Twenty-one years after the expulsion from northern Samaria, Rabbi Dov Lior returned Tuesday to Sa-Nur for the first time since the 2005 disengagement, marking what many described as a deeply symbolic full-circle moment.
2+Recovering from a recent illness, Rabbi Lior arrived by helicopter alongside Samaria Governor Yossi Dagan. Upon reaching the community’s historic fortress. the rabbi recited the blessing “Matziv Gevul Almanah”, a blessing traditionally recited upon seeing a Jewish community in the Land of Israel that has been rebuilt after lying in ruins.
According to the Samaria Regional Council, the helicopter was the first civilian aircraft to land in northern Samaria since the disengagement 21 years ago.
The visit carried extraordinary emotional significance. On the day Sa-Nur was evacuated in 2005, Rabbi Lior stood atop the community’s fortress, where he tore the shirt of Dagan and other activists, instructing them to recite the blessing “Baruch Dayan Ha’emet” (“Blessed is the True Judge”) to mourn the destruction of the community. Dagan vowed: “As long as we are breathing, we will do everything to return here,” to which those gathered responded, “Amen.”
Weeks before this week’s visit, Dagan presented Rabbi Lior with an original stone from the Sa-Nur fortress engraved with the words “Matziv Gevul Almanah,” inviting him to return once Jewish life had been restored and recite the blessing at the site.
Standing once again on the fortress overlooking northern Samaria, Rabbi Lior addressed the returning residents. “You are the pioneers leading the camp,” he said. “You will be the living example that a place which was destroyed can be rebuilt. One community after another, redeeming the Land of Israel. I thank God that I have merited in my lifetime to see this place return and flourish. May we merit to rebuild all 19 communities—and even more.”
Following the ceremony in Sa-Nur, Rabbi Lior continued a tour of renewed Jewish communities and pioneering outposts throughout northern Samaria.
In the rebuilt community of Homesh, he affixed a mezuzah to the home of a newly arrived family—the first such ceremony since the community’s reestablishment—and offered words of encouragement to local residents. He later participated in a celebratory celebration marking the completion of a Talmudic tractate at the Homesh Yeshiva, led by Rabbi Elishama Cohen.
2+The rabbi also visited Shuva Yisrael Farm, located near the site where Yehuda Shmuel Sherman was murdered in a terrorist attack. There, he met with residents, looked out over northern and central Samaria, and offered blessings to those continuing to build and develop the area.
For many, the visit represented far more than a personal milestone.
“Today, when the rabbi comes here and recites ‘Matziv Gevul Almanah,’ it is not only a personal closing of the circle for all of us as families—it is a historic moment for the people of Israel,” Dagan said. “With God’s help, we will continue building, holding fast, and making all of northern Samaria flourish until every one of the communities uprooted during the disengagement has been rebuilt.”
2+Benny Gal, a resident of Homesh who was expelled from the community in 2005 before later returning with his family, thanked Rabbi Lior for his visit and for the encouragement and support he has shown to the families rebuilding Jewish life in northern Samaria.
For centuries, Jews were driven from their homes across the world, always praying for the day they could return to their own land. In northern Samaria, that ancient hope is no longer just a prayer—it is being lived, one community at a time.