Malachi Levinger, are you afraid the disturbances in Hebron will deteriorate into terror attacks?

Malachi Levinger, 38, has for the past year and a quarter served as head of the Kiryat Arba local council. Levinger, who is the son of Rabbi Moshe Levinger, one of the leaders of the Jewish return to Hebron in 1968 and among the most extreme right-wing settlers, holds ideological views that are considered moderate. He puts national interests above politics and attaches importance to institutions such as the Knesset and the Israel Defense Forces.

I was at the memorial service two days ago for Baruch Goldstein in Kiryat Arba and I met three members of your council there. They spoke highly of what Goldstein had done [in the Tomb of the Patriarchs] and said that, by his death, he had saved the lives of Jews. Do you agree with them?

I don't wish to speak on that that issue.

In the past few days, following the government's declaration that the Tomb of the Patriarchs is a national heritage site, we have been witness to tension in the city (of Hebron) and to disturbances. What do you think this will lead to?

Every time the Jews make a clear statement that relates to the Land of Israel, there is a wave of disturbances. I hope that this time the Israeli government's very clear stance on Hebron and its place on the national heritage map will lead to [the realization that the disturbances are] a waste of time and that the wave will end quickly.

Are you afraid that the disturbances will deteriorate into attempted terrorist attacks?

I rely completely and totally on the efforts of the Israel Defense Forces to maintain the relative quiet that has existed in the past years.

Without talking about the heritage sites, is the Israeli government doing enough to take care of and honor the Tomb of the Patriarchs?

Hebron and the Tomb of the Patriarchs are an important part of the glorious history of the Jewish people. The government needs, beyond the clear statement it has made, to continue to strengthen the place where more than half a million Israelis visit every year. There are actions that the government started taking, and I hope these will continue with greater momentum in the coming year. For example, the tourism infrastructure that will serve the people coming to the cave. Despite the commitments of governments, there is to this day no accessibility to the cave for the disabled. There are no usable public restrooms. And what is most problematic of all is that in the central space for prayer in the courtyard, the roof which the defense establishment promised to set up 12 years ago has not yet been put in place. This is because of the lack of understanding of some in the defense establishment that our right to the city of our forefathers is no less than that of our cousins.

It has already been three months since the building freeze went into effect. You have been a member of the Likud central committee for many years. It seems that the big political move of the right in the past six or seven years - to create a large bloc in the central committee of the Likud and to exert pressure from the inside on the ministers and the government - has failed.

I have been a Likud member for more than a decade, out of the belief that we have to connect the people of Israel with our roots in the Land of Israel. As part of my job, I have brought approximately half the ministers in the government and dozens of heads of local authorities from the Likud, to Hebron in the past year. This activity is the continuation of the activity I was engaged in the past few years - to bring the Israeli public that has not visited the city of our forefathers to connect with our roots in the city of the patriarchs, Kiryat Arba-Hebron. This process is moving forward and I hope we will be able to expand it in various ways so that the public will get to know the city. By their very nature, political processes are long term. The Likud has gathered the fruits of the move in the past and will gather its fruits in the future.

Why do the ministers not voice objections to the freeze? Are they afraid of the prime minister?

Most of the ministers in the government voice their opinions both when they visit the settlements and at cabinet meetings. I am confident that the prime minister too understands the value of us continuing to hold onto the city of the patriarchs and that is what I have heard from him as well; and I hope the future will prove the contribution of the current Likud government to expanding and deepening the settlements.

Do you believe the building will continue after the freeze ends?

I believe and hope it will. We will act in every way possible even to shorten the process of the freeze and not to wait until the month of Tishrei [September] for the end of the freeze order.

The image of Kiryat Arba in the eyes of the public is of an extremist town where ultra-right wing people live. How does this affect you as head of the local council?

Kiryat Arba-Hebron is a success story. Right now it is expanding and dozens of new families are arriving here, including children who were born here and wish to continue living here. There is an excellent educational system and a heterogeneous population - religious and secular, new immigrants and veterans - they are the basis on which the community is developing. There are a number of economic projects here that represent us well both in Israel and abroad. I hope that the vast public that comes to visit us will take back the message that the city of our forefathers is being built, is developing and is flourishing. Everywhere, including in Tel Aviv and Herzliya, where people express themselves and act not according to norms, I think our task is to strengthen the positive atmosphere, through building and actions, and one way or the other those who pull in an extreme direction will be heard less.

In recent weeks, there were two issues that caused a storm among the religious Zionists. The first was the hesder yeshiva at Har Bracha and the question of whether to refuse to carry out an [army] order. What is your opinion on that issue?

I know and admire the enterprise of the hesder yeshivas and it was my privilege to be a graduate of that important project, at the hesder yeshiva in Kiryat Shmona. I believe that in the future too we will have the pleasure of seeing the graduates of the religious Zionist education stream continuing to serve as leaders in all the units and in all avenues of command in the IDF. As for the refusal issue, I prefer not to comment.

The second issue is the Rabbi Elon affair.

As part of religious Zionism, I feel the pain involved and hope the truth will emerge.