U.S. tourist arrested for destroying 'blasphemous' statues at Israel Museum

Oct. 6 (UPI) -- An American tourist was ordered detained until Monday for destroying Roman statues at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, police said Friday.

The tourist's detention was extended after he was arrested on Thursday as police said he knocked down the statues he claimed were "blasphemous" before being detained by a security guard at the museum.

The statues, depicting the Roman deities, Athena and Nemesis, were described by the museum as "ancient Roman statues dating back to the 2nd century CE."

Israeli police published footage of the statues being knocked over and damaged.

According to Israeli Police, the suspect told them the statues were "in violation of the Torah."

"We see with concern the fact that cultural values are being destroyed by religiously motivated extremists," said Israel Antiquities Authority Director Eli Escusido.

The damaged statues have been transferred to experts who will attempt to restore them.

The attack occurred during the seven-day Sukkot holiday, which celebrates the harvest of ancient times and honors the biblical Israelites who fled into exile.

Outside Israel, the diaspora Jewish community celebrates Sukkot for eight days.

Observant Jews build temporary dwellings called Sukkah, or Sukkot, in the plural, to honor the temporary homes of the biblical Israelites who were exiled to the Sinai desert for 40 years in the Hebrew Bible.

Many observant Jews travel to Israel during Sukkot, to make a pilgrimage to the site of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE during the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire.