A giant Israeli flag was raised on the summit of Mount Sartaba in the Jordan Valley on Monday, in what the Heritage Ministry described as a first, as part of a broader effort to strengthen public connection to the Jewish people’s historic roots in the Land of Israel.
According to a statement from Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu’s office, the flag was hoisted on the mountain peak, which stands at about 650 meters, in a symbolic act that the ministry said reflects a renewed emphasis on Israel’s historical and spiritual heritage.
The ministry said the move joins other recent symbolic initiatives at historic sites in Judea and Samaria, including Hasmonean palaces and additional locations tied to Jewish history.
Officials said the ministry’s approach combines on-the-ground preservation work and improved public access to heritage sites with symbolic acts meant to revive ancient traditions and deepen national identity.
Jewish tradition identifies Mount Sartaba with the beacon system used in the Second Temple period, when fires were lit on mountaintops to transmit messages across the land. The ministry said the site’s history gives the initiative added meaning as a symbol of continuity between past and present.
Heritage Ministry to revive Mishnaic-era torchlighting
The ministry also said it plans to renew the lighting of torches on the summit on Rosh Hodesh Nisan (the beginning of the Hebrew month of Nisan) as a symbolic revival of the Tannaitic-era custom.
The statement framed the effort as a message of continuity, responsibility, and connection to Israel’s historic homeland and said heritage should be treated as a living part of the country’s present and future.
Eliyahu said the initiative was intended to send a message to Jews in Israel and abroad.
“We are reclaiming what is ours,” Eliyahu said in the statement. “With God’s help, on Rosh Hodesh Nisan, we will renew on the summit the custom of lighting torches as in the days of the Mishna, a fire that then, as now, conveys a clear message to Jews around the world: The people of Israel live, and they walk across all parts of their historic land.”