We’ve decided to dedicate the bar mitzva of our second son to life in the communities of Judea and Samaria, with guests and family from Hebron, Itamar, Eli, Gush Etzion, Har Bracha. I have led a number of unforgettable Taglit-Birthright trips. They were inspirational, fun and historically comprehensive, except for one glaring omission. The young Americans never saw the burial place of Abraham in Hebron, the ancient ruins of the Tabernacle in Shiloh, the fantastic mausoleum ruins of Herodian, or the beautiful and picturesque winery at Psagot.

All these things and more, contained in the ancient biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, are off-limits to Birthright trips and not one of its 25-odd providers crosses the Green Line.

That is, except when this policy is brazenly violated by every single Birthright trip when it visits the Old City of Jerusalem and the Western Wall – a contradiction which is conveniently overlooked.

This refusal to allow young Jewish Americans to witness the smiling children and inspired lives of these sunlit communities in the desert reinforces the fraudulent notion that they are mere settlements, lacking permanence, when many are highly developed and well-integrated towns, with every amenity, including very established educational institutions.

Our family is blessed with six daughters and three sons. We’ve had five bat mitzvot already, but this weekend will be only our second bar mitzva, that of our son Yosef Yitzchak, named after the sixth Rebbe of Lubavitch. And we’ve decided to dedicate the bar mitzva to highlighting Jewish life in the communities of Judea and Samaria, from visiting, with guests and family, Hebron, Itamar, Eli, Gush Etzion, Har Bracha and more. All these communities are beginning to feel the pressure of yet another “peace” deal, which puts them squarely in the cross-hairs as the principal obstacles to said peace.

US Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Israel on a near-weekly basis to foster an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The principal focus of this deal is Israel’s retreat from the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria in the West Bank. Call it Gush Katif redux.

But just as the withdrawal of Gaza has led to war and eight years of rocket and terror attacks against civilians, Israel’s withdrawal from Judea and Samaria would have much more serious consequences.

Every obituary of Ariel Sharon, whose passing we mourn this week, must of necessity include two themes.

First, that he fought like a lion throughout his life to advance Israel’s security and second, that the final act of his life involved a massive retreat.

I vividly remember the communities of Gush Katif that he dismantled, having taken my children there twice just prior to their 2005 destruction.

Our children were among the last to plant trees in Gush Katif on the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat, and we did so amid great rejoicing – even though we knew they might be uprooted a few months hence.

The communities of Gush Katif were miraculous, growing green peppers out of the sand dunes of Gaza and sporting a well-stocked zoo to distract the children from the daily horrors that Jewish life in Gaza entailed.

Every tour given to us by a resident involved tragedy. There was hardly a family that had not had a member or friend murdered by Palestinian terrorists, who treated the Jewish residents of Gaza as target practice. To be sure, the IDF responded, and sometimes ferociously. But for all that, the people of Gush Katif, with their beautiful synagogues and scholarly yeshivot, accepted that they were sitting ducks, bringing a civilizing element, agriculture and budding industry to one of the most destitute areas in the world.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has started digging for evidence of the Kingdom of David in Hebron, but leftists have charged it is just an excuse for another outpost.

The archaeological site is located in the Jewish neighborhood at Tel Rumeida, although the Haaretz English version headlined it was “Palestinian Hebron,” which is par for the course for the newspaper that is relied on by most foreign journalists for information to belittle Israel as a Jewish country.

Peace Now’s director Yariv Oppenheimer chimed in, “This is settlement expansion under the guise of archaeology. He told Haaretz , “Under US Secretary of State John Kerry’s nose, Defense Minister [Moshe Ya’alon] is enabling the settlers to expand and change the status quo in the most sensitive part of the West Bank.”

The Jewish Press decided not to embarrass Oppenheimer by interviewing him about what would be the significance if archeologists find the remains of the palace of King David during his reign 3,000 years ago.

Tel Rumeida is on one of the higher hills in Hebron, a site where it is logical that a king would build his palace.

The two lots of ground where the dig is taking place are owned by Jews. It is next to a site that already has been dug and has revealed ancient artifacts, including walls from the Biblical period.

Hebron Jewish community spokesman David Wilder told The Jewish Press Thursday that the Jewish community in the city has been trying for years to convince government authorities to provide the money and archaeologists to dig there. He said one wall has been identified as dating back to the time of the forefather Avraham.

Wilder dismissed as nonsense the claim that the site will be for a new outpost but added that plans for building for Jews elsewhere in Hebron are on the table, awaiting the approval of Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Don’t hold your breath, at least not until U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry goes back to the U.S. State Dept. to find another area in the world to make worse.

The importance of Hebron for finding the roots of monotheism and Jewish history was expressed years ago by an archaeologist, who also was a key member of Peace Now. Wilder said the archaeologist, whom he did not want to name, told him, “Hebron is the most archeological site in Israel, after Jerusalem – and it all belongs to Arafat.”

Of course, Yasser Arafat is long gone, but the uncovered history of Hebron remains underground.

Wilder admitted that no one ever knows what will be found until after digging is completed, but given the location of Tel Rumeida, it is hoped that remnants of King David’s palace will be found.

If that happens, the whole Muslim lie that the kingdoms never existed crumbles, which might be one reason why Peace Now and Haaretz are so aghast at the new dig.

Many Israeli archaeologists have turned down the opportunity to supervise digging at Tel Rumeida, despite its probable rich historical treasure.

Finally, with  financial and political help from Likud Minister of Sport and Culture Limor Livnat and from the Antiquities Authority,  Ariel University and IAA archaeologists will take on the task.

The Palestinian Authority’s interest in the dig can been assumed from its destruction of history on the Temple Mount, where Israeli authorities four years have closed their eyes to Muslim authorities hauling away tons of debris that might include evidence of the First and Second Holy Temples.

This report was compiled with information from Tazpit News Agency and Tzipi Shlisel.

Jews driving through Hebron on Sunday morning were surprised to be hit by a barrage of rocks. Many private cars as well as a bus were hit at the Erez junction, near the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

One of the vehicles had its windshield shattered. No one was injured, thank God.

The drivers were surprised to realize the rocks were being thrown at them from behind a TIPH vehicle, which was being used for cover.

TIPH monitors in Hebron.

Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) is an international civilian observer mission stationed in the city of Hebron. It was first established in Hebron in 1994, and then shut down a few months later. After multiple attempts, the temporary presence was more permanently reestablished  in 1997 and continues operating until today, with a temporary break in 2006 during the Palestinian riots and attack on TIPH headquarters.

The stated mandate of the mission is “to promote by their presence a feeling of security to the Palestinians of Hebron and to help to promote stability in the city.”

It appears that TIPH is doing their job very well, as these Palestinian Authority citizens felt very secure in using a TIPH vehicle as cover for attacking Jews.

Following the attack, a number of the Jewish citizens began to chase after the stone throwers, but the latter managed to escape into Palestinian Authority controlled Hebron (H1) which makes up more than 80% of this ancient Jewish city, and where Jews are forbidden to enter under Palestinian Authority Apartheid laws.

According to its mission statement, TIPH monitors the situation in Hebron and reports on breaches of the agreements on Hebron between the Israeli and the Palestinian side, as well as international humanitarian law and international recognized human rights standards.

Please inquire at +970-2-222-4445 for general information, and to report this incident (24/7) try +970-1-800-100 600. Their email is info@tiph.org.

Israel Border Police arrested on Tuesday another Palestinian Authority Arab planning to stab Jews at the Patriarchs’ Cave in Hevron, where attempted knife attacks have become routine.

The 21-year-old terrorist from the Hevron area admitted to police, who discovered he was hiding a sharpened tool behind his back, he was planning to stab a soldier in revenge for previously having been arrested in Beit Shemesh.

The official Palestinian Authority WAFA website continued on Tuesday to incite Arabs against a Jewish presence in and near the Patriarchs’ Cave. It reported that Jews tried to turn a nearby building “into a Jewish temple.” Their proof was that “Jewish settlers brought chairs and other furniture,…which indicates they want to turn it into a prayer area for Jews.”

Islamic and “Palestinian nationalist factions” in Hevron declared a day of mourning on Wednesday for the three Salafist jihad terrorists who Israel said were planning to attack Palestinian Authority official as well as Israelis, according to the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency.

The IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) forces killed the three terrorists in Yatta, immediately south of Hevron, on Tuesday after meeting resistance during an attempt to arrest them.

The Islamists, apparently rejecting the Israeli statement, called on Arabs to “beware of Israeli media which disseminates poisonous reports in an attempt to harm Palestinian unity.”

Archaeologists have unearthed what may be the oldest — and largest — ancient wine cellar in the Near East, containing forty jars, each of which would have held fifty liters of strong, sweet wine, archaeologists from George Washington, Brandeis and Haifa universities announced late Friday,

The amount of wine estimated to have been stored in the cellar would fill approximately 3,000 modern bottles, and there probably are other wine cellars waiting to be unearthed.

The cellar was discovered in Tel Kabri, located near the northwestern coastal city of Nahariya and the site of a ruined palace of a sprawling Canaanite city in northern Israel and dating back to about 1,700 B.C.

The archaeological site is located near many of Israel’s modern-day wineries, such as Carmel Mizrachi in Zichron Yaakov, near Haifa.

“This is a hugely significant discovery — it’s a wine cellar that, to our knowledge, is largely unmatched in age and size,” said Eric Cline, chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of at The George Washington University.

He teamed up with excavation co-director Assaf Yasur-Landau, chair of the Department of Maritime Civilizations at the University of Haifa, co-directed the excavation. Andrew Koh, assistant professor of classical studies at Brandeis University, was an associate director.

Koh, an archaeological scientist, analyzed the jar fragments using organic residue analysis. He found molecular traces of tartaric and syringic acid, both key components in wine, as well as compounds suggesting ingredients popular in ancient wine-making, including honey, mint, cinnamon bark, juniper berries and resins. The recipe is similar to medicinal wines used in ancient Egypt for two thousand years.

Koh also analyzed the proportions of each diagnostic compound and discovered remarkable consistency between jars.

“This wasn’t moonshine that someone was brewing in their basement, eyeballing the measurements,” Koh noted. “This wine’s recipe was strictly followed in each and every jar.”

Yasur-Landau said, “The wine cellar was located near a hall where banquets took place, a place where the Kabri elite and possibly foreign guests consumed goat meat and wine.” The team discovered two doors leading out of the wine cellar—one to the south, and one to the west, and pending more digging in two years, it is assumed that  both doors probably lead to additional storage rooms.

A large part of the palace was destroyed approximately 3,600 years ago as a result of an earthquake or some other disaster, according to the archaeologists.

Dr. Koh told reporters that the presence of tartaric acid  means it was used for grape juice or wine, and several ingredients are the same as those found in winemaking recipes that previously have been found in ancient texts from ruins in what is now Syria,

Luscious grapes grown in Israel are recorded in the Biblical narrative of the “12 spies” who traveled from the Sinai Desert after the Exodus to the area of Hevron to report back to Moses what the People of Israel could expect when entering. The grapes and pomegranates that the spies brought back from the Hevron area supported the promise that Israel indeed is a land of “milk and honey,” but 10 of the spies also said that the local Canaanites were giants living in fortified cities. The report sent fear into the Children of Israel who rebelled against their mission, for they were punished to remain in the desert and die by the end of 40 years after leaving Egypt, except who were under the ago of 20 at the time of the Exodus and except for the two spies who tried to persuade the people that they could overcome Canaan with God’s help.

Fine wines have been become a booming industry in recent years, with the grapes of the southern Hevron Hills and the Golan Heights being used for dry wines considered some of the best in the world.

A 16 year old Palestinian Authority Arab approached an IDF position in Hebron and attempted to stab one of the soldiers with a screwdriver.

The soldiers subdued the terrorist, without injuries.

Initial investigation appears to indicate that the terrorist wanted to be arrested by the IDF for personal reasons.

He was brought to the Hebron police station for further interrogation.

Arabs shot into Beit Hadassah in Hebron on Tuesday evening with an air gun. There were no injuries in the attack.

On Tuesday morning, a resident of Kedumim was shot in the face with an air gun, and lightly injured.

In Hebron, the residents are starting to prepare to host the many thousands of visitors expected for Shabbat Chayei Sarah, in a week and a half.