy site, erasing any connection to its Jewish roots, and turning it into a Mosque.

Islamists Erase Jewish Identity from Ezekiel’s Tomb in Iraq
(h/t: Israel Matzav)

NEW YORK (December 29, 2009) – The Iraqi news agency Ur News has revived fears that under pressure from Islamic political parties, the original Hebrew inscriptions and ornamentation on the walls around the tomb of Ezekiel are being (or have been) removed, this under the pretext of restoring the site. According to sources, the Antiquities and Heritage Authority in Iraq has been pressured by Islamists to historically cleanse all evidence of a Jewish connection to Iraq–a land where Jews had lived for over a thousand years before the advent of Islam.

Four months ago a German-based Iraqi journalist tipped off the Association of Jewish Academics from Iraq in Israel that plans were afoot to build a mosque on the site of the shrine of the Jewish prophet Ezekiel at al-Kifl…. The rumours were investigated by a philo-Semitic Iraqi Shi’a, Dr. Jabbar Jamal al-Din, a lecturer in Jewish Thought at the Kufa University.  They were denied by the shrine’s director.  Now a report by Ur News revives fears that in the absence of Jews on the ground, nothing, not even UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), stands in the way of politically-motivated plans to erase all Jewish traces of this ancient holy site.

…

Drastic changes taking place currently at the tomb of Ezekiel will change its character and prompt UNESCO to delete it as a protected site on the World Heritage List, similar to what happened to the historic city of Babylon, where old buildings were demolished and new layers of construction added.

…

Hebrew writings will or already has been erased from the site and from the room that houses the shrine. Restoration work includes skimming the walls, 3 metres high in the yard, 2 metres high inside the shrine. Sources say that the media are not allowed to take pictures and visits to the shrine are limited to pilgrims.

…

Iraq – the Biblical Mesopotamia -is almost as rich in Jewish history as the Land of Israel. The tomb of the prophet Ezekiel dates back to the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BCE. It was there in Iraq that Abraham discovered monotheism, and it is where the prophets Ezra, Nehemiah, Nahum, Jonah and Daniel are all buried.

Other similar instances:
–Before Islam, Medina Was Originally A Jewish City

–Minarets: A Symbol of Imperialism and Colonialism

–The Jewish History of “Arab/Muslim” Hebron

–Jewish History In “East” Jersualem

–Muslims Erasing Jewish Connection To Temple Mount

–History of Hagia Sofia; Church Converted To Mosque

–Muslims Destroy The Jewish Holy Temple Artifacts, 2, 3.

–Islamists Destroy Buddhist Sculptures, 2

–Muslims Destroy Joseph’s Tomb, 2,…twice

–