An Eye on Zion: Alon
A band of pioneers established Alon in April of 1990. Named after the late interim Israeli prime minister Yigal Allon, the community of Alon stands as an emblem and testament of God’s promise to Abraham.
A band of pioneers established Alon in April of 1990. Named after the late interim Israeli prime minister Yigal Allon, the community of Alon stands as an emblem and testament of God’s promise to Abraham.
On May 29, 2001, Gilad Zar, a security officer for the Samaria Regional Council and a founder of the community of Itamar, tragically joined the long list of thousands of terror victims who were slaughtered during the Second Intifada.
Just over a century later, a group of devout pioneers sharing the same love and passion for the Land of Israel, founded a new community just north of Jerusalem. Drawing their inspiration from Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira, they named it “Abir Yaakov,” the same venerated title that was used to address the late Rabbi during his life. Subsequently renamed “Kochav Yaakov,” (“Star of Jacob”), the community has absorbed many Jews who, like Rabbi Abuhatzeira, left their respective countries of birth to live in the Land of Israel.
On April 4, 1968, Rabbi Moshe and Miriam Levinger, a visionary couple, registered themselves and dozens of others to stay at Hebron’s Park Hotel. Just ten months after the People of Israel liberated Hebron and the rest of the Biblical Heartland during the Six Day War in 1967, this dedicated group excitedly planned to hold the city’s first Passover Seder in several decades.
The pioneers named the nascent community “Yakir,” meaning “precious,” the precise Hebrew word used by God to describe His “son,” Ephraim (Jeremiah 31:19).
Drawing their inspiration from the Biblical figure Avigayil (Abigail), Elisha and his friends decided to establish a new community in the southern Hebron Hills. They parked an old bus on a plot of land facing Maon, the ancient Biblical site where Avigayil lived.
On Friday evening of May 2, 1980, a group of students from Nir Yeshiva, located on the outskirts of the Biblical city of Hebron, excitedly headed to the Cave of Machpelah. There, they joyfully welcomed in the Sabbath with uplifting prayers.
That evening, however, terrorists threw grenades and fired bullets in the direction of the students, murdering three of them.
In 1927, a group of pious Jews from Yemen and Jerusalem sought to restore the Judean hills, which had lain barren and in ruins for almost 2,000 years.
During the Feast of Tabernacles in 1977, an idealistic couple heading to visit the pioneering community of Kedumim suddenly found themselves taking on a new mission.
Around 1700 years ago, a group of devout Jews settled the southern edges of Judea in the Hebron Hills. Their hearts were directed towards Jerusalem, the eternal site of the Shechinah (The Divine Presence) where the Temple once stood in all its Divine glory.