Iraqi historian and archaeologist Ali Al-Nashmi said that there was an international Jewish mafia that aimed to acquire Iraqi antiquities. Walid Al-As'ad, director of Palmyra Museum, said that the Jews wanted "to destroy the city [of Palmyra] and wipe it off the face of the Earth," in order to erase the memory of their Babylonian exile. Walid's father, Khaled Al-As'ad, was killed in August by ISIS militants. He had served as director of the museum for 40 years until his retirement in 2003, when Walid took over the position. The statements were broadcast on Mayadeen TV on September 9, 2015.
It all makes so much sense now!