Book A Tour  |  

The Physicist who changed Hebron

  • Print

The 30th Anniversary of the passing of Prof. Ben-Zion Tavger

Noam Arnon
July 18, 2013

Some people you encounter can change your life. As Rabbi Levinger before him, meeting with Prof. Tavger changed my life, and the history of Hebron in recent times.Looking back, it was not at all obvious. Professor Tavger was very far from the definition of a "charismatic leader." I did not know him in his courageous Zionist activity and struggle against Communist rule in the Soviet Union. All of these, like his great scientific achievements were for us, a small group of young people gathered around him in Hebron somewhere in the mid-seventies, a distant rumor. He was not the leader that leads enthusiastic crowds to a decided goal, not an exciting speaker who persuades a cheering crowd.He knew quite basic Hebrew, and spoke calmly, using simple language. Actions were quiet and minimalist, reflecting a personal example, substantive action and hard work. The logic that led him at first seemed to us strange and unacceptable. Nevertheless, in the end, he was a man not to be forgotten, a mentor to many, leading the redemption of Hebron in our generation.Ben Zion Tavger was a prominent physicist in the Soviet Union of the 1960s. He was recognized by the Soviet government as a result of his talents and was appointed a Senior Researcher, but even then he was not satisfied with the status quo, but combined with remarkable bravery, the struggle for Jewish identity and Zionism. The list of his scientific publications is at least as the list of arrests and harassment he suffered.  But in the end, he was victorious over the Soviet empire, and was able to break through the iron curtain and make aliyah to Israel, his primary objective. As a result of his scientific achievements, he was invited by Prof. Yuval Ne'eman to join the faculty of Tel Aviv University.But Tavger, the freedom fighter and seeker of  justice, could not be satisfied with tranquility and a prestigious Chair at Tel Aviv University.  The late Haim Magni, Hebron’s first tour guide, introduced Tavger to the disgraceful situation at the ancient Jewish Quarter, left in ruins. He was shocked at the condition of the Avraham Avinu synagogue, which had been transformed into a garbage dump and animal pen.


Equally shocking was the fact that the destruction of the synagogue and its transformation into an animal pen were "legal" and acceptable actions according to the Israeli government. The original explanation given by the government attorneys (yes, even then) regarding this position was that during the 19 years of Jordanian occupation, the Jordainian authorities confiscated the property of Hebron community and declared it "Zionist enemy possessions". Now when the "Zionist enemy" returned and became sovereign territory, they continued to recognize the legality of the theft of Jewish property and its destruction, and continued to rent to the Arabs who chose to place there an animal pen .

This reality managed to shock even Professor Tavger, who had experience struggling with a totalitarian rule.  Among other struggles while in Russia there was a struggle for the establishment of a monument in memoriam of the Jews murdered by the Nazis at Babi Yar near Kiev. He was one of the activists who managed to prevent the desecration of the Jewish graves and motivate the government to build a memorial monument, But what he saw in Hebron were things he never saw even in Russia. "When a window gets smashed in a synagogue in Moscow, you can hear about it all over the world, and here there is a ruined synagogue, sitting beneath waste and stinking cattle dung, and that no one is talking about," he said. In his perspective this was, as he defined," Status quo of a pogrom. "When he began to try to find out what was the matter, he realized that the settlers in Kiryat Arba were still waiting for the government to decide to redeem the synagogue. Tavger, who never studied at "Yeshivat Merkaz Ha'Rav" and wasn't part of Gush Emunim, was not used to waiting for the government. "If a Jew sees a dirty synagogue - he needs to clean it, and not wait for the government to do it," he said. He did more than just talk about the situation, he entered the animal pen, and began clearing the trash with his own hands . The intensity of justice and truth that came from this operation were making waves. We were a few young guys and we couldn't just stand by, we joined him and his assistant, Eliezer Breuer, and got to work. It wasn't easy; it was a great effort:  we removed, with our hands and wheelbarrows, tons of debris, garbage, trash and filth,  with swarms of flies, next to the stinking bathrooms the Arabs built.But it was no less difficult for us knowing that for the State of Israel - the destruction of the synagogue and the location of the animal pen instead of the synagogue, were legal, and we, who are trying to clean up and reclaim it, we were considered "lawbreakers". Professor Tavger was taken into custody, time after time. But he continued quietly, professionally and politely, and  without tumult, he would get in a police car, and when he returned - he continued to work.This silence cried more than any outcry or demonstration. This silence ultimately led to  public assistance and political activities of the Hebron Community leadership, Rabbi Levinger and others, leading to exposure of the synagogue and approval to renovate and rebuild it., After  completion of the first stage of this project I became responsible uncovering and renovation of the synagogue. It's interesting to note that the approval to start the renovations were give to us by none other than those who were Prime Minister and Minister of Defense - Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.Today, The Abraham Avinu Synagogue in Hebron has been rebuilt and restored to glory. It constitutes proof of the power of a single person, dedicated to a goal, quietly working, and proof of the power of truth to permeate, influence and change reality.


The lesson in democracy, in humility, in devotion and personal example that he taught,   will never be forgetten. Tonight in Kiryat Arba, a Memorial Symposium will be held in his memory. Among the speakers who will take part in this event: Beni Katzover, Moshe Feiglin, Yehuda Etzion, Rabbi Dov Lior, Rabbi Israel Ariel, Dr. Shifra Mishlov and many more.Even 30 years after his death, the story of Prof. Ben Zion Tavger's struggles, actions and achievements, the Avraham Avinu Synagogue, the Old Cemetery, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and more – have become a cornerstone and another chapter in the history of Hebron, a history of 4000 years of the first Hebrew city, renewed and restored in our generation.

.