by Hillel Fendel
Yesha's New School-Year Stats – and National Politics
.jpeg "Starting the school year in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley")
Those of you who think, or know someone who thinks, that the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) are a mere asterisk in the larger scheme of the populations of Israel and the Middle East, spread the word: Nearly a quarter of a million children living in Judea, the Jordan Valley, and Samaria began school this year!
Specifically, 86,000 children are enrolled in – get this – 270 elementary schools! There are also 35,000 pupils in some 200 post-elementary schools, and a host more in kindergartens, Talmudei Torah, yeshivot, and more!
Beautiful numbers like these don't just happen on their own. We can barely imagine the amount of idealism and effort and self-sacrifice over the course of decades, under severely difficult economic and security conditions, that has gone into the Yesha enterprise.
Their Parents
But while the students have a relatively comfortable time at school, their parents are not doing as well electorally, in light of the national elections only two months away.
