Hours before U.S. President Donald Trump arrives in Israel, his close associate, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, visited Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem on Sunday night.
Huckabee was part of a group of 5,000 worshipers who came to pray at the site, led by the Shomron Regional Council together with the director of Joseph's Tomb and the holy sites.
Among those in attendance were Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council, his deputy Davidi Ben Zion, MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home), Major-General Roni Numa who heads the IDF’s Central Command, IDF Shomron Division Commander Gilad Amit, and thousands of worshipers from Israel and around the world.
“I wish to recognize, even on this week in which the President will come to Israel, that it’s still very difficult for many people to come to the holy sites, and it’s my prayer, as I come here with you, that the holy sites that you and that I embrace will be accessible, and that we will not have to come in the dead of night in order to pray and seek the Lord’s face,” said Huckabee.
“It should not be that way, and I hope the day comes when the freedom for God’s people to come and to pray is uninhibited and unhindered by any violence by those who seek to prevent you from being able to say this prayer. That you could do it in the daylight, in the sunshine, and not in the darkness of night,” he added.
Dagan, who met earlier on Sunday evening with U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, said, “We had the fortune of entering Joseph’s Tomb tonight with a Zionist who is a true friend of Israel, Mike Huckabee, who can teach many of us about the love for this country. People from all over the country and the world came here to realize their natural right to worship.”
“We regret the fact that we are forced to enter this compound at night. I hope that the State of Israel will succeed in acting in such a way that respects the Jewish people and the State of Israel and will exercise sovereignty. Hours before the arrival of the most sympathetic American President that the State of Israel has ever had, it is important that we remember that no one will defend our interests for us. Our future depends on us,” added Dagan, who thanked the IDF’s Samaria Brigade for their assistance in entering the compound and for their continuing activities for the security of the residents of Samaria and the entire State of Israel.
Huckabee was part of a group of 5,000 worshipers who came to pray at the site, led by the Shomron Regional Council together with the director of Joseph's Tomb and the holy sites.
Among those in attendance were Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council, his deputy Davidi Ben Zion, MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home), Major-General Roni Numa who heads the IDF’s Central Command, IDF Shomron Division Commander Gilad Amit, and thousands of worshipers from Israel and around the world.
“I wish to recognize, even on this week in which the President will come to Israel, that it’s still very difficult for many people to come to the holy sites, and it’s my prayer, as I come here with you, that the holy sites that you and that I embrace will be accessible, and that we will not have to come in the dead of night in order to pray and seek the Lord’s face,” said Huckabee.
“It should not be that way, and I hope the day comes when the freedom for God’s people to come and to pray is uninhibited and unhindered by any violence by those who seek to prevent you from being able to say this prayer. That you could do it in the daylight, in the sunshine, and not in the darkness of night,” he added.
Dagan, who met earlier on Sunday evening with U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, said, “We had the fortune of entering Joseph’s Tomb tonight with a Zionist who is a true friend of Israel, Mike Huckabee, who can teach many of us about the love for this country. People from all over the country and the world came here to realize their natural right to worship.”
“We regret the fact that we are forced to enter this compound at night. I hope that the State of Israel will succeed in acting in such a way that respects the Jewish people and the State of Israel and will exercise sovereignty. Hours before the arrival of the most sympathetic American President that the State of Israel has ever had, it is important that we remember that no one will defend our interests for us. Our future depends on us,” added Dagan, who thanked the IDF’s Samaria Brigade for their assistance in entering the compound and for their continuing activities for the security of the residents of Samaria and the entire State of Israel.
צילום: אלירן אהרון
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