Prime Minister Ariel Sharon proposes that every student in the State of Israel be obligated to visit Hevron\'s Jewish Quarter as well as the Cave of the Patriarchs. In an interview with Yediot Acharonot newspaper, Sharon says that the Jewish people\'s roots are in Hevron, adding that the Jews who have come to settle there \"have taken upon themselves a job for which we must all thank them….If these Jews were not there, then other Jews would not be able to visit the Cave of the Patriarchs.\" In a lengthy interview in Ha\'aretz - published in the paper\'s internet edition today - Sharon added: \"The Tomb of the Patriarchs is located in Hevron. No people has a monument like the Tomb of the Patriarchs, where the patriarchs and matriarchs of the nation are buried: Abraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. No people in the world has a historical asset like that. When I visit Washington, I look at the people who are standing at the foot of the Washington and Lincoln monuments, and they were truly great individuals. But here, in Hevron, we are talking about 4,000 years. 4,000 years. After all, what is Tel Rumeida? It is ancient Hevron. That is where King David was crowned…\"





In the Yediot article, Sharon harshly criticizes Housing Minister Natan Sharansky for publicizing his plans for expanding Yesha communities, observing that the government needs \"less talk and more action.\"