Gush etzion

Smotrich: Thank you Trump for the help, but now Israel needs to control Gaza

Smotrich thanked Trump for his support for Israel and efforts to assist in returning hostages, but said the US president’s Gaza plan should be canceled.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich seen after a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on December 4, 2025.
A helicopter is seen falling out of its harness near Gush Etzion, on January 16, 2026.

Helicopter falls out of towing harness, crashes near houses in West Bank

Israel security forces apprehend five terrorists planning an  imminent terror attack in the Barta'a area near Jenin, November 30, 2025.

IDF: Staying in West Bank refugee camps will quell lone-wolf terror

Ohr Torah Stone’s Neveh Shmuel Yeshiva High School dedicated the “Hall of Heroes,” a permanent memorial honoring 25 alumni of the yeshiva who fell in Israel’s wars and terror attacks over the past decades, including 11 who fell in the past two years.

This high school’s library is now a memorial to 25 fallen alumni in Efrat


Stabbing thwarted at West Bank junction

A terrorist was stopped after attempting to stab an IDF soldier at Gush Etzion Junction

General view of the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank, July 9, 2020

Settlers to Bennett: End US pressured freeze on our housing plans

Settlers leaders urged Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to end his freeze on the advancement of plans or settlement homes as they held a small protest outside Ben-Gurion International Airport.

 The protest that took place

Herzog College aims to improve lacking English skills in Israel

Herzog College in Gush Etzion is helping to raise the standard of English teaching in Israel, particularly in the religious sector.

Rabbi Shmuel Kornblit (front row, far left) with Jewish studies teachers from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay at Herzog College.

Reflections on the first yahrzeit of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

“His agenda is still on – Torah is reaching Jews and non-Jews alike. In this way, Rabbi Steinsaltz is still here with us," said his son Rabbi Menachem “Meni” Even-Israel.

Rabbi Sacks with Rabbi Steinsaltz at a gala dinner on June 10, 2018, to celebrate the latter’s 80th birthday

The anglo who taught other anglos about hiking in Israel

Arnold Slyper began hiking in the Jerusalem area as soon as he immigrated seven-and-a-half years ago. This evolved into a website and a book.

SHVIL HAMAAYANOT is a popular hiking trail close to Jerusalem, with stunning views of the Judean Mountains along much of its length and several springs along the trail. The start of the hike is only a 20-minute walk from Hadassah Ein Kerem.

Right-wing marchers warn Israel 'losing war' for Area C

Right-wing and settlers leaders warned that Israel is "losing the war" for Area C of the West Bank as they held 14 marches in that area on Monday afternoon.

View of the Illegal Evyatar outpost, in northern West Bank, on June 16, 2021.

Israeli culture shock after aliyah explored in new book

Sitting in my living room in Gush Etzion, reading about Sasson living in America while longing for Israel, made for a painful read.

DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH, where the author finds herself stuck despite wanting to live in Israel, lies underwater from flooding of the Allegheny River (top)  and Monongahela River, 1995.

David Ben David cheated death and missed Israel’s birth

David Ben David swam to Haifa in 1940, unknowingly escaping the ill-fated "Patria". He spent most of the 1948 war as a POW, saved from death more than once by his Arab Legion captors.

David Ben David during the 1948 siege of Kfar Etzion, where many of his comrades were killed by enemy forces. From his autobiography, Gesher al Tehumot (Bridge over the Abysses).

Settler leaders fighting for Netanyahu despite freeze on housing plans

They have supported him, even though Netanyahu had not advanced plans for new settler homes since US President Joe Biden took office in January.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attending a ceremony for a new neighborhood in Kfar Etzion, Gush Etzion, March 14, 2021.

Large fire breaks out near Bat Ayin in West Bank, Gaza border community

Firefighters are struggling to control the blaze which is nearing the settlement.

Fire near Bat Ayin, June 6, 2021