The Religious Services Ministry announced Tuesday that all holy sites across the country will be closed to visitors at the end of August, just a week and a half before Rosh Hashanah, a period when prayer sites are crowded with visitors who come for Selichot penitential prayers and to pray ahead of the High Holidays. ynet has learned.
Religious Services Ministry Director-General Yehuda Avidan sent a letter to Yisrael Deri, deputy director-general of the National Center for the Development of Holy Places, in which he noted that “last Tuesday, the Finance Committee convened to discuss the request of the Religious Services Ministry, which included, among other things, a designated budget for the ongoing operations of the National Center for the Development of Holy Places. On Wednesday, Justice Stein issued an interim order delaying the implementation of the budget transfers approved by the committee, as stated.”
Thousands at Birkat Kohanim at the Western Wall
(Photo: Western Wall Heritage Foundation)
At the end of his remarks, Avidan stated: “Since without approval of the request, the ministry has no budgetary source to ensure the continued ongoing operations of the National Center for the Development of Holy Places, I hereby inform you that if no solution is found by the end of August, the activity of the national center — including the various sites — will be halted immediately at the beginning of September.”
Last week, the Supreme Court froze the transfer of funds approved by the Finance Committee for, among other things, religious needs and Haredi education networks. “An interim order is hereby issued delaying the implementation of the budget transfers decided upon at the end of that discussion, except for a transfer concerning civilian emergency expenses,” Justice Alex Stein ruled.
According to him, the decision was made “in light of procedural flaws that allegedly occurred in the Finance Committee’s discussion.” He added that the petition would be brought before a panel of three justices as soon as possible.
As part of that budget, 33 million shekels also was approved for the management of popular prayer sites, including Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and the tombs of the Prophet Samuel and King David in Jerusalem.