Ma'ale Amos ( he, מַעֲלֵה עָמוֹס, lit ''Ascent of Amos'') 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 ...

organized 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 southern

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 ...

. Located 20 km southeast of Jerusalem, at an elevation of 725 meters above sea level, it falls under the jurisdiction of

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 ...

. In it had a population of . Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered by the international community to be illegal under international law, which the Israeli government disputes.

History

The settlement was established in 1981 by the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

and

Aish HaTorah Aish HaTorah ( he, אש התורה, lit. "Fire of the Torah") is an Orthodox Jewish educational organization and yeshiva. History Aish HaTorah was established in Jerusalem in 1974 by Rabbi Noah Weinberg, after he left the Ohr Somayach yeshiva ...

. and was named after the Biblical prophet

Amos Amos or AMOS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Amos Records, an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California, in 1968 * Amos (band), an American Christian rock band * ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray * ''Amos' ...

, who lived in the village of Tekoa nearby. One of the community's founders was rabbi and former actor

Uri Zohar Uri Zohar ( he, אורי זוהר; 4 November 1935 – 2 June 2022) was an Israeli film director, actor and comedian who left the entertainment world to become an Orthodox rabbi. Biography Uri Zohar was born in Tel Aviv. His parents were Polis ...

. An early resident was Aryeh Deri, now head of the Shas party, whose first political position was as the representative of Ma'ale Amos to the

. The town's first spiritual leader was Rabbi

Hillel Zaks Hillel Zaks ( he, הלל זקס; February 2, 1931 – January 13, 2015) was the founder and ''rosh yeshiva'' of Yeshivas Knesses Hagedolah in Kiryat Sefer. He was the son of Mendel and Faiga Chaya Zaks, the youngest daughter of Israel Meir Kagan ...

, grandson of the

Yisrael Meir Kagan Rabbi Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (January 26, 1838 – September 15, 1933), known popularly as the Chofetz Chaim, after his book on lashon hara, who was also well known for the Mishna Berurah, his book on ritual law, was an influential Lith ...

, the Chofetz Chaim. The first mayor was Rabbi Moshe Lazerus. By end of the 1990s, almost half the population was made of immigrants from the Soviet Union.Eretz Magazine, The Land of Judea, Fall 2021, p.93 Many others including the Rabbi, Zev Wolf Charlop, are

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 States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The settlement has two elementary schools, a Beis Yaakov for girls, and

cheder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...

for boys.

References

{{Gush Etzion Regional Council Populated places established in 1981 Religious Israeli settlements Gush Etzion Regional Council 1981 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate Community settlements Lithuanian-Jewish culture in Israel Haredi Judaism in Israel American-Jewish culture in Israel Israeli settlements in the West Bank