Yesha Council Heads meet with Ambassador Gilad Erdan

Yesha Council Chairman Shlomo Ne'eman presented Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, with a stone taken from a 2^nd Temple period mikveh (ritual bath), from the Path of the Patriarchs in Gush Etzion – "This is a reminder to the nations of the world, that the Land of Israel, is part of our ancestral heritage." 

Also present at the meeting were Yesha Council CEO Shira Livman, Yesha Council Director of International Relations Yigal Dilmoni, who also serves a board member of the American Friends of Judea and Samaria (AFJS) organization, along with Yesha Council Spokeswoman Dorit Shechter. 

During the meeting, Ambassador Erdan received an overview on the progress of development in Judea and Samaria along with the security challenges in the area. 

At the end of the meeting Ne'eman presented Erdan with a wooden mezuzah in the shape of Israel, designed by beloved artist Michal Green-Shatz, who lives in Samaria, along with a stone from an ancient mikveh located on the Path of the Patriarchs near Neve Daniel in Gush Etzion. The mikveh was used by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem during the Temple period.

Erdan said that he would hang the new mezuzah in his new office at Israel's official mission to the UN.

Erdan said: "I was very happy to meet with Yesha Council Chairman Shlomo Ne'eman, along with the CEO (Livman), and receive the special mezuzah from Michal the artist who lives in Yakir (Samaria). The mezuzah symbolizes the fact that Judea and Samaria always belonged to the Jewish People, and will forever remain part of the Jewish People. Please G-d I will hang the new mezuzah in my new office at Israel's official mission to the UN in just a few months. I was also grateful to receive the special stone found in the mikveh on the Path of the Patriarchs, from Second Temple times. This of course is further evidence of the connection spanning thousands of years between the Jewish Nation and Judea and Samaria, especially after I recently displayed a rock at the UN which was used as a weapon, targeting Jewish motorists on the roads of Judea and Samaria."  

Ne'eman thanked Ambassador Erdan for his work at the UN standing up for Judea and Samaria and said: "My friend Ambassador Erdan is a true friend of the communities in Judea and Samaria. We came to thank him and praise him for his firm stance throughout his tenure on the side of truth. We presented him with s stone from Gush Etzion from the Second Temple period to showcase at the UN in order to illustrate our rights to the land and property of our ancestors. On behalf of all the residents of Judea and Samaria, we wish him continued success in all his endeavors for Israel and Judea and Samaria."