PM sends Eid al-Adha greeting to Israel’s Muslim, Druze citizens
Netanyahu cites the values of the festival, such as helping others, which he says unite all Israelis
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his best wishes to the Muslim and Druze citizens of Israel for the Eid al-Adha festival that began Sunday night.
“On the occasion of the Festival of the Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha, I am happy to offer my best wishes to our Muslim and Druze citizens with wishes for a happy festival,” Netanyahu said in a statement released to the media. He offered the traditional festive greeting, “May you be well every year.”
“This festival praises the values which the Jewish religion also values, fear of God, family values and helping others. This is another example of the many things which unite us in our shared life in the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “I wish you and all your families a great and happy festival.”
Eid al-Adha commemorates the willingness of the patriarch Abraham, or Ibrahim in the Muslim tradition, to sacrifice his son and God’s intervention that stopped the slaughter.
According to the Muslim faith, Abraham’s almost-sacrificed son was Ishmael, while in Judaism, it is Isaac.
The holiday continues for the next four days, and falls every year during the Muslim month of Dhu al-Hijjah, when Muslims perform the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Defense Ministry has announced that it will permit 100,000 West Bank Palestinians to visit family in Israel during Eid al-Adha, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Major General Yoav Mordechai, announced on Facebook.
In addition, border checkpoints will operate for longer than usual to enable Palestinians, including Gazans, to travel abroad via Ben Gurion International Airport or Amman in Jordan. This will allow Muslims to make the hajj pilgrimage.
The Times of Israel Community.