The Beis Din Rabbonei Chabad of Eretz Yisroel has filed a petition with the Yerushalayim District Court seeking urgent legal action against several Israeli government bodies over what it says is the ongoing desecration of the historic Chabad cemetery plot in Chevron.

The petition, filed by attorneys Uri Kidar and Ofer Schechter on behalf of the Beis Din Rabbonei Chabad, names the Higher Planning Council, the Civil Administration, the IDF Commander in Yehuda and Shomron, the Chevron local council, and the Ministry of Religious Services as respondents.

The petition asks the court to immediately halt construction, paving, earthworks, and the placement of structures and infrastructure on the site, which the Beis Din says is located directly over historic graves.

Following a recent shift in planning authority from the Palestinian Chevron municipality to the Civil Administration, the area became subject to new planning possibilities that could facilitate expansion of the Jewish settlement. According to the petition, the yishuv administration began settling a plot adjacent to the Chabad chelka without first establishing the precise boundaries of the historic cemetery.

To provide access and allow caravans to be brought onto the site, an earthen ramp was constructed through the plot. The petition alleges that the ramp passes directly over the graves of former Chevron rabbanim Rabbi Shimon Menashe Chaikin and Rabbi Hillel Moshe Meisels Gelbstein.

Chelkas Chabad is the historic Ashkenazi section of the ancient Jewish cemetery in Chevron, which served Chabad chassidim and the Ashkenazi community in the city for generations. Among those buried there is Rebbetzin Menucha Rochel, the granddaughter of the Alter Rebbe.

“Chelkas Chabad, the subject of this petition, is the historic Ashkenazi section of the ancient Jewish cemetery in Chevron, which served the Chabad chassidus and the Ashkenazi community in the city for generations,” the petition states. “This is an ancient Jewish burial site with unique religious, historical, and heritage status, bound up with the history of Chabad and the history of the Jewish settlement in Chevron, with burial sites located within and around it.”

According to the petition, earthworks, paving, the placement of caravans and other structures, and the installation of infrastructure have been carried out, and continue to be carried out, without the required permits.

The work is taking place in an area where there is substantial evidence that it forms an inseparable part of the ancient cemetery, or at minimum an area where there is a serious and well-founded concern that graves, burial caves, and historic burial sites are present.

“The severity of the matter is not limited to work performed without proper permits,” the petition continues. “This concerns actions being carried out in the heart of an extremely sensitive burial site, harming kevod hameis, the sanctity of the place, and the historical heritage embodied in it.”

“Under these circumstances, any physical action at the site, particularly paving, filling, placing structures, or foreign uses, requires prior, rigorous, and thorough review by all authorized authorities and parties.”

Rabbi Yaakov Roz’e, chairman of the Chief Rabbinate’s Committee for Kevod Hameis and a leading posek on matters relating to the sanctity of graves, ruled that the area contains graves and has the halachic status of a cemetery, making the construction or paving of a ramp there forbidden.

The petition states that Rabbi Avraham Schwartz, rav of Kiryat Arba, initially accepted Rabbi Roz’e’s psak but subsequently retracted his acceptance.

In addition, architect Avner Segal and archaeologist Yehoshua Lavie independently examined the site and determined that it is highly likely to be an ancient burial ground.

The Beis Din Rabbonei Chabad says it repeatedly approached the relevant authorities before turning to the courts. According to the petition, despite being informed of the seriousness of the situation, the sensitivity of the site, and the possibility of irreversible damage to the cemetery, the authorities failed to take effective enforcement measures.

“Despite the authorities being informed in real time of the severity of the actions, the exceptional sensitivity of the area, and the real concern for irreversible harm to the cemetery, no real enforcement steps were taken, the work was not halted, the uses were not prohibited, and the structures and installations placed at the site were not removed,” the petition states.

“In effect, the authorities are enabling the continued establishment of illegal facts on the ground, at the very time when they are the authorized and obligated party to prevent this.”

The Beis Din is asking the court to issue an urgent interim injunction freezing all work and physical changes at the site.

It is also seeking orders prohibiting further use of the plot, removing the caravans, generators, piping, and fill materials, demolishing the earthen ramp, and restoring the site to its original ground level under strict professional and halachic supervision.