Biblical Highway: Activists Want to Create ‘Route 60’ in Israel and West Bank
The northern Israeli town of Nazareth. Photo: public domain.
i24 News – Highway 60 in Israel and the West Bank is only 235 kilometer in its length but its story stretched for thousands of years.
This road which goes from Nazareth in the north all the way south to Beer Sheba in the south is also known as the way of the Patriarch as it contains many sites with biblical connections. Nowadays, a group of activists are trying to promote a plan to turn this highway to a tourist attraction, similar to the American “Route 60” which contains many viewpoints.
We had the privilege to take a tour at the southern part of the highway with Yishai Fleischer, an activist and the spokesperson of the Jewish community in Hebron, who is very much involved in this project. Our first stop is Tel Beer Sheba, an ancient archaeological site associated with the patriarch Abraham: “We see here the fusion of the ancient, which is right behind us, Tel Beer Sheba, and the new city. People see it as a miracle, that there is a 4000 old city and a new city. Not only there is an ancient city, there is also an ancient road and I hope that in the future people will travel all the way north on that road and say “we are going on the biblical highway” says Fleischer.
The “biblical highway” is also a subject to a new documentary film produced by TBN network which follows former U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo as he travels highway 60 with former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman. Fleischer tell us about his personal encounter with them: “They flew around the country and stop in every site, be it a Jewish or Christian site,” he says.
Our next stop is at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. This city was a source of clashes between Muslims and Jews for generations, as religion, politics and territory collide. Fleischer tries to change the perspective on this road, considered by some as the “Highway to Hell.” Fleischer hopes to find a path between the two sides.
“Route 60 is a way to get around the political problem. We are talking about education, we are talking about Heritage of most of the world. So what we are saying, lets put the politics a side. Lets talk about Abraham, like the Abraham Accords. The biblical highway means to bypass the tension and the politics, as well as to make money and to be a touristic site in which everyone along the road will benefit from.”
We end our tour in Emek Bracha of Vally of Blessing in the West Bank which provides a good viewpoint to the road as well as more stories associated with the book of Genesis and the story of Jacob’s journey from Haran to Beer Sheba.
With Pompeo and Friedman on his side, Fleischer hopes to make highway 60 a must see road in the Holy Land, despite the bumps in the way.
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