he smashed the statues because he considered them “to be idolatrous and contrary to the Torah.”
followed by
The man’s lawyer, Nick Kaufman, denied that he had acted out of religious fanaticism.
If you say so! Its horrible that someone who isnt even from an area thinks they have the right to destroy another place's cultural heritage and history because they feel it goes against their religion.
These titles really should say “an idiot was arrested for…”
And people wonder why rhey are called "ugly Americans"
I still wonder how generalizing over 300 million people by the actions of one tourist makes sense. There are a lot of things that would be easier to point at, like the Christian extremists and the alt-right (although from my experience many of them don't actually leave the country very often). Still, sweeping generalizations like this cause much more harm than good.
It's due to what those in other countries see. Americans tend to be pushy and, well, stupid in foreign lands.
Americans tend to be pushy and, well, stupid in foreign lands.
Unpleasant people stand out, so they're the ones we notice. They make an impression, so they're the ones we remember. This is true of tourists from all over the world, from America to China.
I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that most are respectful, but end up either unnoticed or forgotten.
I'm sorry man, but from what I've heard in the tourism industry yanks run third place of worst tourists. Second? Germans. First? The English. It's always the goddamn English.
Whoever has told you this has obviously never encountered Russians on their holidays. Whoever's second place doesn't even come close.
Really? I primarily hear about American, Chinese, and English tourists behaving badly.
I don't actually travel, or encounter a lot of German people; what exactly is it that German tourists do that portray them so poorly?
I live in a port city and we have cruise tourism… maybe that's the outlier.
Though I did read in the news once that Chinese tourists would go into people's homes and even crash a funeral to take pictures…
That's pretty fucked up.
Maybe, but Americans aren't all "pushy" and "stupid". Noting a trend is one thing, making a generalized statement is another. The person in the article is Jewish-American. Try replacing "Americans" with "Jews" in your original comment and see how that reads.
The common part in the loud and obnoxious is the American not Jewish though. Also (non-native-)Americans haven't suffered several attempts of genociding them over the centuries so the generalization is nowhere as dangerous.
Police identified the suspect as a radical 40-year-old Jewish American tourist and said initial questioning suggested he smashed the statues because he considered them “to be idolatrous and contrary to the Torah.”
I can tell you the common part of this is not the "American" in them. Similarly, it wouldn't be fair to call this common to Jewish people either, the vast majority are decent human beings with some level of respect from my experience.
As for loud and obnoxious, having visited many countries, the "loud and obnoxious foreigners" vary from country to country. I've seen it used to describe British, French, Chinese, Australians, and in some countries anybody who isn't from that country.
You really need to read up on American history.
The attack did not occur because of his nationality, it happened because of his religion, because of his bullshit superstitious religion… ya got that…? The guy could have been a sweedish muslim and I bet you 100% and he'd have attacked for some reason based on Islam…again religion. He Could have been an Egyptian Christian and had a beef for the Romans being the executioners of christ…once again religion.
It's Embarrassing for any nationality when this kind of mindless bad behavior happens, but you can stop debating its about anything but that persons own barbaric, irrational dogmas.
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The vandalism late Thursday raised questions about the safety of Israel’s priceless collections and stirred concern about a rise in attacks on cultural heritage in Jerusalem.
Police identified the suspect as a radical 40-year-old Jewish American tourist and said initial questioning suggested he smashed the statues because he considered them “to be idolatrous and contrary to the Torah.”
Museum photos showed the marble head of the goddess Athena knocked off its pedestal onto the floor and a statue of a pagan deity shattered into fragments.
The Israeli government expressed alarm over the defacement, which officials also attributed to Jewish iconoclasm in obedience to early prohibitions against idolatry.
“This is a shocking case of the destruction of cultural values,” said Eli Escusido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
On Friday morning, about 16 hours after the defacement at the museum, the doors opened to the public at the regularly scheduled time.
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