Passover in Itamar and Hevron

Over 5,000 hikers and other visitors from all over the country arrived in terrorist-stricken but flowering Itamar in the Shomron on Wednesday, the first of the Intermediate Days of Passover. 

The highlight of the day’s events was the symbolic – if not more substantial – foundation of a new Jewish presence in the area, just a hilltop or two away from Itamar,  the Jewish town where five members of the Fogel family were brutally stabbed to death last month by Palestinian terrorist “freedom fighters.”

The name of the new Jewish community is Regev, one of several Hebrew words for earth, land and the like.

The visitors took advantage of the children’s attractions, historic sites, organized bus tours and hikes, musicians and more.

Thursday’s Shomron holiday events will focus on Elon Moreh, Mt.Cabir and the Amsha and newly-dedicated Ein Kfir Springs. Other sites over the next few days at which events will be held include Nofei Yitzhar, the HeklatSadehFieldSchool, and Ancient Shomron.

Myriads in Hevron
In Hevron, as on every Sukkot and Pesach, tens of thousands of people are visiting the MachpelahCave, Jewish Community and other historic-national sites in the City of the Patriarchs. Over the years, the number of participants in the joyous musical/historic/religious event has risen, despite the difficulty in reaching the place.

A typical family from Jerusalem would take a bus from Binyanei HaUmah to the Tunnels Highway, where they would switch to a bullet-proof bus that would take them to Kiryat Arba, where they would switch again to a bus to nearby Hevron. Though the trip takes an hour on an average day, the switches and lack of sufficient buses often extended the holiday visits to 4-5 hours – and at great financial cost to each family.

MK Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism) convened a high-level meeting to solve the problem. The Yesha Council’s security officer, Col. (ret.) Shlomo Vaknin, proposed there that the bullet-proof buses used year-round as school buses in Judea and Samaria be enlisted. With the quick cooperation of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, the idea was approved, and is being implemented this year for the first time.

Hevron spokesman Noam Arnon said, “We are very grateful to both MK Maklev and Minister Katz. It is good to meet elected officials who are attentive to the public’s needs and desires, and who respect our national legacy. This will certainly make it easier for many people who until now were hesitant to visit the Patriarchs’ resting place, to do so conveniently and at a subsidized price, as is fitting for a national heritage site.”