Jerusalem Affairs Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz visited the Mount of Olives Tuesday as part of his tours of historical and heritage sites across the country.
The minister was accompanied by Rabbi Hillel Horowitz, Rabbi Tzuriel Krispel, the Director of the Council of Cemeteries in Israel, Jerusalem Development Authority CEO Eyal Chaimovski, and professionals from the Jerusalem Affairs Ministry. During the tour they visited the graves of Rabbi Kook, Menachem Begin, and Shai Agnon.
"As part of the working plan I developed in the ministry, we will open heritage sites everywhere in the country. Here on the Mount of Olives, where our ancestors walked, where our prophets delivered their prophecies about Jerusalem, I say that we will invest and open more and more," Rabbi Peretz said.
Addressing the demand of the Jordanian government that Israel halt all work at the Western Wall, the minister stated: "Our hold on Jerusalem is also reflected in the investment in tourism in these areas. All development in the area is the appropriate response to the Jordanians and all those who oppose our sovereignty in this city. We will install more cameras, more lighting, and make this area accessible to everyone. There is history and heritage here which every person in Israel and around the world should experience."