URGENT: Major Problem at Rachel’s Tomb…

Received this important email from;

Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 17:24:55 +0200
From: “Mattot Arim”

Subject: Rachel’s Tomb

We have an urgent problem at Rachel’s Tomb at the moment. The “security” wall has just been completed there, and the new arrangements for prayer are NOW being determined by the Jerusalem Region Police. Kindly immediately call, before the ink dries on the relevant government papers, and pleasantly ask for the following two crucial things:

First, there must be access with private cars and by foot, both on weekdays and on Shabat and holidays. It is not enough to have armored busses going back and forth. That would not create the right atmosphere at all.

Second, the students of the Kever Rachel Yeshiva need police permission to live at the Yeshiva as all yeshiva students do. Up till now, because the “security” wall (a true monstrosity) was being built, the Yeshiva students were only allowed to be in the Kever Rachel compound during the day.

If the Police Commander’s office (02-5391100 tel, 02-5391466 fax) don’t seem to understand your reasoning, explain that Rachel’s Tomb needs to be like the Kotel and Mearat haMachpela in Hebron — and NOT like Joseph’s Tomb (Kever Yosef) in Schechem. What happened in Shechem was that the armored bus approach was used, and that permission for yeshiva students to live there was denied. Not surprisingly, things deteriorated very quickly, simply because not enough Jews were hanging around. Eventually an Arab mob burned this historical Jewish site to the ground.

Hat Tip on the 2 current Kever Rachel pictures to Batya of Shilomusings.