For the first time since June, hundreds of Jewish worshipers visited the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem. After receiving IDF clearance, the large group visited the tomb over night through this morning (Thursday) - the day of Sukkot mystically associated in some traditions with patriarch Joseph. Among the visitors was former Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, who led the early morning prayers, other leading rabbinical figures, students from the displaced Od Yosef Chai yeshiva of Shechem, visiting donors from overseas and hundreds of Breslover Hassidim. There have been very few such organized visits to the patriarch’s tomb over the past two years and last night’s visit was made under heavy military and police protection.
Yehuda Liebman, of Od Yosef Chai yeshiva, told Arutz-7 that Rabbi Eliyahu was visibly pained by the destruction and desolation wrought by the Arabs at the holy gravesite. Despite the physical state of the Tomb, Liebman noted, the visitors danced at the compound all through the night, to the accompaniment of a live band.
This morning, after the Jewish worshipers had already left the site, local Arabs broke in and threw burning tires into the Joseph’s Tomb complex. There were no reports of injuries; Palestinian Authority firefighters were sent to fight the fire. Liebman commented to Arutz-7 that, in today’s reality, the desecration of a Jewish grave in the Ukraine causes a greater media uproar than the desecration of Joseph’s grave, one of the sites holy to the people of Israel. Even if there is nothing left to burn, thanks to continuing periodic Arab vandalism, Liebman said, the flaming tires today were intended simply as a symbolic burning of the symbols of Judaism.
Liebman continued, "In the State of Israel, with its strong army, the worshipers could have entered freely, in the daylight, and not like thieves in the night with massive security forces for protection. There is a need to create a balance of terror that will deter the Arab rioters from damaging the holy site."
Rabbis and spokesmen of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva called on the IDF to allow the yeshiva to return to its original location in the Tomb compound. Od Yosef Chai students are currently making use of temporary facilities outside Shechem. Yeshiva sources said that since the IDF is now located throughout Judea and Samaria, it should take the initiative and secure the roads to the Tomb site.
IDF sources expressed hope that organized visits such as that of last night will encourage Breslover Hassidim - many of whom have been arrested over the past few years for violating IDF travel bans - to cease their periodic illegal and dangerous individual forays into Shechem.
Joseph, son of Patriarch Jacob and Matriarch Rachel, was buried outside the Biblical city of Shechem, and his gravesite remained outside the city for about 3,500 years. However, creeping Arab construction in the past three decades gradually led to the creation of an Arab neighborhood around the site. Border Guard soldier Madhat Yusef was killed in a battle at the compound in October 2000. At the time, the IDF retreated from the site, after which Arab mobs first desecrated the compound and then rededicated it as a mosque.
Yehuda Liebman, of Od Yosef Chai yeshiva, told Arutz-7 that Rabbi Eliyahu was visibly pained by the destruction and desolation wrought by the Arabs at the holy gravesite. Despite the physical state of the Tomb, Liebman noted, the visitors danced at the compound all through the night, to the accompaniment of a live band.
This morning, after the Jewish worshipers had already left the site, local Arabs broke in and threw burning tires into the Joseph’s Tomb complex. There were no reports of injuries; Palestinian Authority firefighters were sent to fight the fire. Liebman commented to Arutz-7 that, in today’s reality, the desecration of a Jewish grave in the Ukraine causes a greater media uproar than the desecration of Joseph’s grave, one of the sites holy to the people of Israel. Even if there is nothing left to burn, thanks to continuing periodic Arab vandalism, Liebman said, the flaming tires today were intended simply as a symbolic burning of the symbols of Judaism.
Liebman continued, "In the State of Israel, with its strong army, the worshipers could have entered freely, in the daylight, and not like thieves in the night with massive security forces for protection. There is a need to create a balance of terror that will deter the Arab rioters from damaging the holy site."
Rabbis and spokesmen of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva called on the IDF to allow the yeshiva to return to its original location in the Tomb compound. Od Yosef Chai students are currently making use of temporary facilities outside Shechem. Yeshiva sources said that since the IDF is now located throughout Judea and Samaria, it should take the initiative and secure the roads to the Tomb site.
IDF sources expressed hope that organized visits such as that of last night will encourage Breslover Hassidim - many of whom have been arrested over the past few years for violating IDF travel bans - to cease their periodic illegal and dangerous individual forays into Shechem.
Joseph, son of Patriarch Jacob and Matriarch Rachel, was buried outside the Biblical city of Shechem, and his gravesite remained outside the city for about 3,500 years. However, creeping Arab construction in the past three decades gradually led to the creation of an Arab neighborhood around the site. Border Guard soldier Madhat Yusef was killed in a battle at the compound in October 2000. At the time, the IDF retreated from the site, after which Arab mobs first desecrated the compound and then rededicated it as a mosque.