Reform rabbis: Don't build museum

JERUSALEM, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The planned Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance should not be built over an ancient Islamic cemetery in western Jerusalem, U.S. Reform rabbis say.

The Wiesenthal museum project has been given approval by Israeli courts to proceed with construction on the site of Mamilla Cemetery, an ancient Muslim burial place off Independence Park in the heart of Jerusalem, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Tuesday.

But the Central Conference of American Rabbis said in a statement the Museum of Tolerance should hold itself to a higher standard.

"It is self-evident that we must oppose the removal of another people's sacred burial ground, no matter how worthy the purpose," the Reform rabbis said. "While the Israeli Supreme Court has permitted the Wiesenthal Center to move ahead, an organization with high-minded goals like those of the Museum of Tolerance cannot be satisfied with mere adherence to the law."