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After the Israelites re-entered the Land of Israel
under the leadership of Joshua, they lived
according to tribe. The tribes of Israel lived
throughout the land of Israel, and they lived
on both sides of the Jordan River. On the eastern
bank of the Jordan River lived the tribes of
Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasheh.
All of the tribes of Israel would gather in
Shiloh located in Samaria. Shiloh was the city
of priests where the mishkan (tabernacle) was
kept before it was brought to Jerusalem. Shiloh
was the spiritual center of Israel for centuries.
“The entire assembly of the Children of
Israel gathered at Shiloh and erected the Tent
of Meeting there . . .” (Joshua 18:1).
It was in Shiloh that Hannah prayed for a
son and was answered, later giving birth to the
prophet Samuel.
And then there is Hebron in Judea. It would
be difficult to find another place with more
Jewish history than the city of Hebron. Hebron
was the very first place acquired by the
first Jew, the Patriarch Abraham. He purchased
Ma’arat HaMachpela, the Cave of the
Patriarchs, in order to bury his wife Sarah.
“And Abraham weighed out to Ephron…400
silver shekels…And afterwards Abraham buried
Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of
Machpelah facing Mamre, which is in Hebron
. . . ” (Genesis 23:16-19).
The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron is the
burial place for all of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs
except for Rachel.
Hebron was the first capital of the kingdom
of David, where David ruled for seven and a
half years before then establishing Jerusalem as
the capital of Israel. Hebron was an important
city for King Hezekiah, when the Assyrians
were the world’s aggressors. Hebron was also
a critical military area, both at the time of the
Maccabees and during the time of Bar Kochba.
We read of Joshua in Jericho, Amos in Tekoa,
and Jeremiah in Anatot. These regions of
Shomron (Samaria) and Yehuda (Judea) constitute
the Jewish spiritual heartland, which is
steeped in Jewish history dating back to Biblical
times.
These are the deep roots and history that
ZOA New England learned and celebrated at
the November 2018 inaugural meeting of the
ZOA New England Israel Ulpan.
Firm in the knowledge that a person who
knows history will never need to memorize
talking points, an enthusiastic group of participants
immersed themselves in studying the
4000-year history of the Jewish people in the
land of Israel. Recognizing that the history,
faith, religion, culture and identity of the Jewish
people have always been tied to this land
which bears its name, from its ancient name of
Judea to its modern name of Israel, the ZOA
New England Israel Ulpan was a celebration of
the people of Israel in the land of Israel.
ZOA New England Co-Sponsors a
Community Event
Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander
of British forces in Afghanistan, testified at the
United Nations: “The Israeli Defense Forces
did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a
combat zone than any other army in the history
of warfare.”
These words were echoed by Israeli Christian
Arab Yoseph Haddad when he was the featured
speaker at a community event, co-sponsored by
ZOA New England, during which he openly
praised the IDF. When speaking about his commanders
and the IDF in general, he referred to it
as “the most moral army in the world.”
Mr. Haddad ended his presentation speaking
movingly of the heroics of his former
commander Roi Klein, who was a deputy
commander in the Golani brigade. Mr. Haddad
described the profound impact Roi Klein
had on his life when Klein made the supreme
self-sacrifice of jumping on a grenade during
the war in Lebanon in order to save his men.
Inaugural Donor Society Event/
Parlor Meeting
On Sunday, January 27, 2019, ZOA New England
welcomed Daniel Pollak, the director of
One of our
new Herzl
Society donors
commented,
“ZOA is one
of the few
pro-Israel
organizations
out there with
vision, clarity,
tenacity, and
courage.”
Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron
New England