A huge pool excavated by Herod was inaugurated at Herodium in Gush Etzion in a ceremony attended by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, public figures, and settlement leaders.
Eliyahu said the project reflects a broader national mission. “Our weapon is the connection to the Bible,” he said, adding that alongside “technological developments and military strength,” “the spirit is the strongest thing.” He described the event as a way to tell “the spirit of Bar Kokhba,” “the spirit of freedom for Jerusalem,” and a spirit that “survived 2,000 years in exile” and still operates today.
He also said Israel is “returning our heritage treasures to ourselves and to the world,” so that the world will know “this is the land of the Bible,” where the ancestors of the Jewish people walked. He said Israelis had not dared say that for many years and had been ashamed of it, and now are restoring “the crown to its former glory” with support from across the world.
Benni Har Even, the Civil Administration archaeology officer for Judea and Samaria, called the event “historic,” saying they can “hear the flutter of history’s wings” and that preserving the Herodium pool is another step on a long road. Ministry director general Itai Granek said the ministry’s work in Judea and Samaria is a “real revolution,” noting that hundreds of millions of shekels have been invested in exposing Jewish history at Herodium, Sebastia, Sartaba, and other sites, and that thousands came to connect with a history that is not only the past but also the future.
Eliyahu also said the Palestinian Authority is trying to erase Jewish heritage sites under a “systematic plan,” and pointed to “a change” in the last four years at places including the Cave of the Patriarchs, Herodium, Tel Shilo, and Ahab’s palaces, through major budgets and a clear statement from the Israeli government that “we are here and this is our land.” He praised Har Even, who lost his son in the October 7 attack, and said he and the ministry staff are doing what should have been done decades ago.
