Getting your player ready...
A Frank Gehry-designed museum can rise in Jerusalem on a site that was once a Muslim cemetery, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, clearing the way for Los Angeles’ Simon Wiesenthal Center to build a Holy Land counterpart to its Museum of Tolerance.
The $250 million Jerusalem project had been delayed since early 2006, when builders unearthed bones. Arab leaders in Israel sued to stop the project and were supported in an unusual alliance by some ultra-Orthodox Jews with firm beliefs against disturbing graves.
The Supreme Court’s ruling requires museum builders to consult with Israel’s Antiquities Authority on how to rebury any remains unearthed during construction and on creating a barrier between graves and the building’s foundation.
