Thursday, June 8, marked the 50th anniversary of Yom Hevron, or Hebron Day, on the Gregorian calendar. In Hebron, a major jubilee event and concert took place two weeks ago to celebrate the Hebrew date of this monumental day. Hebron is home to arguably the oldest Jewish community in the world, starting with Abraham and Sarah who came to live there as described in Genesis.
For thousands of years it had its ups and downs—from a center of Kabbalah in the Middle Ages to a haven for exiles from the Spanish Inquisition. In 1929, the brutal Hebron massacre took place, in which 67 unarmed civilians were killed and the survivors evicted, ending the Jewish community there. It was not until the Six-Day War of 1967 that a permanent return took place, exactly 50 years ago this week.
The day after the massive Jerusalem Day festivities, where record numbers of people attended concerts and ceremonies in Jerusalem, Hebron celebrated its own liberation—one that came along with the return to the rest of Judea and Samaria to Israel.
Cabinet ministers and members of Knesset attended the special ceremony in front of the Tomb of Machpela complex in Hebron, paying tribute to the men and women who braved the return to the ancient city. Education Minister Naftali Bennett stated, “Hebron is the DNA of the Jewish people… our genetic code.” He spoke about the biblical history of the city, including its role as King David’s first capital city.
Minister of National Infrastructure Yuval Steinitz related visiting Hebron as a teenager, stating, “Although I went to a totally secular high school in Kfar Saba, I said to my friends, ‘Let’s go check it out.’ I was here for three days and I saw the tombs of the forefathers and mothers. How emotional I was, how it touched my heart.”
The significance of Steinitz’s story was not lost on the audience of thousands who gathered for the outdoor event. For 700 years, Jews were banned from entering the Tomb of Machpela complex that was built by King Herod the Great during Roman times. The site houses the underground caves where the biblical Matriarchs and Patriarchs are buried. The Mamelukes restricted access to non-Muslims, and Jews could ascend only as far as the seventh step of the staircase entryway. The infamous seventh-step restriction was finally removed after the Six-Day War and free access was restored.
The first Jewish person to freely enter the structure and pray there was Rabbi Shlomo Goren, chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces and later chief rabbi of Israel.
One day after the dramatic liberation of Jerusalem, where Rabbi Goren blew the shofar at the newly accessible Western Wall, he went on to Hebron thinking he was going to catch up with the IDF. Rabbi Goren and an army driver arrived alone in a jeep to discover the city streets empty. White flags hung from balconies as the population anticipated a fierce conquest and revenge for the Hebron massacre of 1929. Unable to obtain the keys to the massive doors of the Tomb of Machpela, he shot at the locks with a machine gun. The bullet holes are still visible to this day. Today, people of all faiths can access Hebron and visit the hometown of the founders of monotheism.
In commemoration of the event, special commemorative coins have been minted by the Hebron Fund, a non-profit organization that supports the Jewish community of Hebron. The medallion features an image of Rabbi Goren with an Israeli flag and the Tomb of Machpela in the background. These limited-edition coins are available to donors in gold, silver and bronze. Only 1,000 of each coin are being minted and are in high demand.
The Hebron Day event concluded with world-class performances by two well-known Israeli musicians. Rami Kleinstein, a long-time pop star and a former judge on The Voice brought his hits to the stage, while Amir Benayoun, an AKUM award-winning composer with a dozen albums, dazzled the crowd with his Sephardic melodies.
The jubilee celebrations continued two weeks later in New York City at the annual Celebrate Israel Parade this past Sunday. The Hebron Fund participated in the parade with a float sponsored by Leonard and Chanie Grunstein in memory of Morris Grunstein, a”h. Hebron Fund Executive Director Rabbi Dan Rosenstein and Jewish community of Hebron international spokesperson Yishai Fleisher were on hand waving to the crowd as energetic Hebrew music was broadcast. Decorated with a large number 50, the Hebron Fund float represented the ever-growing international excitement and support for our strong Jewish presence in the city.
This year saw an increase in visitors to Hebron, with tens of thousands attending for the annual Passover and Sukkot concerts as well as Shabbat Parshat Chayei Sara. This summer, the Hebron Fund is sponsoring a series of tours that include the Machpela complex and other historical sites. For more information on tours and projects of the Hebron Fund, or to become an honorary citizen of Hebron (and receive your 50th anniversary medallion), visit http://www.hebronfund.org.
By Ben Bresky
