Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning put on a yarmulke to quote the Book of Genesis at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.
“I would like to read from Genesis 23:16-19,” the PM began:
“‘And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant… And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre–the same is Hebron–in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place by the children of Heth.'”
“The connection between the Jewish People and Hebron and the Tomb of the Patriarchs is one of purchase and of history which may be without parallel in the history of nations,” said Netanyahu.
“Of course this did not prevent the UNESCO World Heritage Committee last Friday from passing yet another delusional resolution which determined that the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the same Cave of Machpelah, is a Palestinian heritage site.”
“In the wake of this resolution I decided to cut an additional $1 million from Israel’s UN membership dues and transfer the funds to the establishment of ‘The Museum of the Heritage of the Jewish People in Kiryat Arba and Hebron.’ The money will also serve additional heritage initiatives related to Hebron. I trust you [Jerusalem and Heritage Minister] Ze’ev [Elkin] to submit a proper proposal on this matter,” the PM said.
“Against UNESCO’s denial, Israel will present to the world the historical truth and the Jewish People’s deep connection – of thousands of years – to Hebron just as we did with UNESCO’s other delusional decision regarding the absence of a connection to Jerusalem,” Netanyahu promised. “Therefore today I have instructed that procedures be completed for the construction of the Kedem Center for displaying the historical and archaeological findings for the City of David. This will be an impressive structure with extensive displays. The entire world will see the truth and the first visitors whom I will invite there will be UNESCO and UN delegations.”
