Abraham Lubinsky, Co-Chairman, ICHH signing with Zev Elkin, the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs

At a ceremony in City Hall, Mayor Moshe Lion praised the delegation for fulfilling a dream that began more than a decade ago. Turning to the Lubinsky brothers, he said “you dared to dream while others could not fathom building such a historic building.” At a ceremony at the Seven Arches Hotel on Har Hazeisim, Minister Zev Elkin of the Ministry of Heritage and Jerusalem Affairs said: “Har HazeisIm is the link to all of Yerushalayim and with this Center the history of this holy place will come to life.” The US delegation included Dov Fishoff, Vice Chairman of the ICHH, Dr. Paul Rosenstock, Vice Chairman of the ICHH, Raphy Nissel (Los Angeles), Ira Ganger, Neil Simon, David Urbach, Rabbi Marty Katz (Consultant), and Naftali Gold.

Rendering of the proposed Visitor Education Center (VEC) on Har Hazeisim.

Amongst the speakers at the signing events were the Lubinsky brothers, Attorney Shalom Wassertheil, a member of the Israel board of the ICHH, MK Miri Regev, a strong supporter of the project from the beginning, MK Rabbi Yoav ben Zur who in the last Knesset presided over the  Caucus on Har HazeisIm, the largest caucus in the history of the Knesset with 69 members, Maj. General Uzi Dayan, a member of the Israeli board, and Shalom Lerner, the director of the ICHH. Also present was MK Nir Auerbach, Former Deputy Mayor Yosi Deitsch, MK Michael Malchieli (chairman of Shas) who now presides over the Knesset’s Caucus on Har Hazeisim.

Menachem Lubinsky Co-Chairman, ICHH signing with Mayor Moshe Lion.

All of the speakers emphasized how the new Center will allow visitors to explore the 3000-year-old history of Har Hazeisim that dates back to the Nevi’im. They emphasized that the Visitor Center would bring permanent security to the hallowed mountain. “First it will encourage tens of thousands of visitors that officials estimate would top 1 million visitors a year. In addition, it will include a state-of-the-art police station and security center.” Said Menachem Lubinsky “We are doing this for the 150,000 kedoshim who are buried here to whom we will finally bring the real peace, free of vandalism, broken graves, dead donkeys, and drugs, which we found here years ago. We are the voice for the voiceless.”

A beautiful rendition of Shechiyanu and an emotional Kel Moleh Rachamim was sung by Cantor Moti Fixler, a former chazan in Vienna.

The 3-story building will be built just outside one of the main entrances to Har Hazeisim. It will include an amphitheater with a magnificent view of the entire area including the Har Habayis. The Center will also feature a beautiful Bais Hakneses where visitors will be able to daven, a computer center to locate kvarim, an outdoor amphitheater, a lecture hall, café, and information center. It is scheduled to open in the second half of 2023, according to the Jerusalem Development Authority which is overseeing the construction of the joint project between the ICHH and the government.

Although the project has been planned for nearly a decade, final plans were made during a recent visit by Dr. Paul Rosenstock and Dov Fishoff, Vice Chairs of the ICHH and key driving force of the historic endeavor. The two leaders were encouraged to proceed by Major General (Res.) Uzi Dayan, a member of the Israel Board of the Har Hazeisim Committee. The decorated major general told them: “Building this center will provide the ultimate security that the mountain needs to be free of vandalism and hooligans.”

Shalom Lerner, Director of the ICHH, said that the project had the strong support of security experts, the Knesset, and all levels of government. He and the Lubinsky brothers had high praise for the many families, mostly in the USA and Canada,  who came forward to make major dedications in the center as a partnership between the Jewish community worldwide and the Governments of Israel and Yerushalyim. “We know that the 150,000 kedoshim who are buried there can now truly rest in peace,” he said.

Founded in 2010, the ICHH is credited with greatly improving security on Har HazeisIm where some 150,000 Jews dating back to the Nevi’im are buried. Some of the measures that ICHH was instrumental in instituting were a network of 176 surveillance cameras, a local police station, new fencing, and the deployment of a Border Patrol unit amongst other improvements.