Pilgrims visit Joseph's Tomb, under armed guard

Pilgrims at night at Joseph's Tomb

SHECHEM, Israel – Hundreds of Jewish pilgrims last week made their way – under heavily armed guard – into the ancient city of Shechem, known to the Arabs as Nablus, to pray at the gravesite of the biblical figure Joseph.

The visit, which took place this past Wednesday, was timed to coincide with the fifth night of the holiday of Sukkoth, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. During the weeklong holiday, Israelites are biblically enjoined to dwell in temporary huts in commemoration of their exodus from Egypt and 40 subsequent years living in the wilderness. According to Jewish tradition, seven biblical figures, known as the Ushpizin, come to visit those observing the holiday, with Joseph arriving on the fifth night – the night of the pilgrims' visit.

Groups of pilgrims come monthly, escorted by Israeli security forces in heavily armored, bulletproof buses. According to the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority is required to grant Jews free access to the site.

In 2000, however, after years of repeated attacks on worshipers, and attempts by Fatah terrorists to take over the tomb, then–Prime Minister Ehud Barak ordered a withdrawal and surrendered the holy site to the PA.

After the withdrawal, Arabs burned Joseph's Tomb, destroying the adjacent Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva complex and smashing the dome above the gravesite.

Currently, visits must be coordinated with the army, which secures the area by imposing a curfew and escorts buses of pilgrims to the shattered structure. Shechem is the main stronghold of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the declared military wing of the Palestinian Authority. The Brigades took responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and is behind a large volume of deadly shootings and rocket attacks.

Only three buses are allowed to the tomb area at a time. Due to the volume of worshipers, the army escorts people into the tomb in shifts.

Members of the Samaria municipal council set up a Sukkah booth next to the tomb, serving refreshments for those who came to pray. In the courtyard of what was once the yeshiva, several meters away from the tomb itself, a musician played traditional Jewish melodies while a mix of worshipers, from black-coated Hasidim to casually dressed teenagers, danced together in a circle, singing holiday songs.

David Ha'ivri, spokesperson for the Samaria Liaison Office, commented to WND about the pilgrimage:

"On the one hand, we're very glad that we have the opportunity to visit Joseph's tomb about once a month. We are very grateful to the IDF command for facilitating this visit, and, as we can see, thousands of people from around the country are eager to take part in the prayers at Joseph's Tomb," he said.

"On the other hand, the situation is still very disgraceful," he continued. "Joseph's Tomb is standing in its ruins. It has been terribly desecrated by the Arabs in Shechem. We need to cause a situation where we can renovate and show our honor to Joseph, to God and to the Jewish people. We must reclaim Joseph's Tomb for the Jewish people in order to re-establish the yeshiva, and open up Joseph's Tomb to Jewish visitors at any time during the day, throughout the week."

In November 2007, Gershon Mesika was elected mayor of the Samaria regional council and immediately petitioned the local military command to allow him and his staff to visit Joseph's Tomb in order to hold a special thanksgiving prayer session. Afterwards, Mesika negotiated with the army to allow for monthly pilgrimages to the tomb. Every month, thousands of people rush to register for one of several hundred highly prized seats on specially chartered buses.

This was a welcome change for the Jewish community, after seven years without access to the holy site.

Mesika commented that while almost a thousand people came to Joseph's Tomb over the holiday, thousands more would certainly come were the IDF to permit it. The mayor decried that fact that Jews are forced to visit one of their holiest sites like "thieves in the night."

Currently, the IDF only allows pilgrims access to the site after dark when the area is easier to secure. The route leading to the tomb complex is lined with PA flags and posters of terrorists belonging to the Arab militias that operate in the area.

Mesika quoted an ancient tradition that states that Joseph's Tomb "is one of the three places where the non-Jews cannot deceive the Jewish people by saying that they stole it from them," due to it being recorded in Scripture that the area was purchased by the Jewish people.

The PA has claimed that Joseph's Tomb is in fact not a Jewish shrine, but rather the burial place of a Muslim Sheikh. The PA, however, has a history of denying the historical connections between Israelis and holy sites.

Former Knesset member Rabbi Yaakov Yosef attended the festivities at the tomb. As he led prayers, people crowded around him jostling to snap pictures. He commented on the significance of visiting Joseph's Tomb on the night in which Joseph is said to visit the Sukkoth of Jews all over the world.

"We remind ourselves of Joseph, not just in theory when we invite him into our Sukkoth, but we visit him in his place so that [the merit] of Joseph the righteous will guard over all of Israel," he said.

When asked if he believed that Jews would soon be able to visit the tomb during the day, Yosef responded, "We hope that today the messiah will arrive and redeem us, and we will arrive here during the day as we once did, without fear."