50,000 Travel to Chevron For Shabbos Chayei Sarah

Tens of thousands of people streamed into Chevron on Friday, joining what organizers expect will reached roughly 50,000 visitors spending Shabbos near the Ma’aras HaMachpelah.

This Shabbos marks the reading of Parshas Chayei Sarah worldwide, the parsha describing how Avraham Avinu purchased the Ma’aras HaMachpelah as a burial place for Sarah Imainu.

Adam, Chava, Avraham, Sara, Yitzchak, Rivkah, Yaakov, and Leah are all buried there.

A full weekend of programming is planned. Israeli police said tens of thousands are expected over Shabbos, prompting expanded security measures throughout the area.

Before the 20th century, Jews and Arabs lived side by side in Chevron. Rising Arab nationalism, coupled with anti-Jewish incitement, eventually culminated in the 1929 massacre, when 67 Jews were slaughtered and the ancient Jewish community was destroyed.

Following the 1967 Six Day War, Jews returned to Chevron under the protection of the IDF and the State of Israel. Many Palestinian residents, however, viewed the renewed Jewish presence as unwelcome.

Since 1997, Chevron has been divided between the Palestinian-administered H1 zone—home to roughly 200,000 Palestinians—and the Israeli-controlled H2 area, where about 1,000 Jews live. The division continues to fuel friction, leading to frequent clashes.

In 2017, UNESCO designated Chevron’s Old City and the Cave of the Patriarchs—under the “State of Palestine” listing— as a World Heritage Site in Danger, prompting outrage across Israel.