The BIG 100,000

One morning last week Likud MK Limor Livnat was

interviewed on an early morning Israel TV news show. Limor

is a young, right-wing, up and coming leader of the

Likud. On the morning she was interviewed she, along

with a group Likud MK's, was due to visit Gush Etzion-

Efrat in the morning and then later on, Kiryat Arba-

Hebron.

The interviewer, one of the many leftists comprising

the Israeli media, asked Limor why she was visiting Gush-

Etzion-Efrat. Livnat then explained the strategic value

of the entire area, especially regarding Jerusalem.

These communities form a belt around Jerusalem,

protecting the capital from foreign aggression.

The interviewer then queried: "OK, I understand the

importance of Gush Etzion to Jerusalem, but what about

Hebron? Why are you going to Hebron? How is Hebron

connected to Jerusalem?

Limor Livnat looked at the woman interviewing her

and responded, "A Jew wouldn't ask a question like that."

How is Jerusalem connected to Hebron? Ask any of

the 100,000, yes ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND people who visited

Hebron since the beginning of the festival of Succot, a

week ago. This morning Ma'arat HaMachpela was so crowded

that there wasn't enough room for people to pray inside.

Some worshipers were forced to either pray outside or

wait for the crowd to thin out.

On Yom Kippur there was a Bit Milan at the Ma'ara,

on Thursday there were two such circumcisions, and this

morning there was another. On Thursday there was, in

addition to the Brit, a Bar-Mitzvah. Yesterday there was

also a Bar Mitzvah at the Ma'ara.

As you can see, activity in Hebron has far from

subsided. To the contrary, more and more people are

arriving, touring, and celebrating. If there was any

thought that with the signing of the Oslo Accords, and

their Knesset approval, we were going to throw up our

hands and give up, well, whoever thought that, was just

plain wrong. And it's not just the Jewish Community of

Hebron - the famous `500' that Rabin keeps calling `400'

residents. Rather it's all of Am Yisrael. One hundred

thousand people is a lot of people - and that is about

one fifth of the number of visitors who have made their

way to Hebron this last year, since the Ma'ara was

reopened last winter.

Over and over, again and again, Jews from Israel and

from the Diaspora are saying: Hebron is not an Arab city

- Hebron is a JEWISH CITY! Ma'arat HaMachpela is not a

mosque - Ma'arat HaMachpela is THE CAVES OF THE

PATRIARCHS, THE FIRST JEWISH POSSESSION IN THE LAND OF

ISRAEL! And this is the answer to the question asked

constantly: "What are you going to do now? How will you

continue to live in Hebron? Tens and hundreds of

thousands of Jews, pouring in to the City of Abraham - in

spite of everything, and maybe because of everything,

proving that the attachment of the Jewish People to the

Land of Israel, to Eretz Yisrael, is more resolute than

any piece of paper, is more tenacious than any signature.

The connection between Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael is as

eternal as time itself, as proven this week.

The 100,000 in Hebron this week know that if their

is no Hebron, there is no Jerusalem. If we haven't any

rights to Ma'arat HaMachpela, we will not be able to

withstand pressure concerning Temple Mount, the Western

Wall. This is as clear as daylight to anyone with open

eyes. Unfortunately, the Israeli media is, for the most-

part, blind. However, that will pass also.

Am Yisrael - Keep it up! "Netzach Yisrael Lo Yishaker" -

"The Eternal One of Yisrael will not lie or change his

mind, for he is not a man that he should change his mind"

1 Samuel:15:29

Hebron and Jerusalem - Forever!

Am Yisrael Chai!