“If they insist on giving away Jericho to the PA yet again," says David HaLevi, "and expect to see some level of sincerity by the PA, can’t they at least restore Jewish rights for us to access our holy sites?"
HaLevi lives in Mevo’ot Yericho, on the outskirts of Jericho,
The right to a Jewish presence at Jericho’s synagogue has been enshrined since the Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue was discovered beneath an Arab house after Israel conquered Jericho in the 1967 Six Day War. This right was preserved even under the ill-fated Oslo Accords, which transferred control over the Jericho area to the Palestinian Authority in 1993. The synagogue, dating from the Byzantine period, was found to have an intricate mosaic floor depicting a menorah and a shofar, with the Hebrew inscription "Shalom al Yisrael," meaning "Peace unto Israel."
Initially, the Arab living in the house above the synagogue charged admission to Jews wishing to pray at the site. In 1986, however, Israel turned the site into a National Park. In the early '90s, the house above the synagogue became the study hall of the Shalom Al Yisrael yeshiva, a Torah study academy. Bi-weekly Sabbath celebrations were organized for the purpose of "reconnecting" with Jericho's ancient synagogues and Jewish communities. Visiting Jews would spend the Sabbath in a local Arab hotel.
In 1993, then-Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin agreed to give the Shalom Al Yisrael yeshiva special status, similar to that enjoyed by Joseph's Tomb, in Shechem, where there was also a yeshiva. Shortly after Israel handed over control of Jericho to the Palestinian Authority, the Sabbath visits were outlawed by PA demand.
Though Jewish students were barred from taking up residence at the site, they still traveled to the synagogue daily. For the next seven years, groups dedicated to Jewish Jericho spent every other week sleeping in makeshift tents, and making Shabbat without the luxuries of refrigeration, permanent toilets or air conditioning despite Jericho's desert heat.
The Oslo process eventually culminated in a terror offensive that resulted in Israel’s complete abandonment of all Jewish sites in Jericho and Shechem and their subsequent destruction by Arab vandals. The ancient Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue was one of the first casualties.
“Fortunately, the Torah scrolls were saved because they were in a safe,” said Mordechai Rabinowitz who headed the yeshiva at the Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue, "but all the sacred books were destroyed. As far as I know, the mosaic is still intact."
Groups from nearby Mevo’ot Yericho, where the Torah scroll from the Shalom Al Yisrael now rests, regularly embark on clandestine visits during the night to pray in another ancient synagogue on the outskirts of Jericho. The Na’aran synagogue, which is believed to have been built in the 5th or 6th century, was also discovered by accident. It was found after the Ottoman Turks shelled a British army unit camped nearby. It too has a mosaic floor, this one with the symbols of the Jewish months, a depiction of the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den, and pictures of vessels from the Temple.
“It is now surrounded by Bedouin,” says HaLevi. “The mosaic is intact, but certainly not upkept, and it is outrageous to see this precious ancient place of worship so abandoned and abused.”
Rabinowitz said that it is unconscionable for Israel to hand over Jericho to foreign rule after the destruction that was wrought as a result of such a move last time. “When I hear Vice Premier Shimon Peres say things like ‘What do we want with Jericho, it is a cursed place,’ it gives me the shivers,” he said. “Suddenly he quotes the Bible to bolster his argument for withdrawal. According to the Bible, Jericho was cursed to remain unbuilt specifically because of the importance of the place, which was conquered in such a miraculous manner.”
Jericho was conquered in Biblical times under the leadership of Joshua when the Jewish people marched around the city seven times blowing rams’ horns, at which point the walls surrounding the city sank into the ground.
“Rebuilding Jericho obscures that miracle and the testimony to the fact that the Land of Israel is in our hands due to Divine intervention,” said Rabinowitz.
HaLevi lives in Mevo’ot Yericho, on the outskirts of Jericho,
The right to a Jewish presence at Jericho’s synagogue has been enshrined since the Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue was discovered beneath an Arab house after Israel conquered Jericho in the 1967 Six Day War. This right was preserved even under the ill-fated Oslo Accords, which transferred control over the Jericho area to the Palestinian Authority in 1993. The synagogue, dating from the Byzantine period, was found to have an intricate mosaic floor depicting a menorah and a shofar, with the Hebrew inscription "Shalom al Yisrael," meaning "Peace unto Israel."
Initially, the Arab living in the house above the synagogue charged admission to Jews wishing to pray at the site. In 1986, however, Israel turned the site into a National Park. In the early '90s, the house above the synagogue became the study hall of the Shalom Al Yisrael yeshiva, a Torah study academy. Bi-weekly Sabbath celebrations were organized for the purpose of "reconnecting" with Jericho's ancient synagogues and Jewish communities. Visiting Jews would spend the Sabbath in a local Arab hotel.
In 1993, then-Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin agreed to give the Shalom Al Yisrael yeshiva special status, similar to that enjoyed by Joseph's Tomb, in Shechem, where there was also a yeshiva. Shortly after Israel handed over control of Jericho to the Palestinian Authority, the Sabbath visits were outlawed by PA demand.
Though Jewish students were barred from taking up residence at the site, they still traveled to the synagogue daily. For the next seven years, groups dedicated to Jewish Jericho spent every other week sleeping in makeshift tents, and making Shabbat without the luxuries of refrigeration, permanent toilets or air conditioning despite Jericho's desert heat.
The Oslo process eventually culminated in a terror offensive that resulted in Israel’s complete abandonment of all Jewish sites in Jericho and Shechem and their subsequent destruction by Arab vandals. The ancient Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue was one of the first casualties.
“Fortunately, the Torah scrolls were saved because they were in a safe,” said Mordechai Rabinowitz who headed the yeshiva at the Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue, "but all the sacred books were destroyed. As far as I know, the mosaic is still intact."
Groups from nearby Mevo’ot Yericho, where the Torah scroll from the Shalom Al Yisrael now rests, regularly embark on clandestine visits during the night to pray in another ancient synagogue on the outskirts of Jericho. The Na’aran synagogue, which is believed to have been built in the 5th or 6th century, was also discovered by accident. It was found after the Ottoman Turks shelled a British army unit camped nearby. It too has a mosaic floor, this one with the symbols of the Jewish months, a depiction of the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den, and pictures of vessels from the Temple.
“It is now surrounded by Bedouin,” says HaLevi. “The mosaic is intact, but certainly not upkept, and it is outrageous to see this precious ancient place of worship so abandoned and abused.”
Rabinowitz said that it is unconscionable for Israel to hand over Jericho to foreign rule after the destruction that was wrought as a result of such a move last time. “When I hear Vice Premier Shimon Peres say things like ‘What do we want with Jericho, it is a cursed place,’ it gives me the shivers,” he said. “Suddenly he quotes the Bible to bolster his argument for withdrawal. According to the Bible, Jericho was cursed to remain unbuilt specifically because of the importance of the place, which was conquered in such a miraculous manner.”
Jericho was conquered in Biblical times under the leadership of Joshua when the Jewish people marched around the city seven times blowing rams’ horns, at which point the walls surrounding the city sank into the ground.
“Rebuilding Jericho obscures that miracle and the testimony to the fact that the Land of Israel is in our hands due to Divine intervention,” said Rabinowitz.