Based on a Yesha Council* website article
Translated by Hillel Fendel, edited by Dena Udren
There is one particular fact about the population of Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley that surprises all those who hear it for the first time – and that is the distribution of the populace along religious-secular lines. In contrast with common perception, only a third of the populace is religious-Zionist! Another third define themselves as secular, and the remainder are hareidim [ultra-orthodox].
Based on the news coming out of Yesha, and the people involved, this piece of information would seem to surprise most observers. But it indeed reflects the true situation on the ground.
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| Yesha Council |
Israel's "Bible Belt" of Judea and Samaria, including the Jordan Valley, also has some other surprises.
Among its denizens can be found residents of cities, kibbutzim, moshavim, neighborhood communities, cooperative associations, young communities, and farms. Some locations are set atop mountains, while others are deep in a valley and/or desert. This is how the settlement enterprise developed ever since the Six Day War when Jews returned to Kibbutz Kfar Etzion in the Etzion Bloc south of Jerusalem. And this is how it has continued to develop throughout the decades, with all living side by side in deep friendship and brotherhood.
Sometimes, the differences can be found within the communities themselves. Some towns are "mixed," with religious and secular members residing side by side in full partnership. Building such communities has actually been a major trend over the past few years, and they can be found from the Mount Hevron area all the way northward to the summits of the Shomron (Samaria).
Recently a new Yesha Council head was chosen: David Alchayani, head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council. He is the first non-kippah wearing Jew to be chosen to this post, and in fact does not fit the mold of the stereotypical "settler." Alchayani is a farmer from the community of Argaman, and he has been a moshavnik for decades who has taken an active part in the cause of bolstering Israeli agriculture on Israel's eastern border.
Upon his election, Alchayani said: "I am very excited and moved, and this job is a very important one for me. My election is a sign of the unity in the entire settlement enterprise. We will work together to achieve Israeli sovereignty over all of Area C [those parts of Judea and Samaria categorized by the Oslo Accords as under full Israeli control]. We will also strive to further develop this area for the benefit of the residents."
"We have here in Yesha and the Jordan Valley a tremendous mix of people, all of whom share a common denominator: We are all part of this great process of the return of the Jewish People to its Land and the renewal of the Jewish presence throughout our homeland. We all share together in the struggle for our national home, and we participate together in all the ups and downs of the Zionist vision, manifest in Israeli settlement throughout Eretz Yisrael."
Alchayani took the opportunity to "call upon everyone, at this moment of unity in Yesha, and upon Prime Minister Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, to work towards a national unity government. After so many months of political instability, we very much need a government. Many projects are underway, and we cannot continue to hang in suspense, lest much of our progress be lost. We don't want new elections – we want a government, we want progress, we want unity!"
* Yesha is an acronym in Hebrew, which stands for Yehuda (Judea), Shomron (Samaria) and Aza (Gaza) and refers to the Jewish communities in these regions. Judea and Samaria are also known collectively as the West Bank.