The Yesha Council (, ''Mo'etzet Yesha'') is an umbrella organization of municipal councils of
Jewish settlements in the
West Bank
The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
(and formerly in the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
). The
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
acronym ''
Yesha'' is created from Yehuda Shomron, Aza (
Judea
Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...
,
Samaria
Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...
,
Gaza).
the chairman of the Yesha Council is Israel Ganz, and Omer Rahamim is CEO.
History
The council was founded in the 1980s
[ as the successor to Gush Emunim ("Bloc of the Faithful"),] a religious Zionist movement
Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly co ...
advocating Jewish settlement in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. that is, the West Bank
The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
. They regarded this as the return of Jews to their Biblical homeland. Gush Emunim became a formal organization after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Yisrael Harel was active in this movement, and was a co-founder of the Yesha Foundation as well as founder editor of ''Nekuda'', a monthly journal for Israeli settlers. The name of the organization, "Mo'etzet Yesha", is the Hebrew acronym for Yehuda Shomron, Aza (Judea, Samaria, Gaza).
Pinchas Wallerstein was head of the Yesha Council after Harel.[
Yesha Council's resettlement policy was criticised by the 2005 Sasson Report, an official Israeli government report commissioned by the Prime Minister ]Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...
. The report found that settlers had constructed 105 illegal outposts, over half of which were built on land that did not belong to the state, in collusion with government ministries and other public bodies.
In 2012, IRIN News reported that the Yesha Council, along with the regional councils, were focusing more on advocacy. Among other activities, they arranged talks by politicians, and aimed to attract Israelis to the settlements through tourism and volunteering.[
In October 1999, Yesha Council came to an agreement with the government under prime minister ]Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...
to dismantle some of the settlements. This met with opposition from a group of young religious Zionist
Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...
activists called Dor Hemshech, ("the Continuing Generation"), who lay down in front of bulldozers sent to do the work in protest.
In 2009, council chairman Dani Dayan said that settlers must not use violence to advance their means. He said that such actions were " morally bankrupt" and only serve to "hinder the settlers' struggle."
From 2008 until 2010, Pinchas Wallerstein, who was seen as a moderate by some because he had been critical of extremists attacking Palestinian villages, served as director of the Yesha Council. He resigned in January 2010 after falling out with Dani Dayan. He said, however, "the differences between us are more about quantity and timing and less about issues of essential content". The secretary-general of Israeli pacifist organization Peace Now, Yariv Oppenheimer, said that Wallerstein was no moderate, having been a major force behind the illegal expansion of settlements.
In 2019, Yesha Council was presided over by chairman Hananel Dorani and CEO Yigal Dilmoni. They planned to double the Jewish population of "Judea and Samaria" (then 450,000) to a million, within ten years: ''Hazon Ha-Million'' – the "vision of one million".[ Dorani believes that they need to "fight for full Israeli independence from the United States", so that foreign leaders are not able to influence Israeli policies with regard to the settler communities in the West Bank.][
In May 2023, Yesha reported that by October 2022 over half a million Israeli settlers were living in the West Bank, which comprised 5.2 percent of the total population of Israel. The growth rate of the settler population was around 2.2% in 2022, with 10,755 Israelis moving to West Bank communities. The settlers are overseen by the military and the Defense Ministry, as this territory is not officially a part of Israel.
]
Aims and description
The stated aims of the Yesha Council are "to promote Israeli communities in Judea
Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...
, Samaria
Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...
and the Jordan Valley as the heart of the Bible Land and the birthplace of the Jewish people
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
and its heritage".[ They want to see Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.][
Their stated strategic objectives are:][
The Council aims to assert Israeli sovereignty, to develop transport and other infrastructure, to increase tourism from all over the world, and "to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea". It also aims to create master plans for the whole area.][
In addition to municipal and security issues, the Council serves as the political arm of the Jewish residents of Yesha.][ The Council lobbies for their interests with the ]Knesset
The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel.
The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
and the government.[ It also carries on public relations campaigns for the settlements and organizes public protests.
]
Governance and organisation
The Yesha Council's headquarters are in the Ramat Eshkol neighbourhood of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.
The Yesha Council consists of 25 elected mayors who represent municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
with an Israeli population of around 500,000 people, and is headed by an elected chairman. Israel Ganz was elected chairman in May 2024. Omer Rahamim was appointed CEO in June 2024.
Activism
2005 protests
In July 2005, when Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...
was prime minister, the Knesset
The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel.
The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
voted against delaying its withdrawal of troops and settlers from all 21 Gaza settlements, as well as four of the 120 in the West Bank, due to start the following month. The Yesha Council, led by chairman Bentzi Lieberman, led a protest campaign against this decision. Around 6,000 protesters led by ultranationalist rabbis marched from the town of Netivot in southern Israel to the village of Kfar Maimon in an illegal protest, after the government had banned all non-residents from entering Gaza. After three days, the protesters left the village. In Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
there was a rally of around 150,000 protesters.[
]
Wikipedia editing (2010)
In August 2010, it was reported that the Yesha Council, then under director Naftali Bennett, had joined My Israel
My Israel (, ''Yisra'el Sheli'') is an Israeli Right-wing politics, right-wing extra-parliamentary movement.
History
The movement was founded in early 2010 by Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett, then leader of the Yesha Council, representing ...
(Israel Sheli), a network of online pro-Israel activists committed to spreading Zionism online, in their efforts to organize people at a workshop in Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
to teach them how to edit Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...
articles in a pro-Israeli way. Around 50 people took part in the course. The project organiser, Ayelet Shaked
Ayelet Shaked ( ; born 7 May 1976) is an Israeli former politician, activist, and Software engineering, software engineer. She served as Ministry of Interior (Israel), Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2022 and as Ministry of Justice (Israel), ...
, of Israel Sheli, said in a radio interview that the information had to be reliable and meet Wikipedia rules. She cited some examples such as the use of the term "occupation" in Wikipedia entries, as well as in the editing of entries that link Israel with Judea and Samaria and Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures.
Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...
. One participant said that it was not a "Zionist conspiracy to take over Wikipedia", but an attempt to add balance to articles about disputed issues.
In 2011, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known as Jimbo Wales, is an American List of Internet entrepreneurs, Internet entrepreneur and former Trader (finance), financial trader. He is a Founders of Wikipedia, co-founder of the non-profi ...
said of the reported course, that Wikipedia had seen "absolutely no impact from that effort whatsoever". Wales, who himself is a supporter of Israel, insists on neutrality when editing articles related to Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At a speech at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
, when accepting his Dan David Prize in May 2015, Wales insisted to avoid conflicts of interest is to provide as many facts as possible while maintaining neutrality, aiming to overwhelm any chance of bias and imbuing political ideology.
See also
* Israeli Civil Administration
* Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
* Judea and Samaria Area
The Judea and Samaria Area (; ) is an administrative division used by the State of Israel to refer to the entire West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, but excludes East Jerusalem (see Jerusalem Law). Its area is split int ...
* Population statistics for Israeli West Bank settlements
Footnotes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Israeli settlement
Political organizations based in Israel
Zionist organizations