Tu B'Shvat seder in Sa-Nur
Tu B'Shvat seder in Sa-NurIsrael news photo: Homesh First

Fifty activists from the Homesh First group, both religious and secular, gathered on Tuesday night in the ruins of the community of Sa-Nur, where they held a Tu B'Shvat Seder together with students from the Homesh yeshiva.

Both Homesh and Sa-Nur, located in the northern Shomron (Samaria), were both destroyed in 2005 during the Disengagement plan. Ever since, there have been attempts by residents to make Homesh their primary home despite frequent Border Police raids in the area.

The Homesh First activist group aims to rebuild all the cities and towns demolished in 2005 – beginning with Homesh.

The Tu B'Shvat Seder was attended by Rabbi Itamar Orbach, rabbi of the community of Hashmonaim near Modiin. Participants sat around a table laden with fruits of the land of Israel and reported of an uplifting atmosphere which included singing and dancing.

Explaining why they chose to hold the Seder in Sa-Nur, members of the Homesh First group said, “Tu B’Shvat is the best time of the year to strengthen the ties and the connection to Israel as a whole and in particular to Sa-Nur, Homesh and the entire area around the northern Shomron. On Tu B’Shvat we celebrate the movement from the winter hibernation to the blossoming of flowers.”