President Reuven Rivlin on Monday, 13 Shevat, visited the Jewish communities of Kiryat Arba and Hebron, and inaugurated the newly refurbished Hebron Heritage Museum, in memory of the victims of the 1929 massacre. In Kiryat Arba, the President was greeted by children and teachers from the town, who were waving flags and singing. At the Cultural Center, he heard an impressive orchestral performance by local children, and was welcomed warmly by local municipality head Malachi Levinger. The President heard of the various projects in the town and watched a film presentation on the population and the integration of veteran residents and new immigrants.

The President opened his address in Kiryat Arba and said, “Last summer, following the kidnapping of the three young boys not far from here, we all felt the strong feeling that resonates with the words: “I seek my brethren”. I was in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv and at Makor Haim Yeshiva. I prayed with the religious and the secular, with women and men, young and old. Everyone wanted to be together. Also, during Operation Protective Edge, soldiers were enlisted from all walks of Israeli society to protect our home. Soldiers from Kiryat Arba and Tel Aviv fell side by side. Those who vote for the Left and those who vote for the Right, one Druse and another Bedouin. Pain has the power to build and destroy, consolidate and divide. The choice is in our hands.”

The President went on to say, in relation to approaches he had received to withdraw his participation from the upcoming Haaretz ‘Israel Democracy Conference’. “We find ourselves in the run up to elections. We are allowed to disagree, but we cannot be disrespectful. Not on the Right, nor on the Left. Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel alike, deserve respect. We have established here a Jewish and democratic state. A country committed to the principles of its Jewishness as it is committed to the principles of democracy. We are all equal and are obliged to abide by the law. Organizations on the Left asked me to boycott the Jewish community in Hebron. And on the Right, I was asked to boycott the ‘Haaretz’ democracy conference, (due to the participation of the New Israel Fund). I did not cancel my visit to Hebron as I would never cancel my participation at Haaretz’s conference on democracy,” said the President.

At the conclusion of the event at the Cultural Center, the President met with dozens of the town’s youth, and heard from them about the development of the city, and the supportive, and welcoming, acclimatization new arrivals and immigrants receive in the town. In the last few years, Kiryat Arba has welcomed and integrated into its community, many members of the Bnei Menashe from India, and many other immigrants from the former USSR. Amongst the youth he met, many of them have studied away from Kiryat Arba, but have returned to build their homes and families in the town. “You highlight for me the difference between batteries and generators,” said the President. “Batteries supply power until they run out, whereas generators continue to produce and motivate. I have met here today generators. Keep up your good work, which is as impressive as it is dedicated. You are a real inspiration to young people all over the country.”

The President concluded, “The melting pot that is the State of Israel, does not require the annulment of cultures, rather it requires the coming together of many wonderful traditions and cultures, whose binding together makes us all stronger in nature.”

Following his visit to Kiryat Arba, the President toured the Ma’aras Hamachpelah, and from there went on to the inauguration ceremony for the Jewish Heritage Museum, in memory of the victims of the 1929 massacre.

The President unveiled a plaque at the entrance to the museum and spoke of his family’s longstanding connection to Hebron. “This morning, I visited my family’s roots. There are those who fly to Krakow, or Casablanca, but for me, I have no need, not for a plane nor a passport, in order to visit my roots. I have come here today from the resting place of my late mother, Rachel Rivlin, on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, to the city of our forefathers, Hebron. Where my mother’s family lived and worked – descendants of Chabad Hassidim – of the Rivlin family.”

The President said in relation to the inauguration of the museum, “The museum, whose opening we mark today is a historical museum which tells 3,800 year old story. For me this is not cynical or political statement – it is a basic fact that is clear to me, and is also true in the wider national and public context, that the Jewish community in Hebron, tells the story of the creation of a nation, during its hay day, and also in difficult times. Even those who differ in their views regarding the renewed Jewish settlement in Hebron cannot, and should not, deny the deep cultural and historic connection of the people of Israel to the city.”

President Rivlin concluded, “Hebron, which I visited frequently even before I entered my position as President is a split city, a difficult city, a city divided and pieced together. We do not need to pretend with you, who live here. The political reality has created difficult situations in Hebron, at times almost surreal, and yet it seems that life is stronger than anything else. True, it is difficult to imagine the possibility of dialogue in Hebron. The memory of slaughter and blood; screams of the wounded and orphans, are part of a constant reminder that arise in the collective memory of the city. However, we can and should try. Such actions do not hurt or hinder our right to Hebron (a right that was bought during the days of the patriarchs, and stands strong to this day) – on the contrary.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)