Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced a new program on Tuesday through which thousands of school pupils would visit the West Bank city of Hebron and the Cave of the Patriarchs every year. A pilot for the program would start next year, he told Jewish residents of Hebron and the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba during a visit to both places on Tuesday. The program, to be called "Let's Go Up to Hebron," would be run and funded by his ministry and is similar to one that already exists for Jerusalem, he said. Sa'ar recalled how, when he was cabinet secretary under Ariel Sharon, the former prime minister had said the state had to ensure that every pupil, soldier and ambassador visited the Cave of the Patriarchs so they would "recognize the roots from which it all began." Kiryat Arba Council head Malachi Levinger said, "We're talking about a historic decision that will expose, for the first time, thousands of students to the Jewish heritage in the city of their forefathers."
