I cannot claim there has been no injustice over the years on both sides as a result of war, but Arab nations chose war against Israel the day after they declared independence. It did not have to go that way. — Jordan took position of East Jerusalem and under Jordanian occupation, all but one of the 35 synagogues within the Old City of Jerusalem were destroyed; those not completely devastated had been used as hen houses and stables filled with dung-heaps, garbage. and carcasses. The revered Jewish graveyard on the Mount of Olives was in complete disarray with thousands of tombstones broken, some of which were used as building materials for roads and latrines. Large areas of the cemetery were leveled to provide a short-cut to a new hotel. Hundreds of Torah scrolls and thousands of holy books were plundered and burned to ashes.