Back in the 1930s, one could visit the Temple Mount, but not the Tomb of Machpela.
You never know who you’re going to bump into in Hebron. This gem from the Hebron video archive is a chance encounter with one Ephraim Ben Haim. This secular kibbutznik swung by Hebron to visit his old friend Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, a religious Zionist rabbi who was one of the founding members of the new Jewish community of Hebron back in the late 1960s.
Hebron spokesman David Wilder got a chance to briefly chat with him:
Question: When did you visit Hebron for the first time?
Answer: 1937.
Question: What happened then?
Answer: In 1937 I came to Israel to finish my degree on Zionist Agriculture and its Development in the Land of Israel. I arrived in Haifa and then went to friends in Tel Aviv. Then I went to Jerusalem and visited the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) and saw the Even HaShtiya (Foundation Stone.) Back then you were allowed to get in. Then I went to Hebron.
Question: What do you remember from Hebron back then?
Answer: From Hebron I remember the Seventh Step. There was a hole and Jews were only allowed to look in from this hole.
Question: And you arrived here after 1967? [After the Six Day War, Jews were allowed to visit Hebron again.]
Answer: I made aliyah in the beginning of 1939, and up until now lived on a kibbutz.
Question: And you came back to visit Hebron after the Six Day War?
Answer: Yes, many times. I also have a very good friend here named Lazer Waldman.
According to the Palmach website, Ephraim Ben Haim was born in 1916 in the Netherlands. He was a member of the Palmach, the “shock troops” of the Haganah self-defense unit from 1941-1943.
To arrange a guided tour of Hebron contact us:
United States contact info:
United States contact info:
http://www.hebronfund.org
1760 Ocean Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11230
718-677-6886
info@hebronfund.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hebronofficial
Israeli contact info:
http://en.hebron.org.il/
02-996-5333
office@hebron.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hebron.machpela
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