Yerushalayim…Although he had 65 requests from Knesset members for the establishment of caucuses
on various concerns and interests, Yariv Levin, the new Speaker of the Knesset opted to make Har
Hazeisim the first of the new Knesset. Speaker Levin appointed Rabbi Michael Michaeli, the head of the
Shas faction in the Knesset, as chairman of the newly created Caucus on Har Hazeisim. MK Michaeli
replaces Rabbi Yoav ben Zur who resigned from the Knesset to become Deputy Minister of Interior.
In a meeting in the office of the Speaker, Mr. Levin thanked Rabbi ben Zur for heading the caucus in the
last Knesset with an historic 72 members from all Knesset factions with the exception of the Arabs. He
called Rabbi Michaeli “the best possible choice for the post in the new Knesset.” Thanking the Speaker
for appointing him, Rabbi Michaeli said: “Har Hazeitim has always been dear and close to my heart.
I will endeavor to restore Har Hazeitim to its original glory as the companion mountain to the Har Habayit.” He added: “I would like to thank the Lubinsky brothers from the US and all committee representatives from around the world who have been fighting for over 10 years to preserve Har Hazeitim.”
In a phone conversation with Menachem Lubinsky, co-chairman of the International Committee for Har Hazeisim, Rabbi Michaeli said: “I consider it a great zchut to be able to be actively involved in securing and preserving the historical burial ground for so many tzaddikim going back thousands of years.” MK Rabbi Michaeli presented a letter to the Knesset Secretariat about the establishment of the caucus and appointed his legal assistant to sign up Knesset members to be part of what he hoped would be a “wall-
to-wall” show of solidarity on the subject of Har Hazeisim. Rabbi Michaeli pledged to join the ICHH in preventing the desecration of graves and maintaining respect
for the deceased while assuring the safety of visitors. The Caucus will work closely with the ICHH, the
Jerusalem Cemetery Council, headed by Chief Executive Rabbi Zuriel Krispal, as well as with the Director of the Religious Buildings Division of the Jerusalem Municipality, Rabbi Yitzhak Hanau.
The International Committee for Har Hazeitim was established more than a decade ago by its founding
co-chairmen, Avraham and Menachem Lubinsky. Due to their efforts, the national and local
governments installed 173 surveillance cameras, established a new police station, restored 20,000
destroyed graves, built new fences, and arranged for regular sanitation services. The ICHH is planning to partner with the national and local governments in building a magnificent Visitor Education Center. Which should be open to the public by 2021.
