Fourteen Breslover hassidim (followers), including nine minors, were arrested last night - and released today - after they entered the Joseph's Tomb compound in Shechem in violation of military orders. Another Breslover group entered the site this past Monday night, and found that Arabs had burned several tires there. The army has allowed Jews to enter the holy site only once in the past two years - 78 people this past Yom Kippur Eve.
Col. Yossi Adiri, who served until recently as Shechem Region Commander, says that there is no military or security reason why Joseph's Tomb should not be constantly open to Jews. "It is closed only for political reasons," he told the Shomron Regional Council journal MeRosh HaHar [From the Top of the Mountain]. Adiri says he has much criticism of how the ill-fated battle for Joseph's Tomb was waged two years ago, and "one day I will write a book on it." Regarding his attitude towards Jewish residents of Yesha, he says, "I was always accused of liking them - and I admit that it's true… If the Yesha population would break down and abandon the area, it would impact very badly on the standing power of the IDF and the entire nation."
Col. Yossi Adiri, who served until recently as Shechem Region Commander, says that there is no military or security reason why Joseph's Tomb should not be constantly open to Jews. "It is closed only for political reasons," he told the Shomron Regional Council journal MeRosh HaHar [From the Top of the Mountain]. Adiri says he has much criticism of how the ill-fated battle for Joseph's Tomb was waged two years ago, and "one day I will write a book on it." Regarding his attitude towards Jewish residents of Yesha, he says, "I was always accused of liking them - and I admit that it's true… If the Yesha population would break down and abandon the area, it would impact very badly on the standing power of the IDF and the entire nation."