Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard entered Joseph's Tomb in Samaria tonight (Monday) for a particularly moving prayer.
Pollard, accompanied by his wife Esther and the head of the Samaria Council, Yossi Dagan, arrived at the scene with a Torah scroll in his hands that he had written through a messenger with his own money 12 years ago while he was in prison and designated for Joseph's tomb.
Tonight he was honored to receive the Torah scroll he had dreamed of for years in prison.
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The Torah scroll was presented with the participation of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Rabbi of Safed, whose father, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, accompanied Pollard for years, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, Rabbi of Samaria, Deputy Head of the Samaria Regional Council Davidi Ben Zion, and many activists who worked over the years to release Pollard from prison.
During the event, Pollard said: "I feel a very personal connection to this place and to the righteous Joseph who is buried there and to everything he went through. I am bringing this Torah scroll to Joseph's tomb, a Torah scroll that was written from prison especially for Joseph's tomb. When I was in prison, the guards enjoyed humiliating me by asking me if I thought I would ever get home. I always answered the same way. I would ask, 'Do you believe in God?' and most of them would say yes. Then I would add, 'Do you think God can perform miracles?' and they would say, of course. And here we are.
""The same story applies to this Torah scroll. I will ask you if you believe in God and you will say yes. I will ask if you believe in miracles and then you will say yes. This Torah scroll will be used not only by us but also by our future generations. Therefore, we must all make the same promise to the Torah scroll. We promise to bring this Torah scroll regularly to Joseph's tomb and see that it is used every single day in our Promised Land.".
Head of the Samaria Regional Council Yossi Dagan: "Like the righteous Joseph, our brother Jonathan was also in the pit because he stood by his values. Like the righteous Joseph, our brother Jonathan was freed. Like the righteous Joseph, your values lead the people of Israel. Your arrival here to introduce the Torah scroll is also our statement and our commitment to the righteous Joseph, who needs to come out of his captivity, restore control here and the flag of Israel to wave above the grave.
""In his actions, Pollard saved the people of Israel and paid a very heavy personal price for it. We greatly appreciate and cherish the work of Pollard and his wife Esther for the people of Israel. At the event, we felt a very deep identification between two giants - Joseph the Righteous and Jonathan Pollard - who were in prison and forgotten by their brothers. Everything that was said and everything that was done for him is as nothing compared to the price he paid for the entire people of Israel.".
Minister Omer Yankelevich: "How moving it is to see Jonathan Pollard in Joseph's tomb, with the Torah scroll that he wrote through a messenger during his time in prison. 'And there is hope after you, says the Lord, and the children shall return to their border.'".
