Hebron Conference Details Rich History of City

Was a now empty, grassy space once King David’s pool as mentioned in
the Bible? Dr. Gershon Bar-Cochva discussed the possibility during a tour and lecture as
part of the annual Hebron Conference. 

 

A noted author and historian, Dr. Bar-Cochva, of Midreshet Hebron and the
Efrata College of Education in Jerusalem, led a tour of Hebron’s historic mikvot, pools,
wells and cisterns and discussed the forgotten, abandoned and hidden waterways that once
existing near the Tomb of Machpela, including the site which may be where King David
hanged the murderers of Saul’s sons as described in II Samuel 4:12.

 

It was all part of the 2021 conference sponsored by Midreshet
Hebron (Hebron College) which took place this Sunday.

 

For full article including photos and diagrams of Hebron’s secret waterways,
click
here.

 

Other guest speakers included:

 

Dr. Noam Arnon of Midreshet Hebron discussed the newly analyzed pottery
rescued from inside the Cave of Machpela which date back to the Iron Age. Dr. Arnon was
part of the team that descended into the cave in 1981, the first group to do so in
hundreds of years. For full article click here.

 

Tzuri Hollander, director of the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs
complex discussed the history of the Hall of Jacob and Leah where the cenotaphs of the
Biblical progenitors are located.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and Bar Ilan
University discussed “The Arab Population in the Hebron Region – Sociological and
Cultural Characteristics.”

Esther Azulai, PhD student in the Department of Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University
talked about Rabbi Judah
Bibas, the Hebron-based proto-Zionist and his influence on Rabbi Yehuda
Alkalai in the pre-Herzl era of Zionism.

 

Dr. Deborah Giladi, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Land of Israel
Studies and Archaeology at Bar Ilan University discussed news coverage of the 1929
massacre in the Yishuv press regarding the Hebron community.

 

Dr. Yoram Almachias of Bar Ilan University, Orot Israel College of Education
and Midreshet Hebron discussed the status of child victims and survivors of the 1929 massacre.

 

The conference was held according to the guidelines of the Israeli Ministry
of Health.

 

Photo credits: Gidon Ariel.

 

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