Beitar Illit

Name

Beitar Illit (lit. Upper Beitar) is named after the ancient Jewish fortress city of Betar, whose ruins (known as Khirbet el-Yahud, Arabic for "Ruin of the Jews") lie 1 km away, near the Palestinian village of Battir, which preserves the ancient name.

History

According to the ARIJ, Beitar Illit was established in 1985 on land which Israel had confiscated from two nearby Palestinian villages: 3,140 dunams from Husan and 1,166 dunams from Nahalin.

It was established by a small group of young families from the religious Zionist yeshiva of Machon Meir. The first residents settled in 1990. As Beitar Illit began to grow, an influx of Haredi Jewish Bobover families came to predominate, while the original group moved on. The city is now home to many Hasidic groups, including Bobov, Boston, Boyan, Breslov, Karlin-Stolin and Slonim. The city has expanded to three adjacent hills.

Geography

Beitar Illit lies in the northern Judean Hills at about 700 m above sea level. It is located just west of the intersection of Route 60, the north–south artery which roughly follows the watershed from Nazareth through Jerusalem to Beersheba, and Route 375, which descends west into the Elah Valley to the coastal plain and Tel Aviv area. It takes about 10 minutes to get to Jerusalem; Tel Aviv is around 60 minutes away. Beitar Illit is connected to West Jerusalem by the Tunnels Highway, which passes directly underneath the Arab town of Beit Jala and allows access to Jerusalem without coming within view of Arabs.

Demographics

Numbers

|1995|5500 |2008|32900 |2013|44900 |2018|56750 |2022|64016 |2025|72682 At the end of 2003, the population was 23,000 and in 2006 it was 29,100. According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, the population in January 2007 was 35,000, an increase of 20% over one year.

With an annual birth rate of 1,800 births, Beitar Illit has the fastest population growth among the West Bank settlements. Approximately 63 percent of the population is under the age of 18, which is the highest percentage of children in any Israeli settlement or city.

Character

The population of Beitar Illit is 100% Haredi. Approximately 50% of the population is Hasidic.

An estimated 10 percent of the population is English-speaking. There are three English-speaking synagogues, two English-speaking kollels (one for retirees), and an English-speaking women's group.

As of 2010, all incoming residents used to be screened by an acceptance committee.

Education

As the population of Beitar Illit is Haredi, the schools are all Haredi schools. The city has close to 20,000 schoolchildren. Of these, approximately 6,000 are enrolled in the city's 225 preschools and daycare centers. Elementary school-age boys attend the city's 27 Talmud Torahs, and elementary school-age girls attend 18 elementary schools. Secondary education includes 21 yeshivas for boys and 11 high schools and post-high schools for girls. Married adult men study in 75 kollels.

Employment

A significant number of men work, mostly at home or in Jerusalem. Women are employed by local business process outsourcing companies that accommodate the Haredi lifestyle, such as Greenpoint, Matrix, and CityBook.

Culture

One hundred and forty synagogues and 15 mikvehs serve the population.

Awards

Beitar Illit has been awarded the Israel Ministry of Interior's gold prize, recognizing "responsible management and sustainable urban planning", for eight years running.

The city is well known for its landscaping and general cleanliness. There are 94 parks and hundreds of playgrounds in the city. From 2000 to 2013, Beitar Illit earned five out of five stars in the Council for a Beautiful Israel's annual "Beautiful Town in a Beautiful Israel" contest, which recognizes a city's investment in environment, aesthetics, and maintenance of appearance and cleanliness. In 2005 the city won the Council for a Beautiful Israel's "Beauty Flag", which is awarded every five years.

Status under international law

Main article: International law and Israeli settlements

Like all settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories, Beitar Illit is considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory. The Israeli government 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 and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Controversies

At an international conference in Karlsruhe in November 2010, Jawad Hasan claimed that sewage and urban runoff from Beitar Illit have contaminated the local hydrological system. The Palestinian Authority claims that sewage flows into neighboring Palestinian fields and orchards. Farmers from Wadi Fukin have complained that since the establishment of Beitar Illit in 1985, 11 natural wells have gone dry and they have suffered from overflow from the settlement's backed up sewers. The Israeli government has ordered Beitar Illit to address these sewage problems.

In 2010, the Israeli interior ministry announced plans to build 112 new apartments during a visit by U.S. vice-president Joe Biden, leading to widespread news coverage that embarrassed the Israeli government.

Beitar Illit was one of four cities named in a petition to the Israeli High Court in December 2010 alleging a pattern of discrimination against Sephardi girls in the local Haredi schools. A Beitar Illit spokesman denied the charges, stating that the percentage of Sephardi girls in the school matched the percentage of Sephardim in the settlement.

Notable residents

• Moshe Shimon Horowitz, Bostoner Rav of Beitar Illit
• Sinai Moshkovitz, Shotz–Beitar Rav
• Rivka Ravitz, chief of staff to President of Israel Reuven Rivlin

References

References

1. (26 January 2016). "Why Israel invented the concept of 'settlement blocs'".
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3. Joshua Mitnick. (October 15, 2010). "Israeli settlement building surges as US pushes for a new freeze". Christian Science Monitor.
4. (23 December 2016). "Israeli settlements: UN Security Council calls for an end". BBC News.
5. (10 December 2009). "The Geneva Convention". [[BBC News]].
6. [http://vprofile.arij.org/bethlehem/pdfs/VP/Husan_vp_en.pdf Husan Village Profile], ARIJ, p. 17
7. [http://vprofile.arij.org/bethlehem/pdfs/VP/Nahhalin_vp_en.pdf Nahhalin Village Profile], ARIJ, p. 18
8. Tzoren, Moshe Michael. "Some Talk Peace, Others Live It". ''[[Hamodia]]'' Israel News, November 21, 2018, pp. A18-A19.
9. John Collins. (Fall 2008). "Dromocratic Palestine". Middle East Report.
10. [[:he:%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A2%D7%A6%D7%94 %D7%9E%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%AA. Population in municipalities, local and regional councils, and localities with at least 2,000 residents - according to the monthly table of the Tax Office for the end of March 2025 (estimate)]]
11. link. [[Ministry of Interior (Israel). Israel Ministry of Interior]]. (18 July 2013)
12. "Beitar Illit". torahalive.com.
13. (October 2010). "Beitar Illit". [[Nefesh B'Nefesh]].
14. Paul Rivlin. (15 November 2010). "The Israeli Economy from the Foundation of the State through the 21st Century". Cambridge University Press.
15. (July 19, 2011). "EU chides Israel over new West Bank settlement homes". Agence France-Presse.
16. (July 18, 2011). "Israel to build 336 new West Bank settlement homes". Agence France-Presse.
17. (10 December 2009). "The Geneva Convention". BBC News.
18. [http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory] {{webarchive. link. (2010-07-06 International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45)
19. (2010). "Integrated water resources management Karlsruhe 2010 : international conference, 24 - 25 November 2010; conference proceedings". KIT Scientific Publishing.
20. (29 May 2011). "Settlers Drown Palestinians' Land with Wastewater in Bethlehem". Wafa.
21. (April 20, 2010). "Palestinian village and Israeli town build rare partnership across line". Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.
22. (March 10, 2010). "Israel sorry for announcing homes plan during Biden visit". Guardian Unlimited.
23. Jeremy Sharon. (January 11, 2011). "Court postpones ruling on haredi school discrimination petition". Jerusalem Post.