הרב חיים דרוקמן, הרב אלישמע כהן
הרב חיים דרוקמן, הרב אלישמע כהןצילום: ישיבת חומש

On Sunday, Rabbi Chaim Druckman, the generation's senior Religious-Zionist rabbi, visited the Homesh yeshiva in Samaria, and called on the government not to evacuate it.

"Who is it bothering?" Rabbi Druckman asked. "Is it really bothering anyone? I'm not going to speak about the fact that there seems to be some kind of law that Jews are not permitted to be here, but what is the reason for this? I don't want to speak harsh words, but it is criminal what's going on here. We can't return to Gush Katif today because other people have settled there, but here it's empty, so what's the problem?"

In Homesh, rabbis and students were astounded at Rabbi Druckman's visit, given his advanced age. "The senior rabbi of the Religious-Zionist movement, Rabbi Chaim Druckman, has accompanied the Homesh yeshiva for many long years," the yeshiva said in an announcement. "We were overwhelmed to hear that at such an advanced age and despite his precarious health, Rabbi Druckman intended to pay us a visit to give us encouragement and show his support.

"We have no words to express our excitement and how impressed we are with his devotion -- as well as the strength he has instilled in us," the announcement continued. "Rabbi Druckman made the decision to visit the Homesh yeshiva due to his shock at the fact that the Chief Rabbi of Israel was not permitted to make such a visit and give a Torah class at the yeshiva. In fact, the Chief Rabbi is not the only person to have experienced such treatment, but thank G-d Rabbi Druckman was able to reach us today."

The announcement continued, "Rabbi Druckman's support, like the support of other rabbis and public figures, reinforces the plain fact that the Homesh yeshiva is here to stay and will continue to operate as it has done for the past 15 years. We call on the Israeli government - on Interior Minister Shaked and on MK Nir Orbach who promised in the past that the Homesh yeshiva would not be harmed after the murder of our student Yehuda Dimentman - to join Rabbi Druckman in his support and also, to authorize the legalization of the yeshiva and reinstate the conditions that were in place prior to Yehuda's murder - and to remove the roadblocks and restrictions.

"There should be free entrance to the yeshiva, and Border Police should be sent back to their duties. Yeshiva students are not enemies! Yeshiva students don't need constant protection from Border Police and they shouldn't have to use deceit to get here. Things were never like this in the past and they should not continue in this way, especially after the heinous murder. We should not be awarding a prize to terrorism. Instead, we should be strengthening the yeshiva."