Prof. Friedman (left) with Rabbi Melamed.
Prof. Friedman (left) with Rabbi Melamed.Samaria Residents' Council

 

The Samaria Local Authority hosted former justice minister Prof. Daniel Friedman on a tour Monday, as part of an ongoing outreach program that is designed to make leftist elites less hostile to the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
 
Friedman, one of Israel's must respected jurists, who was one of the founders of the now-defunct Shinui party, is known as a fierce critic of the "judicial activism" promoted by former supreme court president Judge (ret.) Aharon Barak and Barak's successor, Judge Dorit Beinisch. He is also considered left-wing in his general political orientation.
 
Friedman was taken on what the hosts call a "depth tour" of Samaria, from morning to evening. His day started at the Barkan industrial area, where he received a thorough briefing from Samaria local authority head Gershon Mesika. He continued to Barkan, Nofim, Ariel, the Tura boutique winery at Rechelim, Itamar and the Givot Olam farm, where he enjoyed a locally produced organic meal. 
 
The next stations were Elon Moreh and the Har Kabir Reserve, where he met grassroots Samaria Residents' Council head Benny Katzover. 
 
As the day drew to a close, Friedman was taken to Har Bracha, where he met the community's rabbi and Head of Yeshiva Rabbi Eliezer Melamed. The two discussed Jewish Law and the approaches to Torah teaching in our generation, and visited the Yeshiva study hall and Torah library.
 
The Samaria Local Authority's Strategic Unit, assisted by the Samaria Residents' Council, has conducted over 260 "depth tours" of Samaria for politicians, journalists, media personalities, academics and other people with influence over the public agenda.