EFRAT, West Bank—Outside Israel, they are given the blanket label of settlers. But inside Israel, applying one word to the group of Jews who live in the West Bank becomes somewhat inaccurate—or at best incomplete.
That’s because settlers’ reasons for living in an area of Israel that’s technically occupied are as varied as the settlers themselves. Some are extremely religious, some nationalistic, some feel entitled. The ways they live are also varied, with settlements ranging from tiny clusters of several family houses to medium-sized towns of 20,000 or more residents.
Whatever the reason or lifestyle, for many residents of this rugged and breathtaking terrain, settling in the West Bank (or Judea and Samaria as they call it) is the realization of a lifelong dream.
For Sandra and Baruch Orman, who moved to Israel eight weeks ago from Baltimore, Maryland, it’s the culmination of years of planning.
“We’ve been talking about it for nine years,” Mrs. Orman said during a recent hike up a mountainside near their new home in the West Bank. “I think it was the right thing to do. If everyone’s afraid to live here, then the Jewish people wouldn’t have a place to be.”
The Ormans are among 23 families who recently moved to a small town—or settlement—of about 7,000 people in the West Bank called Efrat. For the Ormans and their family, it was also a question of the quality of their existence.
That’s because settlers’ reasons for living in an area of Israel that’s technically occupied are as varied as the settlers themselves. Some are extremely religious, some nationalistic, some feel entitled. The ways they live are also varied, with settlements ranging from tiny clusters of several family houses to medium-sized towns of 20,000 or more residents.
Whatever the reason or lifestyle, for many residents of this rugged and breathtaking terrain, settling in the West Bank (or Judea and Samaria as they call it) is the realization of a lifelong dream.
For Sandra and Baruch Orman, who moved to Israel eight weeks ago from Baltimore, Maryland, it’s the culmination of years of planning.
“We’ve been talking about it for nine years,” Mrs. Orman said during a recent hike up a mountainside near their new home in the West Bank. “I think it was the right thing to do. If everyone’s afraid to live here, then the Jewish people wouldn’t have a place to be.”
The Ormans are among 23 families who recently moved to a small town—or settlement—of about 7,000 people in the West Bank called Efrat. For the Ormans and their family, it was also a question of the quality of their existence.
