A dramatic funding crisis that threatened to shut the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and scores of other Jewish holy sites appears to have eased after Israel’s High Court authorized the release of approximately NIS 78 million to the Religious Services Ministry.

The decision came after ministry officials warned that the Tomb of the Patriarchs, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, could be forced to close entirely because the government lacked a legally authorized source of money to keep it operating. Officials had been instructed to prepare to lock the entrances, halt prayers, tours and events, dismiss staff and end contracts with outside suppliers if funding was not restored.

The crisis stemmed from a High Court order freezing hundreds of millions of shekels in budget transfers approved by the Knesset Finance Committee. The court cited “apparent procedural flaws” surrounding the committee session, which was held during an election-period Knesset recess. The frozen package included roughly NIS 78 million for the Religious Services Ministry, alongside considerably larger allocations for other ministries and programs.

The situation escalated sharply when Religious Services Ministry Director General Yehuda Avidan warned the court that the consequences could extend far beyond Hebron. Without the money, he said, the ministry would have to announce the closure of roughly 125 holy sites, including Rachel’s Tomb and the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at Mount Meron, as well as the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

Avidan said the funding was needed for far more than routine administration. It covers expenses including security, policing, cleaning, employee salaries, insurance and payments to suppliers, with the pressure particularly acute as large numbers of worshippers visit holy sites during the month of Elul and ahead of the High Holidays.

Hours after the warning, the High Court allowed the Religious Services Ministry’s approximately NIS 78 million allocation to be released. The Finance Ministry had asked the court to exempt those funds from the broader freeze while the legal battle over the remaining transfers continues.

The move appears to remove the immediate financial trigger for the threatened shutdowns, although a formal cancellation of the closure preparations at the Tomb of the Patriarchs had not been publicly announced at the time of publication.

The showdown was particularly striking in Hebron, where Israel has recently undertaken extensive conservation and safety work at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. The upgrades include electrical work, air conditioning, drainage, lighting, fire protection and a permanent roof over the Jewish prayer area, part of what the Jewish Community of Hebron described as the first major Jewish-led conservation work at the ancient structure in roughly 2,000 years.

The site is traditionally regarded as the burial place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah, and draws roughly one million visitors annually. Jewish and Muslim prayer areas operate under a longstanding arrangement, with the entire complex opened exclusively to each faith on a limited number of designated religious days during the year.

For now, the immediate threat of an extraordinary closure has receded. The broader court fight over the disputed Knesset funding package, however, remains unresolved.