We had unexpected visitors yesterday morning (Friday, October 28th) at the Oz veGaon Nature Preserve, on the hill overlooking Gush Etzion Junction. Minister of Education Naftali Bennett, his wife and children surprised the people at the preserve when they arrived for a visit at the place together with dozens more members of the family, to celebrate a family event there.
The minister and members of his family came to the place a short time after Akiva Bigman’s lecture attended by dozens of visitors at the preserve. Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, the heads of Women in Green, who are behind the restoration of the preserve and transforming the place into an enjoyable and stimulating camping site that integrates cultural events and heritage, speak about the unexpected meeting:
“Following a very busy morning at Oz veGaon with visitors from the Hevron Midrasha, and the weekly lecture held by Women in Green, this week with Akiva Bigman, we were surprised and delighted to meet Naftali Bennett, Minister of Education, who came to Oz veGaon for a family event with his wife and children. The children immediately jumped on the playground equipment and the devoted father along with them”.
Katsover and Matar spoke with the Minister and told him about the establishment of the site on the night that the bodies of the three abducted youths were found and about the restoration of the preserve and its transformation into an educational tourism site that has attracted thousands of visitors since its establishment. The minister’s family promised to return to visit the place again and to bring friends with them as well.
Minister Bennett uploaded a video clip to his Facebook page, in which he explains the visit, explains about the establishment of the place and recommends crowds of Israelis to come to the place and enjoy its recreational facilities. Later on in the video, the minister mentions the first Rashi commentary in the weekly Torah portion of Bereshit, in which Rashi explains why the Torah begins with the creation of the world and with not the exodus from Egypt – an answer to those who would make the claim against the People of Israel that it stole its land from them: the Land belongs to the Almighty, who, by His will, gave it to us.
Minister Bennett in the video clip that he uploaded:
Credit for photography and attachments: Women in Green