Achvat Ben-Hur
Achvat Ben-HurCivil Administration spokesman

Civil Administration head Brigadier General Achvat Ben-Hur conducted a tour together with Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places, at the site of the tomb of the biblical Prophet Samuel, north of Jerusalem. The director-general of the Religious Affairs ministry, Oded Pilus, also took part in the tour.

The tour was intended to promote initiatives which will help the estimated 350,000 annual visitors arrive at the site and pray there. Among other options, the idea of encouraging having the ceremony for young boys reaching their 3-year-old birthdays (Chalaka) - the age at which they begin to wear fringes (tzitzit) and sidelocks (peyot) - at the site was discussed. Many hassidic parents go to Meron for this occasion.

The head of the Civil Administration agreed to develop the site during the next few years. Recently the Antiquities authority conducted archaeological work as part of the site's development and revealed the secrets of the various historic layers uncovered during renovation work conducted by the Civil Administration two years ago.