Bat Ayin
Encyclopedia
Bat Ayin is a village
and an Israeli settlement
and in Gush Etzion
, on the edge of the Judean hills in the West Bank
, between Jerusalem and Hebron
. It is administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council
. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
on a hilltop purchased by the Jewish Agency in the early 1900s.
In 2010, the population was about 1,000. The majority of the residents are religious-zionist
and Chardal Jews who adhere to a philosophy that combines spiritual religious life with organic agriculture, with Breslov the predominate affiliation.
The Chief rabbi
of Bat Ayin is Daniel Kohn. Rabbi Kohn holds a BA in Comparative Religion from Columbia University and received rabbinic ordination from Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He co-founded the Bat Ayin Yeshiva, where he also served as co-Rosh Yeshiva for nine years.
, Breslov
, (Rabbi Abraham Isaac) Kook, and (Shlomo) Carlebach
. There is a Chabad Lubavitch community as well. The Bat Ayin community includes scholars, artists, musicians, builders, farmers, doctors, and writers.
Proscriptions on dress, hair covering, and lifestyle (according to Orthodox halakha
) are conditions for joining and staying on the settlement (for example, married women must cover their hair). Although residents adhere to these communal dictates of religious piety, they are also known for their counter-cultural
practices such as organic farming
and holistic medicine.
There is a spring near Bat Ayin that is currently used as a mikvah. There is also an ancient mikvah from the times of the second Temple in Bat Ayin that is not in use.
The men's yeshiva is associated with and Bat Ayin Orthodoxy is popularly known as "Chavakuk" (Hebrew, חבקו"ק), an acronym for Chabad
, Breslov
, (Rabbi Abraham Isaac) Kook, and (Shlomo) Carlebach
.
Midreshet B'erot Bat Ayin has women's programs including Beginner, Advanced, Conversion, Student-Madrichot, Part-Time Learning for Married Women, Summer and Elul-Tishrei Sessions, and special Shabbatonim and seminars for all ages and backgrounds.
On February 25, 2007, Erez Levanon, a resident of Bat Ayin was found killed by multiple stab wounds. His body was found down the hill from the settlement in a secluded location where he frequently prayed. Security officials arrested two Arab Palestinian teenagers from Khirbet Safa
who admitted guilt in connection with the murder, in the nearby village of Beit Ummar
On April 2, 2009, a thirteen year old Israeli boy, Shlomo Nativ, was killed and another 7 year old child as injured in the center of the village by an Arab Palestinian wielding an ax. The attacker was arrested a few weeks later by Israel's security services.
On April 8, 2009 clashes occurred between Bat Ayin settlers and Palestinians from the nearby village of Khirbet Safa. According to the IDF spokeswomen soldiers then fired live bullets at the legs of Palestinian stone-throwers, hurting sixteen, one critically. Some Palestinians later admitted privately that it was indeed members of their village who purposely instigated the incident.
On May 2, 2009 two off duty Israeli Defense Forces soldiers, and two other residents of Bat Ayin, were arrested by police after an altercation between Bat Ayin residents, the IDF, and residents of the nearby Palestinian village of Khirbet Safa
. Two Palestinians were wounded in the course of the events. The incident included rock throwing by both groups of residents.
On January 28, 2011, a large group of Bat Ayin residents entered the Palestinian village of Khirbet Safa
, shooting 2 Palestinians. Yousef Ikhlayl, age 17, was shot in the head. He was taken to a hospital in Beit Jala
, where he was later pronounced dead. The second Palestinian survived.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and an Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
and in Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion
Gush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian territories. The core group includes four agricultural villages that were founded in 1940-1947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and ...
, on the edge of the Judean hills in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, between Jerusalem and Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
. It is administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council
Gush Etzion Regional Council
The Gush Etzion Regional Council is a regional council in the northern Judean Hills, the northern part of the southern area of the West Bank, administering the settlements in the Gush Etzion region, as well as others nearby...
. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law
International law and Israeli settlements
The international community considers the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories illegal under international law, but Israel maintains that they are consistent with international law because it does not agree that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the...
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
History
Started by seven families, and under the guidance of the Chassidic mystic Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg, Bat Ayin was established in 1989 as a communal settlementCommunal settlement (Israel)
A community settlement is a type of town in Israel. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the town's residents, who are organized in a cooperative, can veto a sale of a house or a business to an undesirable buyer....
on a hilltop purchased by the Jewish Agency in the early 1900s.
In 2010, the population was about 1,000. The majority of the residents are religious-zionist
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
and Chardal Jews who adhere to a philosophy that combines spiritual religious life with organic agriculture, with Breslov the predominate affiliation.
The Chief rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
of Bat Ayin is Daniel Kohn. Rabbi Kohn holds a BA in Comparative Religion from Columbia University and received rabbinic ordination from Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He co-founded the Bat Ayin Yeshiva, where he also served as co-Rosh Yeshiva for nine years.
Culture
Bat Ayin Orthodoxy is popularly known as "Chavakuk" (Hebrew, חבקו"ק), an acronym for ChabadChabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
, Breslov
Breslov
Breslov may refer to one of the following.*Bratslav, a town in modern Ukraine.*Breslov , founded in Bratslav....
, (Rabbi Abraham Isaac) Kook, and (Shlomo) Carlebach
Shlomo Carlebach
Shlomo Carlebach , known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a Jewish rabbi, religious teacher, composer, and singer who was known as "The Singing Rabbi" during his lifetime...
. There is a Chabad Lubavitch community as well. The Bat Ayin community includes scholars, artists, musicians, builders, farmers, doctors, and writers.
Proscriptions on dress, hair covering, and lifestyle (according to Orthodox halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
) are conditions for joining and staying on the settlement (for example, married women must cover their hair). Although residents adhere to these communal dictates of religious piety, they are also known for their counter-cultural
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
practices such as organic farming
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
and holistic medicine.
There is a spring near Bat Ayin that is currently used as a mikvah. There is also an ancient mikvah from the times of the second Temple in Bat Ayin that is not in use.
Education
The Bat Ayin Yeshiva is an institution of advanced Jewish learning for men. They have two main programs; a Beit Midrash program for people who have at least a basic facility with Hebrew texts, and a Smicha program for those looking to study to be a Rabbi.The men's yeshiva is associated with and Bat Ayin Orthodoxy is popularly known as "Chavakuk" (Hebrew, חבקו"ק), an acronym for Chabad
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
, Breslov
Breslov
Breslov may refer to one of the following.*Bratslav, a town in modern Ukraine.*Breslov , founded in Bratslav....
, (Rabbi Abraham Isaac) Kook, and (Shlomo) Carlebach
Shlomo Carlebach
Shlomo Carlebach , known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a Jewish rabbi, religious teacher, composer, and singer who was known as "The Singing Rabbi" during his lifetime...
.
Midreshet B'erot Bat Ayin has women's programs including Beginner, Advanced, Conversion, Student-Madrichot, Part-Time Learning for Married Women, Summer and Elul-Tishrei Sessions, and special Shabbatonim and seminars for all ages and backgrounds.
Settler-Arab clashes
In 2002, four people from Bat Ayin and Hebron (The "Bat Ayin Underground") were arrested outside of Abu Tor School, a Palestinian girls' school in East Jerusalem, with a trailer filled with explosives. Three of the men were convicted for the attempted bombing.On February 25, 2007, Erez Levanon, a resident of Bat Ayin was found killed by multiple stab wounds. His body was found down the hill from the settlement in a secluded location where he frequently prayed. Security officials arrested two Arab Palestinian teenagers from Khirbet Safa
Khirbet Safa
Khirbet Safa is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers north-west of Hebron.The village is in the Hebron Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 1,105 in mid-year 2006....
who admitted guilt in connection with the murder, in the nearby village of Beit Ummar
Beit Ummar
Beit Ummar is an Arab town located eleven kilometers northwest of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2007, the town had a population of 13,348 inhabitants. Over 4,800 residents of the town are under the age of 18...
On April 2, 2009, a thirteen year old Israeli boy, Shlomo Nativ, was killed and another 7 year old child as injured in the center of the village by an Arab Palestinian wielding an ax. The attacker was arrested a few weeks later by Israel's security services.
On April 8, 2009 clashes occurred between Bat Ayin settlers and Palestinians from the nearby village of Khirbet Safa. According to the IDF spokeswomen soldiers then fired live bullets at the legs of Palestinian stone-throwers, hurting sixteen, one critically. Some Palestinians later admitted privately that it was indeed members of their village who purposely instigated the incident.
On May 2, 2009 two off duty Israeli Defense Forces soldiers, and two other residents of Bat Ayin, were arrested by police after an altercation between Bat Ayin residents, the IDF, and residents of the nearby Palestinian village of Khirbet Safa
Khirbet Safa
Khirbet Safa is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers north-west of Hebron.The village is in the Hebron Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 1,105 in mid-year 2006....
. Two Palestinians were wounded in the course of the events. The incident included rock throwing by both groups of residents.
On January 28, 2011, a large group of Bat Ayin residents entered the Palestinian village of Khirbet Safa
Khirbet Safa
Khirbet Safa is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers north-west of Hebron.The village is in the Hebron Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 1,105 in mid-year 2006....
, shooting 2 Palestinians. Yousef Ikhlayl, age 17, was shot in the head. He was taken to a hospital in Beit Jala
Beit Jala
Beit Jala is an Arab Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at altitude...
, where he was later pronounced dead. The second Palestinian survived.