Ultra-Orthodox Jews praying after harvesting wheat at a settlement near Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut. Image by Forward Montage, Getty

By Ari Feldman July 18, 2017

The growing demand for housing in Israel’s rapidly expanding ultra-Orthodox community has led to a paradox, according to the Times of Israel: the population of the two largest settlements in the West Bank is almost all Hasidic even though they do not have much nationalist zeal.

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, ultra-Orthodox Jews make up 30% of the 400,000 Israelis living in the West Bank, spread across eight settlement cities. Modiin Ilit, near Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut, is the largest settlement city with 65,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews. In Beitar Ilit, near Bethlehem, 50,000 residents are ultra-Orthodox — and nearly two-thirds are under 18 years old.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews were initially opposed to settling the West Bank. But overcrowding in Jerusalem and in Orthodox sections of the Tel Aviv metro area have made settlement an easy choice for many.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“What may have started as a method to solve the housing crisis in Haredi communities has also become an opportunity for them to connect with their heritage by living on land where 80% of the Bible took place,” said Shilo Adler, the Director General of Yesha, an umbrella group of municipal councils in the West Bank.

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount