| We drove on to Yitzhar and spoke with Nira Metuki, whose husband had studied in the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva at Kever Yosef (Joseph's Tomb) in Nablus (Shechem), until the Kever was turned over to the PA (Palestinian Authority) for safekeeping in October 2000. The Arabs quickly torched it and turned the grave into a mosque. All the students of the Yeshiva moved to Yitzhar. There are five hills around the community, in which 100 families live. One of the hilltops was recently evacuated by the IDF. Mitzpe Yitzhar is one of the hilltop communities, along with L'ahavat Yitzhar. Harel Ben Nun, a yeshiva student who encouraged the rebuilding of destroyed communities, was killed by Arabs, as was Hillel Lieberman, trying to rescue the Torah scrolls from Kever Yosef, and Shlomo Liberman. They are all buried together on one of the hillsides of Yitzhar. The community employs no Arab workers, not even Israeli Arabs, to work in the community, because they don't want any Arabs to have first-hand knowledge of the community and its inhabitants. Shown here is one of the Jewish residents of Yitzhar. |
