Netanyahu in Message of Support for Hebron Jews

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As we approach Shabbat Chayei Sarah, when we read in the Torah about Abraham's purchase of Ma'arat HaMachpela, tonight, for the first time, the Knesset will host an evening to honor Hebron. The event is being sponsored by the Eretz Yisrael Lobby with particiaption of Mks, Deputy Ministers, Ministers, and many other officials and invited guests.

Presented here is Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's letter of Blessing in honor of this event and of Shabbat Chayei Sarah in Hebron:

Residents of Hebron and Dear Guests,

The roots of the existence of the Nation of Israel are inherent in the stories of the Fathers of the Nation about whom we read in the Torah during these weeks.

Abraham made his home in Hebron, one of the most ancient cities in the Land of Israel, thousands of years ago, paying full price for the Cave of Machpelah and its surroundings. This acquisition was the beginning of the eternal bond forged between our Nation and its Birthplace. Hebron also became the burial place of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs. It is in Hebron that David established his monarchy , even before Jerusalem. Generations upon generations of Jews clung tenaciously to Hebron, even when the Land of Israel was occupied by foreigners.

Our deep bond to Hebron – in permanent and temporary settlement, as the destination for Jewish pilgrims and in the longing of prayer – was never disconnected and never ended. Rabbi Yehudah Halevi, one of the great Jewish poets of Spain, wrote the following lines about Hebron in his liturgical poem, “Zion do you not ask: “I will fall to my face upon your land, and I will greatly desire your rocks and I will favor your dust, when I stand upon the graves of my Fathers I will marvel at Hebron, the choicest of your burial sites.” Even the bloody pogrom perpetrated against the Jews of Hebron in 1929, 85 years ago, did not daunt the community’s survivors. They aspired to return to their city and to rebuild its ruins. 

The renewal of the Jewish Community of Hebron after the Six Day Way forged another link in the generations-long chain. Now, the Jews were no longer forced to stop, humiliated, at the Seventh Step that leads to the Cave of Machpelah and to absent themselves from prayer at the holy site. The adherence of the children to the City of the Forefathers withstood the test of exile. The rebirth of the flourishing Jewish community in Hebron is the proof.

It is no coincidence that the government of Israel included the Cave of Machpelah in its list of National Heritage Sites. Hebron, like Jerusalem, has the power to unite Israel. The name ‘Hebron’ means ‘connection’ and expresses the strong and meaningful connection between us and our neighborly relations with the rest of the residents of the city.

My wish for you is that ‘Shabbat Hebron,’ with its thousands of participants, will deepen our affinity to the City of our Forefathers, to our Land and to our heritage.

With Blessings, 

Binyamin Netanyahu

Here is an article about the significance of Netanyahu's support for the Jewish community of Hebron http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/173131#.UmgvLvlJOSo

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