During this period , both Jews and Muslims visited the site . From the 1940s , it came to be viewed as a symbol of the Jewish people 's return to Zion , to its ancient homeland , For Jewish women , the tomb was associated with fertility and became a place of pilgrimage to pray for successful childbirth . Depictions of the Tomb of Rachel have appeared in Jewish religious books and works of art . Muslims prayed inside the mosque there and the cemetery at the tomb was the main Muslim cemetery in the Bethlehem area . The building was also used for Islamic funeral rituals . It is reported that Jews and Muslims respected each other and accommodated each other 's rituals . During the riots of 1929 , violence hampered regular visits by Jews to the tomb . Both Jews and Muslims demanded control of the site , with the Muslims claiming it was an integral part of the Muslim cemetery within which it is situated . It also demanded a renewal of the old Muslim custom of purifying corpses in the tomb 's antechamber
riots of 1929
1929 Palestine riots
Rachel's Tomb