Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank
Situated in the heart of a Palestinian district on the West Bank is Joseph's Tomb, a tiny half-derelict compound that many Jews believe is the final burial place of the son of Jacob, the biblical patriarch. Left, Jewish settlers near the tomb.
To Jewish pilgrims, this is not Nablus, one of the largest Palestinian cities, but the site of the ancient biblical city of Shechem. The tomb, they believe, sits on the parcel of ground that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver.
A Jewish settler lay atop Joseph's Tomb as others recited Psalms. The Palestinians seek Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and full control over cities like Nablus. But the religious Jews are spurred on by mystical fervor and the local Jewish settler leadership.
At Joseph's Tomb, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is boiled down to its very essence of competing territorial, national and religious claims. Left, settlers prayed as they waited to enter.
- Under the Oslo accords of the mid-1990s, Israel withdrew from the Palestinian cities but was assured free access to Jewish holy sites. Joseph's Tomb was turned into a fortified post, and a small yeshiva continued to operate there. Left, pilgrims observed the segregation of the sexes. תץ
Settlers wept over the grave of Joseph at the tomb.
Orthodox Jews threw themselves on the grave of Joseph after months on a "waiting list" to make the pilgrimage.
A man passed an Israeli soldier guarding the crowd of pilgrims at the tomb. Visits to the holy site are under the cover of darkness with heavy army protection.
The focus on what the Jewish devotees call the power of Joseph appears to reflect a trend: a move by the settler movement away from tired security arguments and a return to its fundamental raison d' être, the religious conviction that this land is the Jews' historical birthright and is not up for grabs.
Pilgrims danced at the tomb while a youth recited Psalms over Joseph's grave. Local settlers say they are now working on establishing a routine, including regular visits and coordination with the army to organize entries at least once a month.
A devotee was escorted out from the grave of Joseph as the nighttime pilgrimage drew to a close.
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תוקן על ידי לאנדסמאן ב- 26/10/2008 1:18:05