In a shocking incident at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, an American tourist has been arrested for vandalizing priceless second-century Roman statues, raising concerns about the safety of Israel’s cultural heritage.

The incident occurred late Thursday when the tourist, identified as a 40-year-old Jewish American, threw works of art to the floor, defacing two ancient Roman statues. Israeli police indicated that the initial questioning revealed he smashed the statues because he considered them “idolatrous and contrary to the Torah.”

However, the tourist’s lawyer, Nick Kaufman, claimed that the act was not driven by religious fanaticism but rather attributed it to a mental disorder known as the Jerusalem syndrome. This condition, believed to be induced by the religious significance of the city, causes individuals to believe they are figures from religious texts.

As a result, the defendant has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, and his identity has not been disclosed due to a gag order.

The incident comes amid rising tensions during the Jewish holiday season, with recent assaults on Christian worshippers by radical ultra-Orthodox Jews causing concern and condemnation. The Israel Museum, known for its diverse exhibits, condemned the vandalism as a “troubling and unusual event.”

Photographs from the museum showed significant damage to the statues, including the marble head of the goddess Athena knocked off its pedestal and a shattered statue of a pagan deity. The museum is currently working on restoring these artifacts.

The Israeli government expressed alarm over the defacement, attributing it to Jewish iconoclasm influenced by early prohibitions against idolatry. Eli Escusido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, described it as a “shocking case of the destruction of cultural values.”

This incident appears to be part of a recent trend of attacks by individuals from the Jewish community against historical objects in Jerusalem. In February, a Jewish American tourist damaged a statue of Jesus at a Christian pilgrimage site, and in January, Jewish teenagers defaced historical Christian tombstones in a prominent Jerusalem cemetery.

Despite this disturbing incident, the Israel Museum reopened its doors to the public at the regularly scheduled time on Friday morning.

Credit:AP