In a historic speech given by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Hebron, the Israeli premier referenced Caleb’s battle call in Numbers 13 saying: “We all remember the victory call of Caleb son of Jephunneh who was loyal to Hebron  – Let us by all means go up!”

The statement was in referenced to Numbers 13 when Caleb, one of the 12 spies, tried to reassure the nation of Israel after the other spies relayed a negative report saying:

  Kalev hushed the people before Moshe and said, “Let us by all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30)

Netanyahu also appeared to have referenced Genesis 23 during the address when he said: “We will implement historic Jewish Property Rights in this City.” 

In Genesis 23, Abraham purchased Hebron from Ephron the Hittite. That could mean that the prime minister implied that Israel will annex all of Hebron. That’s because the historic Jewish property rights are clearly stated in the book of Genesis:  

Avraham paid out to Ephron the money that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites—four hundred shekalim of silver at the going merchants’ rate. So Ephron’s land in Machpelah, near Mamre—the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the confines of that field—passed to Avraham as his possession. (Genesis 23:16-18)

The Prime Minister also stated that: ““Our connection to Hebron is ancient and dates back to our earliest historical period as a nation.” 

In reference to the 1929 massacre, Netanyahu said: “The horrific attack on the Jews ended with a terrible result: murder, rape, onslaught, desecration of Torah scrolls.”

“The Jewish presence in Hebron came to an end” he added. But then during the Six-day war, we liberated the Cave off the Patriarchs” the Prime Minister recalled.

“We returned our sons to the city of our fathers” Netanyahu added.

The prime minister also spoke about the need to provide handicapped access to the tomb and praised the Jewish survivors of the massacre and noted that today, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Hebron. 

Sports and Culture minister Miri Regev and Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein also attended the commemorative ceremony. Regev called on Netanyahu to assert Israeli sovereignty over Hebron.