From Judith in Ramot:

Dear All,

Last night (Wed. 15.11) I recieved an urgent request to go to visit Rachel's Tomb/ Kever Rachel. The message explained that the IDF was trying out a safe system of allowing Jews to pray at this sacred and revered place. They alloted three times (9;00, 10:00, 11:00) for a bullet proof bus to transport worshipers the distance of a mere TWO HUNDRED METERS!!! from the intersection of Gilo and the Bethlehem road to the Kever itself. If these buses were not full, the message explained, then the army would reconsider and reduce the number of buses.

I made several phone calls and finally found someone free to be my date this morning. We got on the local neighbourhood bus at 9:00, waited at the Central Bus Station for the Gilo bus which arrived about 9:50 and arrived at the intersection at 10:45 where there was a reinforced bus waiting to leave at 11:00. To our delight, we found about 75 peple waiting at the intersection. We were allowed only 25 people on each trip, asked to find seats and then briefed by a young soldier on how to behave if shots are fired at the bus. The reinforced escort jeeps took their places on our flanks and in the lead.

We settled in for the ride, which lasted less than two minutes, and were left off right in the entry way of the reinforced building. There also was a wall of reinforced concrete in front of the bus so that we felt hemmed in, on the one hand, and well protected, on the other. Baruch Hashem, Thank God, there were quite a large number of Holy Jews already inside the compound. We could also hear the sounds of the Yeshiva men studying their texts. Even the bus driver came in to pray! On the womens' side there were about 50 people praying, swaying, crying. There was an older woman whose cell phone started ringing. I was about to become annoyed at the intrusion when I heard her say in Yiddish to the caller,:" So, are you ready right now?" and she marched straight up to the grave and held the open phone next to the marker. After several moments she spoke into the open phone and asked if the caller had finished her prayer!

There was also a fairly large group of young high-schoolers come to pray. They came from Maaleh Levonah and were students of the woman who was murdered two days ago on her way to protest the deteriorating security on the roads. These girls were striking from school and are encamped in a tent city in a garden across from the Knesset Government building. They prayed to Matriarch Rachel to hear their/our cries for help in alleviating the terrible situation here, where arabs walk free and secure, and Jews, in our OWN LAND need super reinforced transportation to walk the distance of two blocks!!!

If this isn't absurd, I don't know what is!

It is quite safe to travel to Kever Rachel!

Come on and make a difference! Choose your day and bring along a friend or more. It is up to us to save our Holy places! No one else cares! Please remember to bring a bag of treats for our youngsters who are doing such a terrific job of guarding us, with God's Help. I asked the bus driver (from Egged, the local bus company) if he asked for this route or did he volunteer for the job? He told me that there was a waiting list of drivers WANTING this sacred mission!

With Blessings from Jerusalem,
Judith