Funding dispute may close down Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs

The site has relied in part on coalition agreement funds that were not formally incorporated into the state budget.

By David Israel, TPS

Israel’s Ministry of Religious Services has ordered preparations to close the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron within 14 days over a lack of legally authorized funding, according to a ministry directive.

The order calls for the site’s entrances to be locked and all visits, tours, and events to be suspended until an authorized source of funding is secured.

The Tomb of the Patriarchs, one of Judaism’s holiest and most-visited sites, is the burial place of the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their wives.

The site has relied in part on coalition agreement funds that were not formally incorporated into the state budget.

A recent Supreme Court ruling suspended budget requests approved by the Knesset Finance Committee, leaving the Ministry of Religious Services without a legally authorized source of funding for the site’s operations.

Ministry Director General Yehuda Avidan said the state cannot make financial commitments without an approved funding source, prompting the ministry to begin preparations for the site’s closure.

The Tomb of the Patriarchs’ administration declined to comment further to The Press Service of Israel, saying only that about one million visitors come to the site each year.