Thousands of Jewish worshippers from across Israel visited the tomb of Joseph the Righteous in the center of Nablus over the past week during the annual yahrzeit commemoration. The nighttime entry was organized and heavily guarded by IDF and security forces, and the pilgrims arrived in armored buses to pray for the welfare of the Jewish people and for personal needs at the site.
A central moment came with the arrival of Rabbi Shalom Arush, head of the Chut Shel Chesed institutions, who came with a group of followers. He prayed at length for the Jewish people and then held traditional haircutting ceremonies, or chalakha, for several boys who had reached age three.
To serve the large crowd, a special hospitality operation was set up at the compound and worked throughout the entry period. It provided food, substantial refreshments and cold drinks to ease conditions for the worshippers at the site.
At the end of the event, the volunteers behind the hospitality effort said they hoped to host all of Israel in Nablus year-round, with proper lodging in addition to food and drink, and said they wanted the whole compound and surrounding area to return to full Jewish control. By dawn, after the worshippers had left, the visit ended successfully and without unusual incidents, with security forces escorting the last buses out of the city.
