Tel-Chai Nation

The Israeli government, at a session at the Tel Chai fortress (yes, where this blog gets its name from) has added the Machpela Cave and Rachel's Tomb to its list of heritage sites:

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has added the sites where the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of Israel are buried -- the Cave of Machpelah in Hevron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem -- to the list of heritage sites in which the government intends to invest. The decision appears to be the result of last-minute pressure exerted on Netanyahu from nationalists who could not understand why he left out the very important Biblical Jewish holy sites, while including many Christian sites in the heritage list.

[...]

The government assembled for its weekly session Sunday morning at the Tel Chai compound, the site of a historic battle in which legendary one-armed Jewish hero Yosef Trumpeldor was killed in 1920.

Netanyahu opened the session with an explanation of the heritage site list plan. “Our existence here does not depend only on the IDF and military and technological prowess,” he said, “but also on what we pass on to the young generation and in our connection to the Land.”

Glad to see that they've done something vital to the country's existence.

Labels: Israel