Kokhav Ya'akov () is a religious

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 ...

organized as a

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

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 ...

. Located near the

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

town of

al-Bireh Al-Bireh, al-Birah, or el-Bira (; also known historically as Castrum Mahomeria, Magna Mahomeria, Mahomeria Major, Birra, or Beirothah) is a city in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Gove ...

, it is administered by

Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Mateh Binyamin Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Binyamin,'' Lit. Council for the Region of the Tribe of Benjamin) is a Regional Councils in Israel, regional council Local government in Israel, governing 47 Israeli settlements and Israe ...

. In it had a population of . The settlement is north 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 ...

and close to the Palestinian city of

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

History

According to ARIJ Israel confiscated land from two

villages in order to construct Kokhav Ya'akov: * 2,037

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s from

Kafr 'Aqab Kafr 'Aqab () is the northernmost Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem. It is part of the area annexed and included in municipal Jerusalem following its occupation by Israel in 1967. This area includes an additional ...

Kafr 'Aqab village profile
ARIJ, p. 15 * 284 dunams from

Burqa A burqa or burka (; ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree (; ) or chaadar (Dari: چادر) in Afghanistan, or a ''paranja'' (; ; ) in Central Asia, the Ara ...

The settlement was established in 1985 by the Amana settlement movement, and was initially named Abir Ya'akov after rabbi

Yaakov Abuhatzeira Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira (, ) also known as the Abir Yaakov and Abu Hasira (1806–1880), was a leading Moroccan-Jewish rabbi of the 19th century. Biography In 1879, Abuhatzeira left his native Morocco and embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy La ...

. In 1988, its name was changed to Kokhav Ya'akov. In 2013,

Uri Ariel Uri Yehuda Ariel (; born 22 December 1952) is an Israeli politician who formerly served as a member of the Knesset for The Jewish Home (within which he chaired the Tkuma faction), and as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Biograph ...

, then serving as

Minister of Construction Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

, visited Kochav Ya’akov, where he expressed support for additional home-building. Ariel indicated that he believed there was potential to construction 1,000 more homes in Kochav Ya’akov.

Tel Zion neighborhood

The

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

neighborhood of Tel Zion, established in 1990, is part of the village. Its community boasts of over 800 families, including a large growing Litvish segment. The Yishuv is headed by Rabbi Avraham Goldberg. In 2017 ''

the Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...

'' reported that Kokhav Ya'akov has around Haredi 5,500 residents. A recent housing project was launched to attract new members, and over 100 apartments have been occupied. Two new Kollelim have been established under the directive of Rabbi

Chaim Kanievsky Shemaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky (; January 8, 1928 – March 18, 2022) was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and ''posek''. He was a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society on legal and ethical practice. Known as the '' Gadol HaDor'' ("greatest of his ...

. Rabbi Noe is the leader of the younger members, together with full support of Rabbi Goldberg.

Yemen Gallery

In March 2013 a heritage and tourism site promoting the legacy of Yemenite Jewry opened in Kokhav Ya'akov. Founded by Shoham Simchi, the Yemen Gallery () houses an art gallery and a workshop that recreates the life of Yemen's Jews. The building itself is designed in the spirit of traditional Yemenite architecture.

Notable residents

* Bat-El Gatterer (born 1988), Israeli

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

Olympian and European champion

References

External links

Official website
{{Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Religious Israeli settlements Populated places established in 1985 Mateh Binyamin Regional Council 1985 establishments in the Israeli Civil Administration area