Israeli officials on Tuesday inaugurated the new “Hall of Return” at the Gush Etzion Heritage Center that, for the first time, also highlights the renewal of Jewish settlement in Judea since the 1967 Six-Day War.
The hall was opened in a ceremony attended by Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, Gush Etzion Regional Council leader Yaron Rosenthal, representatives of Jewish National Fund-USA and Kfar Etzion residents.
Until now, the heritage center largely focused on commemorating the 1948 Independence War and the fall of Gush Etzion’s historic Jewish communities at the hands of local Arabs and the Jordanian army.
The Hall of Return adds a contemporary dimension, presenting the development of towns in the area over the past almost six decades.
The Hall of Return integrates into the existing Gush Etzion Heritage Center and features exhibits on community growth, Judean culture, farming and economy. It is the first visitors’ center that explains the post-1967 developments as part of a continuous historical narrative.
In addition, a “national center” for local products has opened inside the center, offering a variety of goods produced in Judea, including wines, olive oil, honey, natural cosmetics, art, books and jewelry, the Gush Etzion Heritage Center stated in its press release on Tuesday.
“Gush Etzion is not only a symbol of heroism and sacrifice, but also a symbol of return and renewed life,” Eliyahu said. “The Hall of Return tells the full story: from the heroism of 1948 to today’s flourishing.”
“This is the right way to commemorate heritage: not just tears for the past, but pride in the present,” the minister stated, adding: “When a million visitors a year see here not only what once was, but also what has been built, they will understand that this is not history that has ended, but a story that continues to be written.”
Israeli Tourism Minister Haim Katz noted that the government headed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invested 30 million shekels ($8 million) in tourism infrastructure in Gush Etzion in recent years, as part of an effort to promote tourism in Judea and Samaria.
Gush Etzion “has a powerful story and great tourism potential,” he said. “We will keep investing in the development of sites and infrastructure that attract visitors, strengthen the local economy and improve the visitor’s experience.”
Gush Etzion, first settled by Jews in the 1920s, was home to 450 Israeli residents in 1948, when 127 were killed and villages were destroyed, before being reestablished after Jerusalem re-captured it in 1967.
According to the most recent population statistics, published on Jan. 1, 2024, 28,752 Jewish Israelis have since returned to the nine established residential communities throughout the Gush Etzion bloc.
