A segment that aired last Friday on Kan Moreshet radio has come under fire after a woman being interviewed appeared to justify the killing of 29 Arabs at the hand of Baruch Goldstein in the Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994.
The segment in the Anim Zemirot program featured Shabbat Chayei Sarah, the Shabbat on which the Torah portion of Chayei Sarah is read in synagogues across the world, which describes how Avraham Avinu (the Patriarch Abraham) purchased the Cave of the Patriarchs from a local merchant, in order to use it as a burial site. Over the past few decades, Jews have begun visiting the city of Hebron on this Shabbat, and around thirty thousand Jews spent the most recent Shabbat there.
Presenter Yedidya Tanami asked his interviewee how the custom evolved, to which she replied that, "It began during a very difficult period when the Cave was closed [to Jews] following the incident with Baruch Goldstein, may G-d avenge his blood [i.e. bring retribution upon those who killed him], after there was an attempt to perpetrate a mass slaughter against the Jews [of Hebron] and he arose and protected us and was himself killed - and following that, the Cave was closed for many long months, during which there were many terrorist attacks and people were prevented from reaching there - and it was then that people tried to think of something to do, and they decided to mark this Shabbat - and it was then that it began, spontaneously."
Following the episode, the Kan broadcaster issued a statement saying: "The Anim Zemirot program on Kan Moreshet is a religious program which on November 18 covered the subject of Shabbat Chayei Sarah in Hebron. During the interview, the subject made statements that were factually incorrect, and it was possible to conclude from her words that she justified the slaughter perpetrated by the murderer Baruch Goldstein. We expect public reporters to adhere to historical accuracy, and we are in contact with the presenter of the segment, who has expressed his regret at his lack of vigilance. Kan broadcasting apologizes to our listeners."