Yehuda Getz

Yehuda Getz (born 1924 in Tunis, Tunisia—died 17 September 1995 in Jerusalem) was the rabbi of the Western Wall for 27 years.[1][2][3]

Yehuda Getz
Born1924
Tunis, Tunisia
Died17 September 1995
Jerusalem, Israel
TitleRabbi

Biography

Yehuda Meir Getz was born in Tunisia in 1924. He immigrated to Israel in 1949, settling in Kerem Ben Zimra, a moshav in Upper Galilee.[1] He joined the Israel Defense Forces, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.[1]

Getz died of a heart attack on 17 September 1995.[3] He was survived by his wife and six children, and is buried on the Mount of Olives.[2][4]

Rabbinic career

After the death of his son Avner in the Six-Day War, he moved to Jerusalem's Old City.[1] Shortly afterwards he was appointed as overseer of prayers at the Western Wall.[3]

Getz was a supporter of Excavations at the Temple Mount.[5] In July 1981, Getz and a team of associates opened a tunnel under the Temple Mount near to where he believed the Ark of the Covenant, previously in Solomon's Temple had been hidden, directly below the Holy of Holies of the Second Temple.[6]

References
  1. Finklestone, Joseph (4 November 1995). "OBITUARY: Rabbi Yehuda Meir Getz". The Independent. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  2. "Rabbi Yehuda Getz". Scotland Herald. 21 September 1995. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  3. "Obituaries - Yehuda Meir Getz, Western Wall's Rabbi, 71". New York Times. 25 September 1995. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  4. "Rabbi Yehuda M. Getz; Overseer of Western Wall". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. 19 September 1995. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  5. Shragai, Nadav (25 April 2003). "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  6. Hasson, Nir (24 April 2011). "Jerusalem's time tunnels". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
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