Photos released by authorities showed two sculptures toppled from pedestals and broken into several pieces in the archeology wing of the museum.
The pieces appeared to be a 2nd century AD head of Athena, discovered in 1978 at Tel Naharon, near Beit She’anand a statue of a griffin holding a wheel of fortune and depicting the Roman god Nemesis, dated to 210211 AD and discovered in the northern Negev in 1957, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.
The museum said the two destroyed artifacts were “ancient Roman statues from the 2nd century AD (after Christ).”which were on display in the archeology wing, confirming that they were not copies but original objects.
Police said a security guard at the museum detained the 40yearold tourist before police arrived and arrested him. The museum provided a photo of a stick that the suspect was caught wandering around the museum with and may have used in the attack.
Religious motivation
The suspect has been questioned by police, who plan to ask the judge to deny bail. Officials’ initial assessment is that the man destroyed the statues because he believes they are “against the Torah,” a police statement said.