On the eighth night of Hanukkah in 1975, thousands of young pioneers arrived at the site of the ancient city of Sebastia. They all came with one mission in mind—to finally begin rebuilding Samaria, a region that still laid bereft of Jewish communities eight years after the People of Israel liberated the Biblical Heartland in 1967. Despite the Labor government’s reluctance, a compromise allowed 30 families to settle in the nearby military camp of “Kedum,” where they endured isolation, scarce transportation and minimal utilities. Their perseverance paid off in 1977 with the election of Prime Minister Menachem Begin who recognized the new community of Kedumim as the first of many new communities in the region. Home today for over 5,000 pioneers, Kedumim’s steadfast spirit and Biblical foundation ensure its enduring role in advancing the restoration of the Biblical Heartland.