The Jewish community in Hebron today continues the ancient heritage of Hebron – the city of our patriarchs & matriarchs

The Jewish community in Hebron is the oldest Jewish community in the world. Its roots are from biblical times, about 4000 years ago, when our ancestor Abraham settled in Hebron and bought the Cave of the Patriarchs – the first Hebrew property. Our patriarchs & matriarchs, the fathers and mothers of the Jewish people – Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah are buried in this cave.

Jacob, whose name was changed to “Israel”, and from then on became the father of the people of Israel. During the settlement of the people of Israel in the land, Hebron was the capital of the tribe of Judah.

About 3000 years ago it was the first royal city of King David.

About 2000 years ago, during the Second Temple period, Herod built the magnificent Jewish structure over the Cave of the Patriarchs as a memorial to the patriarchs and a place of prayer and inspiration.

Throughout the ages, Jews lived in Hebron or came to pray there. In the Middle Ages, the Jews were concentrated in the Jewish Quarter, where Jews who were expelled from Spain, also settled.

From generation to generation the Jews maintained a fair and friendly relationship with their neighbors, although they suffered severe discrimination and were even forbidden from entering the building above the Cave of the Patriarchs.

In 1929, the Arabs of Hebron, carried out a brutal massacre and slaughtered about 70 Jews. The rest of the community was expelled from the city by the British.

In 1948, the Kingdom of Jordan conquered Judea and Samaria and destroyed most of the Jewish buildings, synagogues and cemeteries in Hebron and Jerusalem. The presence of Jews was forbidden.

In 1967, Hebron was liberated by the State of Israel. The Arabs surrendered without a single shot being fired.

In 1968, Jews began to return and live in Hebron.

In 1971, Kiryat Arba was established near Hebron,

and in 1979, settlement began in Beit Hadassah, the Jewish hospital that stood abandoned and empty. The Jewish community in the heart of the city faced difficult challenges, but became more established. The Avraham Avinu synagogue in the Jewish Quarter, which was destroyed during the Jordanian occupation and became a pen for sheep and goats, was restored and rebuilt. The Shavei Hebron Yeshiva was established in Beit Romano, and the “Admot Yishai” neighborhood was established in Tel Hebron and archeological excavations were conducted.

In 2015, an audio-visual display at the Hebron Museum & Visitor Center was opened in Beit Hadassah.

Today, the Jewish community in Hebron has hundreds of residents in four neighborhoods: Avraham Avinu, Hezekiah, Beit Hadassah and Admot Yishai. Thanks to the Jewish settlement in the city, a continuous Jewish presence is maintained in the Cave of the Patriarchs.

The Jewish community in Hebron is an independent administrative and communal municipal authority. Its goals – to renew the old community and bring Jewish life back to the city. The community welcomes any peace-loving person who will work for these goals.