Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In Hebron, turnstiles and checkpoints are a way of life.
For centuries, Jews were generally not allowed to worship here. Then, after the Israeli
victory in 1967's Six-Day War, this holy site was shared by Muslims and Jews. But during
a Muslim service in 1994, a Jewish settler entered with his gun and killed 29 Palestini-
an worshippers. Since then, this holy space has been smothered with security and di-
vided—half mosque and half synagogue—with Abraham's tomb in the middle, granting
both communities partial access.
Sadly, this shrine comes with bulletproof glass and barred windows so that his two
sons' feuding descendants can respect his grave. On one side of the glass, Jews worship
in the synagogue, enlivened with singing, studying, and praying among the tombs of their
great patriarchs. And the other half is a mosque, where Muslims worship with equal fer-
vor.
