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Tomb of Rachel

Illustration of the tomb, 1880
Shown within the West Bank
Location	Bethlehem municipality, West Bank
Type	tomb
Site notes
Management	Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs
Public access	Limited
Website	keverrachel.com
Venerated as the third holiest site in Judaism

Rachel's Tomb (Template:Lang-he translit. Kever Rakhel), also known as the Dome of Rachel, (Template:Lang-ar translit. Qubbat Rakhil), is an ancient structure believed to be the burial place of the biblical matriarch Rachel. It is known to many Muslims as Bilal ibn Rabah Mosque, named after Bilal ibn Rabah. The site is located on the outskirts of Bethlehem, a Palestinian city just south of Jerusalem, in the West Bank.

The earliest extra-biblical records identifying the tomb as the site of Rachel's burial place, date back to the beginning of the 4th century AD. The present structure, consists of two chambers. The domed chamber of the tomb was built by the Ottoman authorities. A second room, an antechamber serving as a mosque, was built by Montefiore in 1841. In 1947, the United Nations planned that the site should lie within an international zone, however, following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the tomb was incorporated into the West Bank which was subsequently annexed by Jordan. Israelis were unable to visit the tomb for 19 years until Israel captured it during the 1967 Six Day War. After the war, Muslims were reportedly prevented from using the mosque, and since 1993, Muslims have been barred from using the cemetery. The 1995 Oslo accords stipulated that Israel would retain control at the tomb and by late 1996, Israel enclosed the tomb with a fortified installation. In 2005, despite protests from local Arab residents, Israel enclosed the complex within the Israeli side of the West Bank barrier, effectively annexing it to Jerusalem and barring access to Palestinian Authority residents. This move, together with Israel officially listing it as an Israeli Heritage site was criticised by UNESCO, leading to debate and criticism from within Israel.

The tomb is venerated by the Abrahamic faiths and is considered the third holiest site in Judaism. It is also viewed as the symbol of the return of the Jewish people to its ancient homeland. The shrine has been increasingly associated with fertility and many women go to pray there for a successful childbirth. For Muslims, the site has been a mosque and a cemetery.

Biblical accounts and location

In the Hebrew Bible, Rachel and Jacob journey from Shechem to Hebron, a short distance from Ephrath, which is glossed as Bethlehem (35:16-21, 48:7). She dies on the way giving birth to Benjamin:

"And Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day." — Genesis 35:19-20

Today, along the ancient Bethlehem-Ephrath road, known as the "Route of the Patriarchs", on the right-hand side if traveling from Jerusalem, stands an ancient tomb traditionally believed to be that of Rachel. At the northern entrance to Bethlehem, this location has been recorded since 4th century AD. Although it stands within the built-up area of Bethlehem, the tomb is now enclosed within the Israeli side of the West Bank barrier.

Some scholars, basing themselves on scriptual verses, (1 Sam 10:2 and Jer. 31:15), suggest an alternative location north of Jerusalem, in the vicinity of ar-Ram, biblical Ramah. A possible location in the area could be the five stone monuments north of Hizma. Known as Qubur Beni Isra'in, the largest so-called tomb of the group, the function of which is obscure, has the name Qabr Umm beni Isra'in, that is, "tomb of the mother of the descendants of Israel".

History

Early and Medieval periods

The tomb of Rachel the Righteous is at a distance of 1½ miles from Jerusalem, in the middle of the field, not far from Bethlehem, as it says in the Torah. On Passover and Lag B'Omer many people – men and women, young and old – go out to Rachel's Tomb on foot and on horseback. And many pray there, make petitions and dance around the tomb and eat and drink.

— Rabbi Moses Surait of Prague, 1650.

Traditions regarding the tomb at this location date back to the beginning of the 4th century AD. Eusebius and the Bordeaux Pilgrim mention the tomb as being located 4 miles from Jerusalem. In the late 7th century, the tomb was marked with a stone pyramid, devoid of any ornamentation. During the 10th century, Muqaddasi and other geographers fail to mention the tomb which indicates that it may have lost importance until the Crusaders revived its veneration. Muhammad al-Idrisi (1154) writes, "Half-way down the road is the tomb of Rachel (Rahil), the mother of Joseph and of Benjamin, the two sons of Jacob peace upon them all! The tomb is covered by twelve stones, and above it is a dome vaulted." Benjamin of Tudela (1169–71) mentions a pillar made of 11 stones and a cupola resting on four columns "and all the Jews that pass by carve their names upon the stones of the pillar." Petachiah of Regensburg explains that the 11 stones represented the tribes of Israel, excluding Benjamin, since Rachel had died during his birth. All were marble, with that of Jacob on top." In the 14-century, Antony of Cremona referred to the cenotaph as "the most wonderful tomb that I shall ever see. I do not think that with 20 pairs of oxen it would be possible to extract or move one of its stones." It was described by Franciscan pilgrim Nicolas of Poggibonsi (1346–50) as being 7 feet high and enclosed by a rounded tomb with three gates.

From around the 15th century onwards, the tomb was controlled and maintained by the Muslim rulers. Accordingly, Russian deacon Zozimos (1419–21) describes it as a mosque. A guide published in 1467 credits Shahin al-Dhahiri with the building of a cupola, cistern and drinking fountain at the site. The Muslim rebuilding of the "dome on four columns" was also mentioned by Francesco Suriano in 1485. Felix Fabri (1480–83) described it as being "a lofty pyramid, built of square and polished white stone"; He also noted a drinking water trough at its side and reported that "this place is venerated alike by Muslims, Jews, and Christians". Bernhard von Breidenbach of Mainz (1483) described women praying at the tomb and collecting stones to take home, believing that they would ease their labour. Pietro Casola (1494) described it as being "beautiful and much honoured by the Moors." Mujir al-Din al-'Ulaymi (1495), the Jerusalemite qadi and Arab historian, writes under the heading of Qoubbeh Râhîl ("Dome of Rachel") that Rachel's tomb lies under this dome on the road between Bethlehem and Bayt Jala and that the edifice is turned towards the Sakhrah (the rock inside the Dome of the Rock) and widely visited by pilgrims. Rabbi Moses Surait of Prague (1650) described a high dome on the top of the tomb, an opening on one side, and a big courtyard surrounded by bricks.

Ottoman period

Muslims, Christians and Jews all venerate Rachel as the wife of a patriarch, yet until the beginning of the 17th-century, only Muslims were allowed to visit the tomb. Records indicate however, that in 1615, Muhammad, Pasha of Jerusalem, repaired the structure and gave the Jews exclusive ownership of the site. In March 1756, the Istanbul Jewish Committee for the Jews of Palestine instructed that 500 kurus used by the Jews of Jerusalem to fix a wall at the tomb were to be repaid and used instead for more deserving causes. In 1788, walls were built to enclose the arches. An 1824 report described "a stone building, evidently of Turkish construction, which terminates at the top in a dome. Within this edifice is the tomb. It is a pile of stones covered with white plaster, about 10 feet long and nearly as high. The inner wall of the building and the sides of the tomb are covered with Hebrew names, inscribed by Jews."

When the structure was undergoing repairs in around 1825, excavations at the foot of the monument revealed that it was not built directly over an underground cavity. However, a small distance from the site, an unusually deep cavern was discovered.

In 1830, the Ottomans gave legal recognition of the tomb being a Jewish holy site. Sir and Lady Moses Montefiore visited the Land of Israel seven times. Lady Montefiore first saw Rachel's Tomb on their first visit in 1828. The couple were childless, and Lady Montefiore was deeply moved by the tomb, which was in good condition at that time. Before the couple's next visit, in 1839, the Galilee earthquake of 1837 had heavily damaged the tomb. In 1838 the tomb was described as "merely an ordinary Muslim Wely, or tomb of a holy person; a small square building of stone with a dome, and within it a tomb in the ordinary Muhammedan form; the whole plastered over with mortar. It is neglected and falling to decay; though pilgrimages are still made to it by the Jews. The naked walls are covered with names in several languages; many of them Hebrew."

Even now the go there every Thursday to pray and read the old, old history of this mother of their race… I met a hundred or more Jews on their weekly visit to the venerated spot.

— Paulist Fathers, 1868.

In 1841, Montefiore purchased the site and obtained for the Jews the key of the tomb. He renovated the entire structure, reconstructing and re-plastering its white dome. He also added an adjacent vaulted reception vestibule, and possibly to conciliate Muslim susceptibility, allowed a mihrab to be placed in the southern wall so the room could be used for prayer by Muslims. Yet in 1843, there were still reports of Muslim dominance at the site. Ridley Haim Herschell tells of how Jews were not permitted to enter. Montefiore himself was "obliged to remain outside. There is a hole in the wall at which they pray, so that their voices enter into the tomb." In the mid-1850s, the marauding Arab e-Ta'amreh tribe forced the Jews to furnish them with an annual £30 payment to prevent them from damaging the tomb.

In 1864, the Sephardi Jews of Bombay donated the necessary money to dig a well. Although Rachel's Tomb is only an hour and a half walk from the Old City of Jerusalem, many pilgrims found themselves very thirsty and unable to obtain fresh water. Every Rosh Chodesh, the Maiden of Ludmir would lead her followers to Rachel’s tomb and lead a prayer service with various rituals, which included spreading out requests of the past four weeks over the tomb. On the traditional anniversary of Rachel’s death, she would lead a solemn procession to the tomb where she chanted psalms in a night-long vigil.

The Hebrew monthly ha-Levanon of August 19, 1869, rumored that a group of Christians had purchased land around the tomb and were in the process of demolishing Montefiore's vestibule in order to erect a church there. During the following years, land in the vicinity of the tomb was acquired by Nathan Strauss. In October 1875, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer purchased three dunams of land near the tomb intending to establish a Jewish farming colony there. Custody of the land was transferred to the Perushim community in Jerusalem. (During the first years of the Intifada, the Gush Etzion Regional Council managed to buy back ownership of about 10 dunams of Jewish-owned land near the tomb.)

In 1912 the Ottoman Government permitted the Jews to repair the shrine itself, but not the antechamber. In 1915 the structure had four walls, each about 7 m (23 ft.) long and 6 m (20 ft.) high. The dome, rising about 3 m (10 ft.), "is used by the Moslems for prayer; its holy character has hindered them from removing the Hebrew letters from its walls."

British Mandate period

Three months after the British occupation of Palestine the whole place was cleaned and whitewashed by the Jews without protest from the Muslims. However, in 1921 when the Chief Rabbinate applied to the Municipality of Bethlehem for permission to perform repairs at the site, local Muslims objected. In view of this, the High Commissioner ruled that, pending appointment of the Holy Places Commission provided for under the Mandate, all repairs should be undertaken by the Government. However, so much indignation was caused in Jewish circles by this decision that the matter was dropped, the repairs not being considered urgent. In 1925 the Sephardic Jewish community requested permission to repair the tomb. The building was then made structurally sound and exterior repairs were effected by the Government, but permission was refused by the Jews (who had the keys) for the Government to repair the interior of the shrine. As the interior repairs were unimportant, the Government dropped the matter, in order to avoid controversy.

During this period, both Jews and Muslims visited the site. Muslims prayed inside the mosque there and the cemetery at the tomb was the main Muslim cemetery in the Bethlehem area. The building was also used for Islamic funeral rituals. It is reported that Jews and Muslims respected each other and accommodated each others' rituals. During the riots of 1929, violence hampered regular visits by Jews to the tomb. In the same year, the Waqf demanded control of the site, claiming it was part of the neighboring Muslim cemetery. It also demanded to renew the old Muslim custom of purifying corpses in the tomb's antechamber.

Jordanian period

Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War till 1967, the site was controlled by Jordan and protected by the Islamic waqf. On December 11, 1948, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 which called for free access to all the holy places in Israel and the remainder of the territory of the former Palestine Mandate of Great Britain. In April 1949, the Jerusalem Committee prepared a document for the UN Secretariat in order to establish the status of the different holy places in the area of the former British Mandate for Palestine. It noted that ownership of Rachel's Tomb was claimed by both Jews and Muslims. The Jews claimed possession by virtue of a 1615 firman granted by the Pasha of Jerusalem which gave them exclusive use of the site and that the building, which had fallen into decay, was entirely restored by Moses Montefiore in 1845; the keys were obtained by the Jews from the last Muslim guardian at this time. The Muslims claimed the site was a place of Muslim prayer and an integral part of the Muslim cemetery within which it was situated. They stated that the Ottoman Government had recognised it as such and that it is included among the Tombs of the Prophets for which identity signboards were issued by the Ministry of Waqfs in 1898. They also asserted that the antechamber built by Montefiore was specially built as a place of prayer for Muslims. The UN ruled that the status quo, an arrangement approved by the Ottoman Decree of 1757 concerning rights, privileges and practices in certain Holy Places, apply to the site.

In theory, free access was to be granted as stipulated in the 1949 Armistice Agreements, though Israelis, unable to enter Jordan, were prevented from visiting. Non-Israeli Jews, however, continued to visit the site. During this period the neighbouring Muslim cemetery was expanded, enveloping the immediate area surrounding the tomb.

Israeli control

Following the Six Day War in 1967, Israel gained control of the West Bank, which included the tomb. The tomb was placed under Israeli military administration. Some time after the capture, Islamic crescents, inscribed into the rooms of the structure, were erased. Muslims claim that they were prevented from using the mosque, although they were allowed to use the cemetery for a while.

Prime minister Levi Eshkol instructed that the tomb be included within the new expanded municipal borders of Jerusalem, but citing security concerns, Moshe Dayan decided not to include it within the territory that was annexed to Jerusalem. Starting in 1993, Muslims were barred from using the cemetery.

Oslo Accords and Aftermath (1995–2002)

Following the Oslo accords, Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, was signed on September 28, 1995. placing Rachel's Tomb in Area C under Israeli jurisdiction. Although Israel first draft placed Rachel's Tomb which is situated 460 metres from the municipal border of Jerusalem, in Area A under PA jurisdiction, but pressure was exerted by religious parties in Israel at the time of negotiations (1994–1995) in order to keep the religious site under Israeli control.

On December 1, 1995, Bethlehem, with the exception of the tomb enclave, passed under the full control of the Palestinian Authority. Jews could only reach it in bulletproof vehicles under military supervision. In early 1996 it was suspected that the Palestinians would carry out terrorist attacks at Rachel's Tomb. Fearing the tomb would be an easy target, Israel began an 18-month fortification of the site at a cost of $2m. It included a 13 foot high wall and adjacent military post. In response, Palestinians claimed that "the Tomb of Rachel was on Islamic land" and that the structure was in fact a mosque built at the time of the Arab conquest in honour of Bilal ibn Rabah, an Ethiopian known in Islamic history as the first muezzin.

At the end of September 1996, Arab riots broke out in Jerusalem over the opening of the Western Wall tunnel. After an attack on Joseph's Tomb and its subsequent takeover by Arabs, hundreds of residents of Bethlehem and the Aida refugee camp, led by the Palestinian Authority-appointed governor of Bethlehem, Muhammad Rashad al-Jabari, attacked Rachel's Tomb. They set the scaffolding which had been erected around it on fire and tried to break in. The IDF dispersed the mob with gunfire and stun grenades, and dozens were wounded. In the following years, the Israeli-controlled site became a flashpoint between young Palestinian rioters who hurled stones, bottles and firebombs and IDF troops, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

A serious escalation occurred at the end of 2000 when the second intifada broke out. For forty-one days the tomb was attacked with gunfire. Fatah operatives and members of the Palestinian security services who were responsible for keeping order, not only failed to prevent the violence, they actively participated in it. Other religious sites in the area were attacked as well, including Joseph's Tomb in Nablus which was set ablaze and desecrated. Later Palestinian daily newspaper Al-Hayat al-Jadida published an article marking Rachel's Tomb as the next target, It read in part, "Bethlehem - ‘the Tomb of Rachel,' or the Bilal ibn Rabah mosque, is one of the nails the Zionist movement hammered into many Palestinian cities....The tomb is false and was originally a Muslim mosque." In May 2001, fifty Jews found themselves trapped inside by a firefight between the IDF and Palestinian Authority gunmen. In March 2002 the IDF returned to Bethlehem as part of Operation Defensive Shield and remained there for an extended period of time.

Inclusion within West Bank barrier (2002–onwards)

The Israeli government decided in September 2002, that the tomb would be enclosed on the Israeli side of the West Bank barrier. The short road to it was closed off inside concrete walls and firing positions. In 2003 the Rachel's Tomb Institute was founded. It provides a number of bullet-proof buses which travel each day to the tomb. The Israeli public-transportation system also runs a service to the area and approximately 4,000 people visit the tomb each month.

In February 2005, the Israel Supreme Court rejected a Palestinian appeal to change the path of the security fence in the region of the tomb. Israel proceed to build walls and armed watchtowers around it. This construction effectively destroyed the Palestinian neighbourhood of Qubbet Rahil (the neighbourhood had previously been thriving and constitute 11 percent of metropolitan Bethlehem). Israel also declared the area to be a part of Jerusalem.

In February 2010, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that tomb, as well as the Cave of the Patriarchs, would become a part of the national Jewish heritage sites rehabilitation plan. The announcement sparked protests from the UN, Palestinian officials, Arab governments and the United States. A US State Department spokesman criticized the move as provocative and unhelpful. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the tomb was "not and never will be a Jewish site, but an Islamic site." In what has been seen as a response to Israel's announcement, the executive board of UNESCO voted on October 21, 2010 to include the tomb as a World Heritage Site and called upon the Israeli government to desist from attempting to unilaterally incorporate the site into Israel. They "reaffirmed" that the site in Bethlehem forms "an integral part of the occupied Palestinian Territories and that any unilateral action by the Israeli authorities is to be considered a violation of international law, the UNESCO Conventions and the United Nations and Security Council resolutions." Remarks made by the Israeli Ambassador to UNESCO were expunged from the record by the chairman of the session. UNESCO's decision to refer to the tomb as "Bilal ibn Rabah Mosque" was condemned by the Israeli government as a politically motivated move to disenfranchise Israel and Jewish religious traditions. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office criticised the resolution claiming that: "the attempt to detach the Nation of Israel from its heritage is absurd... If the nearly 4,000-year-old burial sites of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish Nation – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah – are not part of its culture and tradition, then what is a national cultural site?” Rabbi of Israel's holy sites, Shmuel Rabinowitz, condemned UNESCO's statement, which called the tomb a Palestinian site and mosque, saying it was "contrary to history and the truth," and that the vote was motivated by political considerations.

In Judaism

Rabbinic traditions

• According to the Midrash, the first person to pray at Rachel's tomb was her eldest son, Joseph. While he was being carried away to Egypt after his brothers had sold him into slavery, he broke away from his captors and ran to his mother's grave. He threw himself upon the ground, wept aloud and cried "Mother! mother! Wake up. Arise and see my suffering." He heard his mother respond: "Do not fear. Go with them, and God will be with you."
• A number of reasons are given why Rachel was buried by the road side and not in the Cave of Machpela with the other Patriarchs and Matriarchs:
  • Jacob foresaw that following the destruction of the First Temple the Jews would be exiled to Babylon. They would cry out as they passed her grave, and be comforted by her. She would intercede on their behalf, asking for mercy from God who would hear her prayer.
  • Although Rachel was buried within the boundaries of the Holy Land, she was not buried in the Cave of Machpelah due to her sudden and unexpected death. Jacob, looking after his children and hoards of cattle, simply did not have the opportunity to embalm her body to allow for the slow journey to Hebron.
  • Jacob was intent on not burying Rachel at Hebron, as he wished to prevent himself feeling ashamed before his forefathers, lest it appear he still regarded both sisters as his wives - a biblically forbidden union.
• According to the mystical work, Zohar, when the Messiah appears, he will lead the dispersed Jews back to the Land of Israel, along the road which passes Rachel's grave.

Location

Early Jewish scholars noticed an apparent contradiction in the Bible with regards to the location of Rachel's grave. In Genesis, the Bible states that Rachel was buried "on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem." Yet a reference to her tomb in Samuel states: "When you go from me today, you will find two men by Rachel's tomb, in the border of Benjamin, in Zelzah" (1 Sam 10:2). Rashi asks: "Now, isn't Rachel's tomb in the border of Judah, in Bethlehem?" He explains that the verse rather means: "Now they are by Rachel's tomb, and when you will meet them, you will find them in the border of Benjamin, in Zelzah." Similarly, Ramban assumes that the site shown today near Bethlehem reflects an authentic tradition. After he had arrived in Jerusalem and seen "with his own eyes" that Rachel's tomb was on the outskirts of Bethlehem, he retracted his original understanding of her tomb being located north of Jerusalem and concluded that the reference in Jeremiah (Jer 31:15) which seemed to place her burial place in Ramah, is to be understood allegorically. There remains however, a dispute as to whether her tomb near Bethlehem was in the tribal territory of Judah, or of her son Benjamin.

Veneration

Jews have made pilgrimage to the tomb since ancient times. The depiction of Rachel's Tomb has appeared in thousands of Jewish religious books and works of art. On the anniversary of her death in 2010, 100,000 Jews visited the tomb.

Customs

Rachel is considered the "eternal mother", caring for her children when they are in distress especially for barren or pregnant woman. Jewish tradition teaches that Rachel weeps for her children and that when the Jews were taken into exile, she wept as they passed by her grave on the way to Babylonia. The Torah Ark in Rachel's Tomb is covered with a curtain (Hebrew: parokhet) made from the wedding gown of Nava Applebaum, a young Israeli woman who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist in a suicide bombing at Café Hillel in Jerusalem on the eve of her wedding.

There is a tradition regarding the key that unlocked the door to the tomb. The key was about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long and made of brass. The beadle kept it with him at all times, and it was not uncommon that someone would knock at his door in the middle of the night requesting it to ease the labor pains of an expectant mother. The key was placed under her pillow and almost immediately, the pains would subside and the delivery would take place peacefully.

Till this day there is an ancient tradition regarding a segulah or charm which is the most famous women's ritual at the tomb. A red string is tied around the tomb seven times then worn as a charm for fertility. This use of the string is comparatively recent, though there is a report of its use to ward off diseases in the 1880s.

Replicas

The tomb of Sir Moses Montefiore, adjacent to the Montefiore synagogue in Ramsgate, England, is a replica of Rachel's Tomb. During an 1841 visit to Palestine, Montifiore obtained permission from the Ottoman Turks to restore the tomb.

See also

• List of National Heritage Sites of Israel

References

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2. West Bank strike over Israeli tomb heritage claim
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4. ^ Tom Selwyn. CONTESTED MEDITERRANEAN SPACES:The Case of Rachel's Tomb, Bethlehem, Palestine. Berghahn Books. pp. 276–278.
5. UNESCO, The two Palestinian sites of Al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Al-Khalil/Hebron and the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque/Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem
6. ^ "Until 1996, nobody called Rachel's Tomb a mosque". www.jpost.com. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
7. ^ http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/140377 UNESCO Erases Israeli Protests from Rachel's Tomb Protocol, INN
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10. Israel yearbook on human rights, Volume 36, Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University, 2006. pg. 324
11. Susan Sered, "A Tale of Three Rachels: The Natural Herstory of a Cultural Symbol," in Nashim: a journal of Jewish women's studies & gender issues, Issues 1-2, Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, 1998. "In the 1940s, by contrast, Rachel's Tomb became explicitly identified with the return to Zion, Jewish statehood and Allied victory."
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24. "Further on, near to Bethlehem, I saw the sepulchre of Rachel, the wife of the Patriarch Jacob, who died in childbirth. It is beautiful and much honoured by the Moors."
25. ed-Dyn, 1876, p. 202.
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28. The religious miscellany: Volume 3 Fleming and Geddes, 1824, p. 150
29. Schwarz, Joseph. Descriptive Geography and Brief Historical Sketch of Palestine, 1850. "It was always believed that this stood over the grave of the beloved wife of Jacob. But about twenty-five years ago, when the structure needed some repairs, they were compelled to dig down at the foot of this monument; and it was then found that it was not erected over the cavity in which the grave of Rachel actually is; but at a little distance from the monument there was discovered an uncommonly deep cavern, the opening and direction of which was not precisely under the superstructure in question."
30. ^ Shragai, Nadav. Rachel’s Tomb, a Jewish Holy Place, Was Never a Mosque, Jerusalem Centre for Public Afairs. No. 580, Nov-Dec 2010.
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33. George Frederick Owen (1 July 1977). The Holy Land. Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-8341-0489-1. Retrieved 2 January 2012. In 1841, Sir M. Montefiore purchased the grounds and monument for the Jewish community, added an adjoining prayer vestibule, and reconditioned the entire structure with its white dome and quiet reception or prayer room.
34. Whittingham, George Napier. The home of fadeless splendour: or, Palestine of today, Dutton, 1921. pg. 314. "In 1841 Montefiore obtained for the Jews the key of the Tomb, and to conciliate Moslem susceptibility, added a square vestibule with a mihrab as a place of prayer for Moslems."
35. In 1845, Montefiore made further architectural improvements at the tomb. Susan Sereď, Our Mother Rachel, in Arvind Sharma, Katherine K. Young (eds.). The Annual Review of Women in World Religions, Volume 4, SUNY Press, 1991, p. 21–24. ISBN 0791429679
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42. ^ Shragai, Nadav. The Palestinians who are shooting at the Rachel's Tomb compound have already singled it out as the next Jewish holy site which they want to 'liberate', Haaretz, (October 31, 2000)
43. ^ United Nations Conciliation Commission For Palestine: Committee on Jerusalem. (April 8, 1949)
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45. Shragai, Nadav. The Palestinians Invent a Religious Claim: Rachel's Tomb termed "Bilal ibn", (December 2, 2007)
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48. Thousands at burial of Rabbi Menahem Porush, Jerusalem Post, (February 23, 2010)
49. Strickert, p. 135.
50. Unrest during the late 1990s:
    • Capital braces for violence, Jerusalem Post, (March 21, 1997).
    • Israelis, Arabs clash in protest near Rachel's tomb, The Deseret News, (May 30, 1997).
    • Palestinians stone soldiers by Rachel's Tomb, Jerusalem Post, (August 24, 1997).
    • More West Bank Tension As Envoy Meets Arafat, New York Times, (September 13, 1998).
51. Rachel's Tomb Institute: The Tomb
52. David M. Gitlitz & Linda Kay Davidson ‘’Pilgrimage and the Jews’’ (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006), 235–239.
53. "US slams Israel over designating heritage sites". Associated Press. 2010-02-24.
54. 'Rachel's Tomb was never Jewish', Jerusalem Post, March 7, 2010
55. "Executive Board adopts five decisions concerning UNESCO's work in the occupied Palestinian and Arab Territories". unesco.org. 2010-10-21.
57. Bryna Jocheved Levy (April 2008). Waiting for Rain: Reflections at the Turning of the Year. Jewish Publication Society. p. 59. ISBN 9780827608412. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
58. Baḥya ben Asher ben Ḥlava; Eliyahu Munk (1998). Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya, Torah Commentary: Toldot-Vayeshi (pages 385-738). Sole North American distributor, Lampda Publishers. p. 690. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
59. ^ Ramban. Genesis, Volume 2. Mesorah Publications Ltd, 2005. pp. 545-47.
60. Strickert, p. 32.
61. Ramban. Genesis, Volume 2. Mesorah Publications Ltd, 2005. p. 247.
62. Martin Gilbert (3 September 1985). Jerusalem: rebirth of a city. Viking. p. 25. ISBN 9780670807895. Retrieved 8 February 2011. Rachel's tomb has been a place of Jewish pilgrimage even before the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.
63. Review of The Story of Rachel's Tomb, Joshua Schwartz, Jewish Quarterly Review 97.3 (2007) e100-e103
64. ^ Susan Sered, "Rachel's Tomb and the Milk Grotto of the Virgin Mary: Two Women's Shrines in Bethlehem", Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, vol 2, 1986, pp. 7–22.
65. Susan Sered, "Rachel's Tomb: The Development of a Cult", Jewish Studies Quarterly, vol 2, 1995, pp. 103–148.
66. Sharman Kadish, Jewish Heritage in England : An Architectural Guide, English Heritage, 2006, p. 62

Bibliography

• ed-dyn, Moudjir (1876). Sauvaire (ed.). Histoire de Jérusalem et d'Hébron depuis Abraham jusqu'à la fin du XVe siècle de J.-C. : fragments de la Chronique de Moudjir-ed-dyn.
• Gitlitz, David M. & Linda Kay Davidson. “Pilgrimage and the Jews’’ (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006).
• le Strange, Guy (1890), Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, London, (Muhammad al-Idrisi: p.299)
• Sharon, Moshe (1999), Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, Vol. II, B-C, BRILL, ISBN 9004110836 (p.177, ff)
• Strickert, Frederick M. (2007), Rachel weeping: Jews, Christians, and Muslims at the Fortress Tomb, Liturgical Press, ISBN 081465987X

External links

• Rachel's Tomb Website General Info., History, Pictures, Video, Visitor Info., Transportation
• A site dedicated to Rachel's Tomb
• Rachel's Tomb, a Jewish Holy Place, Was Never a Mosque

• Bethlehem
• Israel National Heritage Site
• Torah places
• Jewish mausoleums
• Visitor attractions in the Palestinian territories
• Tombs of biblical people
• Jewish pilgrimage sites