The request comes as the military is studying the possibility of restoring a permanent Jewish presence at the holy site on the outskirts of Nablus.
An Israeli couple has asked the military to facilitate their newborn son’s circumcision ceremony, or brit milah, to be held at Joseph’s Tomb in the Samaria city of Nablus (Shechem), Arutz 7 reported on Monday.
The request to hold their son’s brit milah at Joseph’s Tomb comes as the Israel Defense Forces is studying the possibility of restoring a permanent Jewish presence at the holy site.
“This coming Thursday, we intend to bring our son into the covenant of Abraham, our forefather,” the parents wrote in a missive to IDF Central Command head Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
“Joseph’s Tomb is a place of great significance for us, and we feel deeply connected to it. Moreover, Jewish presence at Joseph’s Tomb is a moral obligation and a matter of historical justice,” the Tamirs continued.
The family noted that the Israeli government agreed with the PLO in the 1990s Oslo Accords that Jews would be allowed unrestricted access to holy sites across Judea and Samaria.
The accords designated Joseph’s Tomb as one of the two holy sites in Area A of Judea and Samaria that would remain under Israel’s control, alongside the historic Shalom al Yisrael Synagogue in Jericho.
“Restoring the permanent Jewish presence at Joseph’s Tomb is a highly important political and security necessity, in addition to the clear moral significance and the need to correct the injustice of abandoning the tomb,” the Tamir family wrote in its letter, referencing the 2000 decision to leave the area in response to a deadly terrorist attack.
The holiness of the tomb in Nablus stems from the reference in book of Joshua: “And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.”
During a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on July 1, representatives of the defense establishment told lawmakers they were studying the possibility of restoring the pre-2000 situation.
The proposed decision, which Arutz 7 said was expected to come in three weeks, has received support from key members inside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, including Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who manages civilian issues in Judea and Samaria as a second minister in the defense ministry.
In the coming weeks, meetings in the field are expected to take place with security officials to coordinate practical arrangements for securing pilgrimage access and redeveloping the infrastructure at the site.
Nachi Weiss, who chairs the Return to Joseph Knesset initiative, said during last week’s Knesset committee that “terror intensifies in Shechem in the absence of a Jewish presence, and the nations of the world see us abandoning one of the most historically rooted Jewish heritage sites.
“It is important to note that those promoting this initiative are not only religious Jews, but also Jews from across the spectrum, who view Joseph as a universal Jewish role model of connection,” said the Israeli activist.