Disputed Tomb of Patriarchs : Arabs, Jews Pray Under Same Roof, Under Guard

It was sundown Friday, the end of the Muslim Sabbath, and along the southern wall of what Islam knows as the Ibrahimi Mosque, two dozen men, many wearing the traditional kaffiyeh headdress, bowed toward Mecca.

A few feet away, in the main part of what they call the Tomb of the Patriarchs, about 150 Jewish men wearing yarmulkes stood or sat in folding chairs, moving in a sort of rhythm as they chanted Hebrew verses welcoming the onset of the Jewish Sabbath.

“It’s idyllic,” an Israeli soldier said, observing the scene. “Jews and Arabs praying together.”

He was being sarcastic, of course. While this was probably the only place in the world Friday where Jews and Arabs prayed simultaneously under the same roof, it was hardly symbolic of their coming together.

What was going on Friday in Hebron--what has gone on here every Friday since early this year--was one of the more bizarre sideshows of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Reflecting the underlying tension were several dozen Israeli soldiers carrying M-16 assault rifles, and the head-high aluminum barricades they put up as sundown approached to help both groups of worshipers pretend that the other was not there.

“It’s crazy!” Allan Weiss, 21, a Jewish worshiper from the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba, said as he stepped briefly out of the Hebrew service.

“This whole place should be blown up,” one of the soldiers said in frustration. “It’s the only way to solve the problem.”

The “problem” consists of conflicting Jewish and Arab claims to a massive stone structure said to be built over the “Cave of Machpelah” (literally, Double Cave), which according to the Bible was purchased by the patriarch Abraham from Ephron the Hittite for 400 silver shekels. It is said to be the place where Abraham, his son, Isaac; his grandson, Jacob, and all their wives are buried.

Abraham Father of Both

Since Abraham is considered the father of both peoples, the place has long been revered by Jews and Arabs alike. King Herod built the 40-foot-high stone wall, which still surrounds the site, 2,000 years ago. Byzantine and Crusader churches stood here.

For 800 years, between the time the Crusaders were finally expelled and the Israeli conquest of Hebron in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, this was a mosque. During all those years, Jews were permitted to approach no closer than the seventh step of a staircase leading to the north entrance of the building.

Twin minarets still dominate the massive building’s profile, but ever since the Israeli army became the final authority on the West Bank, Jews have gained progressively greater access to the building.

Landlord Analogy

An Israeli researcher has compared the situation to that of a landlord (the military occupation authorities) with two rival tenants (the Jews and the Muslims), one of whom “is a close relation of the new landlord.”

There is a full-time Israeli army post across the street from the building, making it perhaps the only house of worship anywhere with its own army commander. Inside, electronic cameras help keep a 24-hour watch for potential trouble. Symbolically, the so-called “Ark of the Law,” where Jewish holy scrolls are stored, is actually a fireproof iron safe.

What happened in January was that Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin bowed to pressure from militant Jewish settlers in Kiryat Arba to open the main prayer hall of the mosque for Jewish services on Friday nights. Previously, Friday evening Jewish services had been restricted to two smaller rooms of the building and an open central courtyard joining them.

Out in the Cold, Rain

The settlers argued that it was unfair that they were forced to stand outside to worship on cold and rainy winter evenings while a handful of Muslims had the entire main hall to themselves. (The main Muslim Sabbath prayer is around midday, when only Muslims are permitted into the building and thousands fill it to capacity.)

After several potentially explosive incidents between settlers and Muslim worshipers, Rabin agreed to what is supposed to be a temporary arrangement that will last until winter officially ends on April 1.

In the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, however, where every inch given is seen as an inch irretrievably lost, what seems a logical compromise to solve a specific problem is viewed by the participants as another major victory for the settlers.

“It’s not possible that they’ll go back now,” a Muslim guard said. “They want to take all this place.”

To Press Advantage

At least some of the Jews admit that they intend to press their advantage.

“I’m a religious Jew, and I believe in the Torah,” Weiss said. “The Torah says this belongs to me, and they (the Arabs) are not supposed to be here. It’s not a matter of prejudice or anything. I have to believe the Torah.”

Whether or not the situation reverts to what it was before Rabin’s decision in January, Muslims and Jews appear destined to share the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs for some time to come, even as they remain locked in a mostly silent struggle for a clear upper hand.

As Abraham Rabinovich of the Jerusalem Post wrote of the contest, it proves “the difference between praying alongside one another and praying together.”