An American vacationer has been arrested after allegedly smashing two second-century Roman statues on the Israel Museum – together with his lawyer claiming he was experiencing a psychological dysfunction referred to as “Jerusalem syndrome”.
Israeli police have mentioned preliminary questioning suggests the Jewish-American suspect destroyed the statues in Jerusalem as a result of he thought of them to be “idolatrous and contrary to the Torah”.
The Torah is the compilation of the primary 5 books of the Hebrew Bible.
Museum photographs present the marble head of the goddess Athena knocked off its pedestal onto the ground and a statue of a pagan deity shattered into fragments.
The broken statues have been being restored, museum employees mentioned.
Nick Kaufam, the suspect’s lawyer, has denied the person acted out of spiritual fanaticism.
Instead, Mr Kaufman mentioned the 40-year-old vacationer was affected by a psychological dysfunction that psychiatrists have labelled “Jerusalem syndrome”.
The situation – a type of disorientation believed to be induced by the spiritual magnetism of the town, which is sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims – is claimed to trigger international pilgrims to consider they’re figures from the Bible.
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The defendant has been ordered to bear a psychiatric analysis. Officials didn’t launch his title on account of a gagging order.
The vandalism late on Thursday raised questions in regards to the security of Israel’s priceless collections and stirred concern a couple of rise in assaults on cultural heritage in Jerusalem.
The Israel Museum, with its displays of archaeology, superb arts, and Jewish artwork and life, described the vandalism as a “troubling and unusual event” – and mentioned it “condemns all forms of violence and hopes such incidents will not recur”.
Source: information.sky.com”