HUGE: Judea and Samaria’s Jewish Population Reaches Half a Million

This milestone figure does not include East Jerusalem, which is home to approximately 350,000 Jews

By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)

Between 1948 (when Israel declared independence) and 1967 (when Israel won the 6-day war), much of Israel was off limits to Jews. Israel’s premier holy sites including the Cave of Machpelah, the Western Wall, the Mount of Olives, the Tomb of Rachel, and the Tomb of Shimon HaTzedek were occupied by Jordan, and Jews were denied entry. In 1967, the combined Arab armies of Syria, Egypt and Jordan were planning a war of annihilation against Israel but miraculously (with G-d’s help), Israel was able to liberate much of its biblical heartland in this defensive war (approximately 80% of all towns mentioned in the Bible are found in Judea and Samaria, aka the West Bank). Although it came with a struggle (the bureaucratic, political, ideological obstacles to growth in the territories are still a major factor today), Judea and Samaria now officially have more than 500,000 Jewish residents (500,270 to be exact, at least as of Erev Rosh HaShana, according to the Ministry of the Interior). This figure does not even include the 350,000 Jewish residents of East Jerusalem, land also liberated by the IDF in 1967 and legally annexed by the Jewish State in 1980.

The first town to be re-established (most of the towns derived their names from the Biblical and pre-1948 Jewish cities which once existed on their grounds) was Kibbutz Kfar Etzion in September 1967. Today, there are nearly 150 Jewish towns throughout Israel’s biblical heartland. The largest Jewish city in the territories is the Torah observant town of Modiin Illit (aka Kiryat Sefer) with 83,510 residents. The next largest is Beitar Illit at 66723, followed by Maale Adumim at approximately 41,000. The smallest one, located in the Jordan Valley, is Kibbutz Niran with a population of 112 (despite their small size, they are one of the major players in the date industry). Like the majority of the settlements, this town is filled with Jewish archeology from Biblical times.

Today, not only is a thriving population living here, but commercially the economy is ever growing with many industrial zones, commercial centers, wonderful unique tourist sites, thriving agriculture, delicious wineries, a university and medical school, and a brand new 250-million-dollar luxury mall and entertainment complex (for more on that, click here). Most significantly, a thriving Jewish day school system, along with the existence of many synagogues and yeshivas (academies of Torah learning) ensures that any future development of this Jewish heartland will be rooted in and guided by the same eternal values and traditions (i.e. Torah) of our past!

If you would like to explore this wonderous region, here are two sample tour itineraries in Judea and Samaria which I highly recommend: Hebron/Gush Etzion/Rachel’s Tomb and Jewish West Bank.

Nosson Shulman is a journalist and Licensed Tour Guide in Israel specializing in Biblical tours. To allow tourists to experience Israel during the Corona era, he created the new hit Israel tour video series which brings Israel to the home of viewers by simulating actual tours. To check out his free sneak preview tour videos, click here. To view sample tour itineraries or to inquire about private tour opportunities with a personalized itinerary on your next trip to Israel, click here.