Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the community of Ofra in southern Samaria on Sunday to celebrate its 50th anniversary, returning to a place he last visited a quarter-century ago when he planted a young cedar tree. That tree now towers high, a symbol, Netanyahu said, of Jewish roots in the biblical heartland that cannot be uprooted.
“It is very, very moving to be here,” Netanyahu told the gathered residents. “I came here 25 years ago, for the half-jubilee, to plant roots in a place where we already have roots thousands of years old. I said that I would return for the jubilee celebrations of Ofra. Today, I have kept that promise.”
Standing beside the cedar tree, Netanyahu reflected on the political battles of the past quarter century, framing his government’s stance in both historical and spiritual terms.
“I also told you in that conversation that we would do everything to ensure our continued hold on the Land of Israel, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, to prevent the attempts that were made—and unfortunately still exist—to uproot us from here. With God’s help, what I promised—we fulfilled,” he said.
The prime minister emphasized that the path was not easy. “There were many forces, many pressures—internal pressures, external pressures, a series of American presidents who wanted to uproot us and establish a Palestinian state here. Together, we stood firm. We upheld the promise of generations, and look what has happened since.”
25 years ago Netanyahu planted a cedar tree in Ofra and promised: “Invite me back for the 50th.”
⏩ Yesterday he returned.
The cedar now towers into the sky. The pioneers of Ofra are still here. And so is Israel’s Prime Minister, moved to tears. pic.twitter.com/UfId1aRk3d— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) August 17, 2025
Netanyahu used the growth of the cedar tree as a metaphor for Jewish continuity in the biblical heartland: “This tree symbolizes the deepening of our roots in the homeland and the raising of our branches higher and higher, exactly as we promised. I bless you for being, in essence, the spearhead of our continued existence in our land.”
The premier’s words drew emotional reactions in Ofra, one of the first Jewish communities established in Samaria after the Six Day War, and a flashpoint in the debate over sovereignty and settlement. For Netanyahu and his supporters, the thriving community embodies both faith and resilience: a living example of promises fulfilled despite immense pressures at home and abroad.
The ceremony, attended by Binyamin Regional Council head and Yesha Council chairman Israel Gantz, highlighted the strategic and spiritual significance of Ofra, marking half a century of Jewish presence in the heart of Samaria—and a defiant rejection of efforts to establish a Palestinian state on the same land.
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