Muslim Petition: Turn "Negev Museum" Back Into Mosque
(IsraelNN.com) Arab Muslim leaders in Beersheva are demanding that the large mosque of Beersheva – which has housed the Negev Museum since 1953 – be returned to Muslim hands. The mosque was built in 1906 at the entrance to the old city of Beersheva and fell into Jewish hands in the 1948 War of Independence.
The Negev Muslim Committee and the Organization for Bedouin Rights have petitioned the High Court for Justice demanding that the museum be dismantled that they be allowed to hold regular prayers in the building. They also demand that the Minister of Religions renovate the mosque and take care of is upkeep.
Judges Procaccia, Jubran and Hayut issued a conditional order in which the municipality of Beersheva and the Ministers of Culture and Religions are ordered to give their reasons for not accepting the petitioners' demands. The new Minister of Culture is an Arab Muslim.