More than a thousand people from all over Israel took part in a special visit to Joseph's Tomb in Shechem Wednesday night, where they lit the sixth candle of Chanukah.
The entry into the tomb was carried out with IDF approval and was organized by the “One Shechem” group, with the cooperation of the Samaria Regional Council.
Among the groups that attended were Hassidim from the Karlin, Gur and Viznitz dynasties, with one family holding a “halakeh” ceremony – a first shearing of the hair – for their three-year old boy. Also among the celebrants were Rabbi Zalman Melamed, Head of the Beit El Yeshiva, other rabbis, and Gershon Mesika, Head of the Samaria Regional Council.
The candles were lit by the battalion commander, the company commander and Council Head Mesika. Participants said the moment was an emotional one for civilians, soldiers and police alike.
Batia Stern of the “One Shechem” group said: “We hope that the light of the Maccabees will overtake the darkness which is threatening the People of Israel lately.”
Tomb is defiled and desecrated
Council Head Mesika thanked the Samaria Regiment for providing security and expressed his satisfaction at the number of participants in the candle-lighting. “The Nation of Israel yearns to return to Shechem,” he said. “The demand – even for a visit to the place – is great and there is never enough room for the thousands who yearn to pray there. I hope that in the spirit of these days, the days of Chanukah, the Nation of Israel will return to its Jewish and national roots and that we will renew the permanent presence at the Tomb of Joseph and in Shechem. This is the right deed for the Nation of Israel. No other nation would allow a place that is so deep-rooted and important to be humiliated, defiled and desecrated as the Tomb of Joseph is.”
"The sight of soldiers and civilians from Samaria and all over Israel together in harmony and joy reminds all of us that we are one nation,” he added. “I hope that some people in the political establishment will see the sights at the Tomb of Joseph and be reminded of this,” he said, in a hinted reference to the confrontations between police and local residents over the recently announced Jews-only building freeze in Judea and Samaria.
Photos: Eli Rosenfeld, Samaria Regional Council