Metzad ( he, מיצד) also Asfar, is an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

organised as a

community settlement A community settlement ( he, יישוב קהילתי, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of village in Israel and the West Bank. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the village's residents are organized in ...

in the

Gush Etzion Gush Etzion ( he, גּוּשׁ עֶצְיוֹן, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural v ...

settlement bloc in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Established as by

ultra-orthodox Jews Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

in 1984, it is located south of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

in the eastern

Judean Mountains The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel wh ...

, 14.5 km from the

Green Line Green Line may refer to: Places Military and political * Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II * Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours ** City Line ( ...

, outside the

Separation Barrier A separation barrier or separation wall is a barrier, wall or fence, constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate peoples or cultures. A separation barrier that runs along an internationally recogni ...

. In January 2022 its population was 1110, up 35% from five years earlier. It falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the

Gush Etzion Regional Council The Gush Etzion Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית גוש עציון, ''Mo'atza Azorit Gush Etzion'') is a Regional council (Israel), regional council in the northern Judean Hills, the northern part of the southern area of the West B ...

History

Metzad was established in 1984 by

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa and France. The settlement was built on the site of a

Nahal Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...

paramilitary outpost called ''Nahal Asfar'' (named after a biblical place of the Maccabean revolt (1 Maccabees 9:33)) established in 1983, and which Palestinians state was confiscated from the village of

Ash-Shuyukh Ash-Shuyukh or al-Shuyukh ( ar, الشيوخ) is a Palestinian town in the Hebron Governorate of the State of Palestine, located 6 km northeast of the city of Hebron. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Ash-Shuyukh had a ...

. The first structures on Metzad were erected by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

's civil corps of engineers. They were handed over for civilian use at the time of the creation of Metzad in 1984. Initially, the road up to the settlement was unpaved, water was brought by truck, and electricity was sporadically provided by a generator. The next phase of development involved the placement of sixty caravans to serve as homes, offices, security compound, award-winning Preschool facilities, Clinic, Youth Center, Library, Weaving and Art Studios, and Computer Center. Construction of a new neighborhood of twenty-five permanent homes began in 1992. This included the building of a Family Health Center, an industrial building housing both the Weaving Studio and a

Simcha ''Simcha'' ( he, שִׂמְחָה ; , ) is a Hebrew word that means gladness, or joy, and is often used as a given name. Uses The concept of simcha is an important one in Jewish philosophy. A popular teaching by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a 19th- ...

Hall for special events and an outdoor basketball court. Metzad is the southernmost settlement in the Gush Etzion bloc, and is one of its three Haredi settlements, the others being

Betar Illit Beitar Illit ( he, בֵּיתָר עִלִּית; officially Betar Illit; "Illit" is pronounced "ee-leet"; ar, بيتار عيليت) is an Haredi Jewish-Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, sout ...

and

Ma'ale Amos Ma'ale Amos ( he, מַעֲלֵה עָמוֹס, lit ''Ascent of Amos'') is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the southern West Bank. Located 20 km southeast of Jerusalem, at an elevation of 725 meters above sea leve ...

. The settlement contains one

Kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

: ''Metzudat David'' and elementary school "Dover Shalom". The synagogue is the highest building in Metzad. The second floor offers a panoramic view of the

, the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

.About Metzad

References

External links

Peace Now fact sheet
{{Gush Etzion Regional Council Religious Israeli settlements Populated places established in 1984 Gush Etzion Regional Council 1984 establishments in the Palestinian territories Community settlements American-Jewish culture in Israel British-Jewish culture in Israel French-Jewish culture in Israel South African-Jewish culture in Israel