JERUSALEM (VINnews) — On the 8th night of Chanukah the leaders of the Shomron Regional Council and local dignitaries gathered in Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem to light the Menorah. Shomron Brigade Commander Roy Zveig and other senior officers joined the celebrants.
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A special Menorah was brought to the site and Tehillim were read for the speedy recovery of Hodayah and Yaniv Meoded, the parents of the two children killed in a road accident last Friday in Samaria. Yaniv previously studied and lived at the Elon Moreh yeshiva, a short distance from Joseph’s Tomb.
Sweig spoke before lighting the candles and said that “one of the special things about coming here is that there are many kinds of Kippahs and some people without a Kippah but everyone is just as touched to light a candle in such a special place for the Jewish nation, which is so central to our heritage.
Yossi Dagan, leader of the Shomron Regional Council, called on the government to emulate the Maccabees:
“We are marking the Maccabees stand. They are the spiritual fathers of the settlements in Samaria, as well as the IDF. They stood as few against many and we too are few against many. They knew that justice was on their side and we know that justice is on our side. We are standing and praying here at Joseph’s Tomb and raising our demand to the Israeli government to act like the Maccabees, who would have restored our sovereignty on Joseph’s Tomb. We need to restore sovereignty and return the Yeshiva of Od Yosef Chai to its place here, with the flag of Israel flying above.”
Dagan thanked the brigade commander and other soldiers for working to enable the event to take place.