Hundreds Celebrate Synagogue Dedication in Homesh 21 Years After Evacuation

Hundreds of people gathered in the re-established settlement of Homesh on Sunday for a celebration marking the dedication of a synagogue named after Rabbi Kook, 21 years after the Israeli disengagement from northern Samaria. The event included the bringing of a Torah scroll, a central rally, and a performance by Beni Landau.

Attendees included Shomron Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, Deputy Knesset Speaker Limor Son Har-Melech, rabbis, residents, activists from "Homesh First," and bereaved families, including those of Yehuda Dimantman, Shuli Har-Melech, and Idudo Zoldan, all killed in attacks. During the Torah scroll ceremony, a canopy made from the tallit of Yitzhak Zeiger, who was murdered in a 2024 shooting attack and loved Homesh, was unfurled above it.

"We are in days of historical rectification," declared Dagan. "We stand here in the renewed Homesh and say to the whole world: The disengagement from northern Samaria is dead, the people of Israel live!" He called for continued settlement construction and full sovereignty in the area.

Son Har-Melech, herself a former resident of Homesh, stated, "Today, as we stand here in Homesh, we can clearly say: The people of Israel have returned home." She described the return to Homesh as part of rectifying the "terrible injustice" of the disengagement and expressed hope for a return to Gaza and "all parts of our homeland."

Ministers Orit Strock and Ze'ev Elkin sent video messages. Elkin said the return to Homesh represented "national repentance" for the disengagement, adding, "There will be no more disengagement, only a plan of connection."

Certificates of appreciation were awarded to pioneers, activists, and families who worked for the return to Homesh over the years, under the title "Chain of Generations of Homesh."