October 20, 2011, New York; Jerusalem – In a letter submitted today, 84 leading archaeologists worldwide, with support from the Center for Constitutional Rights CCR and the Campaign to Preserve Mamilla Jerusalem Cemetery, urged Board Members of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the mayor of Jerusalem, Mr. Nir Barkat, and the Head of the Israeli Antiquities Authority IAA to immediately halt current and future construction of the “Museum of Tolerance” on the site of Mamilla, a historically renowned Muslim cemetery. This plea comes as the Israeli architects commissioned to build the museum are threatening to resign from the project, as did Frank Gehry before them. The appeal is added to those of a growing number of cultural preservation and rights groups who have vocally opposed the project since 2010. Over this time, CCR has acted as legal counsel in appeals to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteurs on Religion and Racial Discrimination, the Independent Expert on Cultural Rights, and the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization UNESCO to halt construction of the museum.
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