Bet El
Encyclopedia
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 a local council
Local council (Israel)
Local councils are one of the three types of local government found in Israel, with the other two being cities and regional councils. As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel, these being settlements which pass a minimum threshold enough to justify their operations as independent...
in the Benjamin region of the central 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...
, within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council
Matte Binyamin Regional Council
Mateh Binyamin Regional Council is a regional council covering 42 Israeli settlements in the southern Samarian hills of the West Bank. The seat of the council is Psagot. The council is named for the ancient Israelite tribe of Benjamin, whose territory roughly corresponds to that of the council.In...
. The religiously observant
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
town is located in the hills north of Jerusalem east of the Palestinian
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
city of al-Bireh
Al-Bireh
al-Bireh or el-Bira is a Palestinian city adjacent to Ramallah in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem. It is situated on the central ridge running through the West Bank and is above sea level, covering an area of...
. In 2009, it had a population of 5,308. The head of the local council is Moshe Rosenbaum. 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
In BiblicalTanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
times, Bethel was the site where Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
slept and dreamt of the angels coming up and down a ladder (Genesis 28:19).
Bethel has been identified with the ruins surrounding the Palestinian village of Beitin
Beitin
Beitin is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located northeast of Ramallah along the Ramallah-Nablus road...
and with hilltop site of Pisgat Ya'akov.
Beit El was established in 1977, ten years after the Six Day War. Several families moved into the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
base and others settled on nearby hilltops. In September 1997, Beit El was awarded local council status. 1,200 families now reside in Beit El, most affiliated with the Religious Zionist Movement.
Legal status
The international community considers Israeli settlements a violation of the Fourth Geneva ConventionFourth Geneva Convention
The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and defines humanitarian protections for civilians...
's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory and are as such illegal under international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law
International humanitarian law , often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict, is the legal corpus that comprises "the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law." It...
. Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian territories as they had not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel taking control of them. This view has been rejected by the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
and the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
.
Peace Now reports that private Palestinian property makes up 96.85% of the land that Beit El, along with the nearby Israeli outposts of Beit El East and Jabel Artis, is built on.
Geography and climate
Beit El has a higher elevation than Jerusalem, and has cool nights in the summer and occasional snow in the winter. The Pisgat Ya'akov neighborhood has a hilltop observatory with a commanding view of the surrounding hills where one may view as far away as the Tel Aviv areaGush Dan
The Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area , or Gush Dan , is a metropolitan area including areas from both the Tel Aviv and the Central Districts of Israel. The area is closely linked to the city of Tel Aviv through social, economic, and cultural ties. It is located along the Israeli Mediterranean coastline...
and Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. On the top there is “Hermon Hotel”, in the buffer zone between Syria and Israeli-occupied...
on clear days.
Demographics
The rabbis of the town are Rabbi Shlomo AvinerShlomo Aviner
Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner is the rosh yeshiva of the Ateret Yerushalayim yeshiva in Jerusalem and the rabbi of Bet El. He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement.-Background:Ha-Rav Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner was born in 5703 in German-occupied...
and Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
Zalman Baruch Melamed
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed is the rosh yeshiva of the Beit El yeshiva in Beit El, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.On halachic grounds, he opposes the idea of either Jews or gentiles going on the Temple Mount.-Background:...
who is also the rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
of the local Beit El Yeshiva
Beit El yeshiva
The Beit El Yeshiva is a Religious Zionist yeshiva situated in the Israeli settlement of Beit El near Ramallah, in the Binyamin region of the West Bank....
. Beit El has a large percentage of immigrants from other countries and is also home to a unique community of Bnei Menashe
Bnei Menashe
The Bnei Menashe are a group of more than 9,000 people from India's North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. The claim appeared after a Pentecostalist dreamt in 1951 that his people's pre-Christian religion was Judaism and that...
from Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
and Mizoram
Mizoram
Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...
.
Economy
The yeshivaYeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
owns and operates Arutz Sheva Israel National Radio which operates out of studios in Beit El and Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
.
Beit El also has a number of small factories, such as tefillin
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
factory, a winery, metalworks, carpentry shops, a bakery and others.
House demolition
In November 2009, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the state to explain within 30 days why it has ordered the demolition of ten buildings in Beit El. The attorney for Kiryat HaYeshiva Beit El company has presented documentation showing that the land on which the buildings stand was legally purchased from the previous Arab owner. The buildings are located on the lower heights of Pisgat Yaakov, also known as Jabal Artis, overlooking Beit El to the south and west.Notable residents
- Emuna ElonEmuna ElonEmuna Elon is an Israeli author and journalist. She is foremost known as a strong nationalist and for her marriage to Rabbi Binyamin Elon, a Knesset member. Her name Emuna means faith....
& her husband Binyamin ElonBinyamin ElonRabbi Binyamin "Benny" Elon is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Moledet and the National Union between 1996 and 2009. A ninth-generation Jerusalemite, Elon has lived in Beit El, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank for the last twenty years... - Member of the KnessetKnessetThe Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
Yaakov "Ketzale" KatzYa'akov Katz (politician born 1951)Ya’akov Dov "Katzele" Katz is an Israeli politician. He currently leads the National Union party, for whom he is a member of the Knesset, and is also the Executive Director of Beit El yeshiva Center Institutions and Arutz Sheva....