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Last week saw an upsurge in Palestinian riots and attacks against Israeli vehicles in Gaza and the West Bank. What crime did Israel commit to invite the wave of violence? Israel’s government simply announced that it intended to honor the country’s heritage by including the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem in a list of Israeli national “heritage” sites. The violence-fueled Palestinian reaction may seem entirely disproportionate to Israel’s offense. But a look at the historical background shows that it is not without grim precedent. For several decades, Palestinians have been attacking Jewish worshipers at...

When the Israeli cabinet announced the other day that the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, would be included in a list of Israeli “heritage” sites, it touched off a wave of Palestinian violence and threats—along with diplomatic protests that were all too concordant with the Palestinian bullying.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has launched the “heritage” program as a way of strengthening Israelis’ connection with their Jewish and Zionist roots, initially left the two West Bank sites (though other West Bank sites were included) off the list, apparently fearing various kinds of fallout. Netanyahu...

Speaking to Saudi paper, Turkish PM criticizes Israel's nat'l heritage list. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday continued his verbal assault on Israel, according to Saudi paper Al Wattan, which quoted him as saying that that al Aksa Mosque, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb “were not and never will be Jewish sites, but Islamic sites.” Erdogan was referring to Israel’s recent inclusion of the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb on its national heritage list, but it was unclear why he mentioned the Aksa Mosque, since that site was not included. Speaking to Palestinian...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday slammed world culture organization UNESCO's decision to characterize the site of Rachel's Tomb as a Muslim mosque. "The attempt to separate the nation of Israel from its cultural heritage is absurd," said the prime minister. A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office read, "It is unfortunate that an organization that was established with the goal of promoting the cultural preservation of historical sites around the world, is attempting due to political reasons to uproot the connection between the nation of Israel and its cultural heritage."

We've succeeded in saving Rahel's Tomb," says Kever Rahel Fund founder and director Miriam Adani. Adani was responding to the decision by the High Court of Justice last week to dismiss petitions by 18 local Palestinians, together with the Bethlehem and Beit Jala municipalities, against construction of a bypass road leading to the compound. The new route will annex Rahel's Tomb to Jerusalem's municipal boundaries and place it within a segment of the planned "envelope" barrier being constructed along the city's southern perimeter. Adani, who established the Kever Rahel fund in 1999, reveals that for her and her supporters, the...

On October 21, UNESCO (the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) declared that Rachel’s Tomb near Jerusalem is the Bilal ibn Rabah mosque – endorsing a Palestinian claim that first surfaced only in 1996 and which ignores centuries of Muslim tradition. In a series of decisions condemning Israel, the UNESCO board called upon the government to rescind its decision in February to include Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Israel’s official list of national heritage sites.(snip) Yet anyone visiting the site today will find it difficult to identify the image known to generations of Jews.

* UNESCO has declared that Rachel's Tomb near Jerusalem is the Bilal ibn Rabah mosque - endorsing a Palestinian claim that first surfaced only in 1996 and which ignores centuries of Muslim tradition. * As opposed to the Temple Mount and the Cave of the Patriarchs which also serve as the location of mosques, Rachel's Tomb never served as a mosque for the Muslims. The Muslim connection to the site derives from its relation to Rachel and has no connection to Bilal ibn Rabah, Mohammed's first muezzin. * Rachel's Tomb, located some 460 meters south of Jerusalem's municipal boundary, has...

The Palestinian Authority and the Jewish Holy Sites in the West Bank: Rachel's Tomb as a Test Case * Rachel's Tomb lies on the northern outskirts of Bethlehem, about 460 meters (about 500 yards) south of the Jerusalem municipal border, and for more than 1,700 years has been identified as the tomb of the matriarch Rachel. * According to the armistice agreement signed on April 3, 1949, Jordan was to allow Israel "free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives." In practice, Jordan did not allow Jews free access...

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted recently to officially declare Rachel's Tomb to be a mosque. UNESCO director Irena Bokova had previously stated “concern” at Israel's decision to treat the tomb as a heritage site. The vote called for Rachel's Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs – the burial site of the other Biblical Patriarchs and Matriarchs – to be removed from Israel's National Heritage list. The Palestinian Authority has claimed that Rachel's Tomb is holy to Muslims as the site of a mosque called the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque. The PA demands control over...

'Rachel's Tomb was never Jewish' By JPOST.COM STAFF  07/03/2010 12:47 Speaking to Saudi paper, Turkish PM criticizes Israel's nat'l heritage list. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday continued his verbal assault on Israel, according to Saudi paper Al Wattan, which quoted him as saying that that al Aksa Mosque, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb “were not and never will be Jewish sites, but Islamic sites.” Erdogan was referring to Israel’s recent inclusion of the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb on its national heritage list, but it was unclear why he mentioned the Aksa...

(IsraelNN.com) Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas warns of a “holy war” over Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. Muslims claim it is a 1,000-year-old mosque, although Islam - only 1,300 years old itself - began publicly claiming the site only 44 years ago. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused Abbas of “hypocrisy.” The Prime Minister announced earlier this week that the ancient tomb, located immediately south of Jerusalem, and the Patriarchs’ Cave (Me'arat HaMachpelah) in Hevron, are Jewish heritage sites that will be refurbished. Genesis Chapter 23 describes the purchase of the Patriarch's Cave by Abraham in order to bury his wife Sarah,...

Maybe George Burns was wrong. In the movie "Oh God" as the Lord Burns said that the last miracle he made was the 1969 NY Mets. Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu points to a more recent miracle, the Matriarch Rachel showed up in Gaza and protected IDF Troops In the Jewish tradition we owe our return to the Holy Land to the matriarch Rachel who died in childbirth during Jacob's return: (From Jeremiah Chapter 35) Thus saith the LORD: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children,...

A group of settlers has begun buying land around Rachel's Tomb outside Bethlehem in an effort to keep the area in Jewish hands. Part of the security fence, an eight-meter-high concrete barrier with electronic sensors, is planned to run just south of the tomb, thereby including the holy site on the Israeli side of the fence. Rabbi Hanan Porat, a former National Religious Party MK and a leading figure in the settlement movement, confirmed that "Jews who want to identify actively with the return to Zion" have funded the purchase of several plots of land near the tomb. Porat noted...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 9/14/02 BREAKING: Beit Lahia, Gaza - Premature Explosion Takes Terrorists, BREAKING: Karachi 5 Al Qaeda taken, 2 put down, BREAKING: Pakistan: Ramzi Binalshibh captured, BREAKING: Palestine Islamic Bank with sniper - taken, BREAKING: Rachel's Tomb sanctified, BREAKING: Sicily arrests 15 Al Qaeda, What really happened on 9/11/2002 - who honored the victims and who said there would be more, Lebanon: Wazzani River diversion, Jakarta Islamic hate, Qiantangjiang River, X-45 ===================== Turkey =================== In Turkey, at the Incirlik air base. heroes fly EA-6B Prowlers (radar jammers) over the No-Fly Zone in northern Iraq...

The security cabinet approved on Wednesday Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to incorporate Rachel's Tomb, located outside of Bethlehem, within a security ring being built around Jerusalem. Access to the holy site was guaranteed by Israeli-Palestinian agreements but the violence of the past two years has made it difficult for worshippers to visit. Critics said the cabinet decision "annexed" the territory into Jerusalem city limits. The cabinet-approved plan calls for a new access road to the tomb to be built by the IDF and the Jerusalem Municipality. The army's roadblock and crossing point from Bethlehem into Jerusalem would be moved...

The Security Cabinet approved Prime Minister Sharon's "Jerusalem envelope plan," including his recommendation to incorporate the tomb of Rachel the Matriarch within the capital's jurisdiction. As a result, the holy site will be on the inside of the new security fence, which is scheduled to be erected in the upcoming months. In addition Sharon announced that a new road will be paved in order to allow easy access to the tomb. Sharon also ordered his ministers to start preparing for the reopening of the Atarot airport in northern Jerusalem. The airport was closed at the start of the Oslo War...