>Israel National News is reporting that the Israeli government will add Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of Machpelah to the list of Israel’s Heritage Sites. The following is an excerpt from the news release:

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.

I have visited both places during my trips to Israel and I really enjoyed my visit to the Cave of Machpelah. The decision of the Israeli government to add these sites to the national list is significant because these two places are part of the Jewish national history and should be preserved and be opened to people who visit the land of Israel.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Cave of Machpelah, Rachel’s Tomb

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