Netanyahu Rejected Rabbis’ Request to Hold Prayer Inside Gaza, Strock Says

Settlement and National Missions Minister Orit Strock said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered but rejected a request from 20 senior Religious Zionist rabbis to hold their annual 8 Elul prayer inside Gaza. Speaking Friday at a prayer and fast at Migdal Kissufim, Strock said she handed Netanyahu the rabbis’ letter after a Security Cabinet meeting roughly two weeks earlier. The gathering marked 21 years since synagogues in Gush Katif were burned and was organized by the Gush Katif Residents’ Headquarters and Prof. Yoel Elitzur. Strock said she was disappointed by the decision and hoped Jewish communities would again be established in Gaza.