A revolution is taking place at heritage sites in Judea and Samaria. Biblical stories are coming to life, attracting tourists from Israel and abroad to witness a remarkable reconnection between the Jewish people and their ancestral homeland. An interview with Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu.
Budgets are more than transfers of money: they reflect priorities and often a hierarchy of values. The treatment of Jewish heritage sites scattered throughout Judea and Samaria is a striking example.
When Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu became Heritage Minister, the annual budget for these sites was just five to ten million shekels, controlled by the Archaeology Staff Officer. It had to cover preservation, excavations, development and the fight against antiquities looting. The budget has since soared to unprecedented levels, and Eliyahu insists this is only the beginning.
“When you are unwilling to pay for something, it means you do not value it or recognize what you have. When the Heritage Ministry became an independent ministry under Ze’ev Elkin, we passed a government resolution with the participation of Ministers Idit Silman, Amichai Chikli, Haim Katz and others. It pooled resources from ministries that believe in our heritage, our historical story and its international influence.
“The initial allocation was approximately 140 million shekels annually—a significant leap. I see these stories and sites as justifying our existence, both morally and in terms of our inner resilience. Someone who does not know why they live in this land may begin considering emigration. By contrast, learning about King David, the prophet Elijah, Hannah Szenes, David Ben-Gurion and others gives the soul something to lean on.”
Who Knew Brutalist Architecture Was Part of Our Heritage?
Eliyahu says this principle was clear to the founders of Zionism, as Berl Katznelson, Yigal Allon and others wrote around the establishment of the state. Yet, he says, “When we entered the ministry, we found little investment in these subjects, while some funded sites had little connection to these foundations.
“For example, I saw ten million shekels invested in ‘the heritage of Brutalism,’ a field I had never heard of, focusing on Brutalist construction in Beersheba—unclad concrete buildings. Is that our heritage? I was shocked. The problem is that an official with particular views and an agenda determines what heritage means. You cannot challenge him because he is supposedly the expert. He decides this is more important than the heritage of Abraham and Sarah in Hebron, the Hasmonean palaces, or ancient Shiloh and Sebastia. That is an untenable approach.”
While examining documents, budgets and previous approvals, Eliyahu found surprisingly little emphasis on Jewish history and the historical justification for Israel’s presence. He is careful, however, not to disparage his predecessors.
“They did a great deal, but the ministry was an additional portfolio alongside another ministry they had to manage. In practice, an interministerial professional committee ran the Heritage Ministry and decided its own priorities.”
“I must acknowledge the sacred work Minister Elkin did. His heart was in the right place, and he opened the door to investment in Judea and Samaria. Building on his initial efforts, nearly half a billion shekels have been allocated to projects throughout Judea and Samaria over the current government’s four years,” Eliyahu says.
He stresses that investment in Herodium is not about glorifying Herod, but also about telling the story of the revolt and Bar. Kokhba. “With all due respect to Herod, we must remember that he also massacred many Jews.”
Discouragement from Within the Ministry
When Eliyahu took office and proposed an ambitious, long-term plan, professionals tried to discourage him, arguing that nobody was interested in these sites and that they would attract neither Israeli nor international tourists. Today, he describes growing worldwide interest in biblical sites, archaeological discoveries and the opportunity to stand where prophets and kings once walked.
He highlights international partnerships, particularly support for tourism projects in Judea and Samaria from Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, and influential senators.
“When I first traveled to the United States as a minister, I was asked not to discuss Judea and Samaria. Some officials even bypassed the ministry and tried to cancel my meetings with senators. Today, we present American government officials with archaeological findings, and they are so moved that they cry—an emotional response we do not encounter in Israel.”
Asked about the projects transformed during his tenure, Eliyahu offers several examples.
“First, there is Sartaba, one of the places where signal fires were lit. We paved a road there, and thousands now visit a site that was previously inaccessible. At the Hasmonean palaces, we demolished houses illegally built by Arabs over the ancient site. We will transform the area into a lively attraction, with a large pool and an access road. At Herodium, we cleaned the pool, and international events are now held there. We want to connect the experience of the water with the site’s historical heritage and deeper values.”
“We are also investing in Solomon’s Pools. I thought Herodium’s pool was the largest in Judea and Samaria, but seeing the pools that supplied water to the Temple—and the neglect that followed the Oslo Accords, when the area was handed over—makes clear the disgrace and why we must return there. We are investing now and will commit substantial additional sums. Until recently, the pools were full of garbage.
“The Palaces of Ahab have also been declared a national park, and excavations are underway. The site will become something on the scale of the City of David. We have invested just 35 million shekels so far, but approximately 500 million are needed. We are beginning by planting the seed of a heritage tree, but thousands of other sites still need attention. There is hardly a place where you can point without finding a story from our history.”
The ministry’s work extends beyond ancient biblical history. More recent stories are also part of the heritage, including the “Moshe Zar House.”
“We want to establish a heritage center dedicated to Moshe Zar, who reclaimed land for Jewish settlement. We also want a heritage center for the settlement movement and are planning another for the Moskowitz family, which invested in land reclamation and settlement. We are connecting heritage stories from the Cave of the Patriarchs to the present day.”
This article was originally published in Sovereignty Journal, Issue No. 20 (October 2026). 📖 "Click here to read the full issue