Col. Ran Kahane, The IDF commander whose base was attacked in a recent instance of "price tag" vigilante vandalism, lit Hanukkah candles Sunday together with heads of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, at the Tomb of Yehoshua Bin Nun (Joshua, who led the Children of Israel into the Promised Land, conquered it with them and divided it betwen the tribes).
This is the second year in which the tradition of Hanukkah menorah lighting by the local leaders alongside IDF officers has been taking place. In view of the recent extreme tension between local Jewish residents and the army, the event took on an air of reconciliation.
Samaria Regional Authority head Gershon Mesika lit the menorah with Col. Kahane at his side and said that "The army and settlement enterprise are one and the same, they are not to be separated. The IDF is flesh of our flesh."
Col. Kahane said: "We tell the soldiers that we are part of the chain of generations. There is no more appropriate place than here, the Tomb of Yehoshua Bin Nun, to mark the holiday of Hanukkah and the bravery of the Maccabees.