Beitar Illit, a city in Gush Etzion, 6 miles south of Jerusalem, which by anyone account is an integral part of the Judaean Mountains, on Tuesday was uprooted by governmental fiat and joined with two vastly disparate regions: the Negev and Galilee. At least in terms of enhanced government services.
Minister of the Economy, the Negev and Galilee Aryeh Deri (Shas) announced during a visit to Beitar Illit—one of the fastest growing cities in Israel—that the city is slated to come under the authority of the office for the Negev and Galilee, which will include a list of measures and budgets to promote the large industrial area of Beitar Illit, known as “the English forest,” alongside measures related to training of, and vocational guidance to local residents.
The Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee was established in 2005, in order to advance and promote the Negev and the Galilee and place them at the top of the government’s list of priorities. Its very founding meant that the Israeli government was obligated to bring growth and prosperity to these two regions, as it was becoming clear that the future of Israel depended on the development of theses regions.
The ministry is putting up an infrastructure to support the development of industry, business, and housing, as well as education, with some groundbreaking projects.
Beitar Illit, named after the ancient Jewish city of Beitar, whose ruins lie nearby, was established in 1984 by a small group of young religious Zionist families. Later, an influx of ultra-Orthodox Jewish families took over the city, and the original founders left. The city is now home to many Chassidic groups, including Bobov, Boston, Boyan, Breslov, Karlin-Stolin and Slonim.
Beitar Illit’s demographics are astonishing, with the city’s population having grown from 23,000 in 2003, and 29,100 in 2006, to 45,710 in 2013, according to the Israeli Interior Ministry. Which is one of the reasons Minister Deri, who is considering departing his post over a dispute regarding Israel’s natural gas project, sees the need to move to improve Beitar Illit’s future while he is still in a position to help.
In Deri’s view, the geographic designation of his office’s authority is not written in stone, and so he intends to use its power in the service of additional needy population centers around the country. And, possibly, not all of them would be ultra-Orthodox.