The Valero house in Hebron was returned to Jewish hands after 96 years. The home was originally built by the family of Haim Aharon Valero, a well-respected Sephardic Jewish businessman from Jerusalem.
During the 1929 Hebron Massacre, it was ransacked and taken over by squatters who later built a second floor. After decades of legal battles, the home has finally been returned to the Jewish community. It is located near the Shavei Hevron yeshiva. The building is next to Hebron’s casbah which is today off limits to Jews but before the massacre, used to be the Jewish quarter.
The yeshiva students celebrated, dancing in the courtyard and waving Israeli flags. In a statement they said, “the entire place is burned and lacking basic infrastructure, but we will move forward and prepare it for habitation.” The building was used as a carpentry shop for years and is in poor condition with no furniture.
“We have returned to the area from which Jews were expelled almost 100 years ago,” the yeshiva stated. “It doesn’t matter if two years have passed since the terrible massacre on Simchat Torah or the massacre of 96 years ago. We will return to every house, every place, every piece of land in the Land of Israel, affix a mezuzah and wave the flag.”
Rabbi Hananel Etrog, head of Shavei Hevron yeshiva, stated, “we are happy and thankful to God for the privilege of being emissaries of the people of Israel and the State of Israel in carrying out historic justice, by restoring Jewish property that was seized after the massacre of 1929.” He thanked relevant government bodies for assisting in the acquisition.
Shavei Hevron yeshiva was founded in 1982 and is based at the historic Beit Romano building in Hebron. Over 450 students study at its Hebron location and hundreds others study at other branches throughout Israel.
NOTES:
- Jews return to Hebron’s Kasbah – JDN News
- Shavei Hebron Yeshiva students return to historic Hebron home – Channel 7
- Finance Minister visits Valero House, Praises “historical correction” – Emess News
- First time since 1929 massacre, Jews return – Israel HaYom News
