More than 25 years have passed since the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva was expelled from the Joseph’s Tomb compound in Shechem (Nablus).
Ahead of the elections, the heads of the yeshiva sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding that they be allowed to return to Joseph’s Tomb before the elections.
In the letter sent to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Rabbi Yossi Elitzur, head of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva; MK Tzvi Succot, chairman of the Education Committee; and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan called on him to order the return of the yeshiva to the Joseph’s Tomb compound in Shechem before the upcoming elections.
The letter noted that according to the law, the yeshiva is supposed to be present at Joseph’s Tomb on a daily basis, and that it is prepared and ready to return at any time.
"In light of the approaching election days, we turn to you urgently and with hope: Order the return of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva to Joseph’s Tomb before the elections. This move will convey to the people of Israel, to the entire world, and to our enemies in particular that the Israeli government will no longer abandon what is holy to us, and that ‘Od Yosef Chai’ (lit. 'Joseph the Righteous is still alive' - ed.) is indeed expressed in both its spiritual and practical meaning."
"This is a historic opportunity to correct an injustice that has continued for a quarter of a century, and to convey a clear message of deep connection to the holy sites of the Jewish People," they added.
The letter also mentioned the discussion held in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, in which the Defense Ministry representative himself expressed the Ministry’s intention to allow daily entry to the Tomb.
"Meanwhile, to this day, this has not been implemented in practice," it stated. "The Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva is waiting and stands ready, both from a security and logistical perspective, to return and dwell within the walls of the Tomb of the father of the tribes of Israel."