Several members of the Likud party, accompanied by Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, paid a condolence visit to the family of Yehuda Dimentman, who was murdered near Homesh in Samaria several days ago.
Yehuda’s parents told the Knesset members that the only thing that could bring them a measure of consolation for the loss of their son was the knowledge that the Homesh yeshiva would continue to exist and indeed have its status regularized.
“I came to pay a condolence visit to Yehuda’s family, and to join them in their sorrow,” said former minister Yisrael Katz. “The message they wanted to give, out of their pain, was that no harm should be done to the Homesh yeshiva – it should continue to exist. I promised them that I would do everything within my power to prevent the yeshiva from being uprooted, and to raise awareness of this far and wide. Uprooting the yeshiva following Yehuda’s murder would be awarding a prize to terrorism – because that’s what they want, to uproot us from Judea and Samaria, from the yeshivot, from the entire Land of Israel.
“We will continue to do what we have done in the past – to strengthen the communities in Judea and Samaria,” Katz added, “and will we fight to fulfill the wishes of Yehuda and maintain the yeshiva in Homesh and also strengthen Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and throughout the Land of Israel.”
Also present was Likud MK Yoav Kish. “I want to express my grave concerns,” he said. “We are fighting right now for Homesh, and I’m very worried. The person who will make the final decision on Homesh is Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and unfortunately, I cannot reassure you that he is as determined on this matter as I am. The same can be said of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and we have no one we can rely on here. We will continue to fight with the tools we have at our disposal, both in the Knesset and on the ground. What we can tell you now is that the government is just waiting for the issue to drop out of the headlines before sealing off the yeshiva as fast as it can.
“I will continue to do whatever I can to fulfill Yehuda’s wishes and protect Homesh until we succeed in legalizing the situation entirely and ensuring the continued existence of the yeshiva,” Kish added. “I came to pay my respects to the Dimentman family and I left with a clear message, that we must strengthen Homesh. This is our task now, and I, along with my fellow Likud members and all those who believe in the values of the Land of Israel and the People of Israel, accept as our sacred mission to complete this task.”
Also paying condolence visits were MK Mossi Raz (Meretz), former Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, and MK Shuli Muallem. Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana also visited, stating that he understood very well the issue of Homesh and that “from a personal perspective, I believe that it should exist and I think that we must do what we can to ensure that it continues to do so.”
On Wednesday, other Likud MKS visited, including Miri Regev, Miki Zohar, Avi Dichter, Yoav Galant, Ofir Akunis, and Yuval Steinitz. Regev said that closing the Homesh yeshiva would constitute a prize for terrorism and expressed the hope that the government would not take such a step. Dichter added that, “Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim will be reestablished. They were evacuated without coordination with the Palestinian Authority and they will be rebuilt without coordination with the Palestinian Authority.”
Speaking several days ago, Yehuda's widow expressed her fear that the Homesh yeshiva will be closed immediately following the shivah period, and appealed to the government to change its mind.