Former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau recalled on the anniversary of the matriarch Rachel's death his conversation with Yitzchak Rabin who served as prime minister when the decision was reached to keep Rachel's Tomb under continued Israeli control secured by the IDF even after the adjacent city of Bethlehem was given over to Palestinian control.
Rabin had originally opposed keeping Rachel's Tomb in Israeli hands but after a Shabbat of carefully considering the matter, he sent a note to Rav Lau which read: "We do not separate from our mother."