Bat Ayin Aleph and Bet

The poppies are blooming on the mountains

Bat Ayin is a settlement in the Judean mountains 30 minutes south of Jerusalem at an elevation of about 700 meters. They are a bit hippyish, in a very right-wing Jewish way. They try to use Jewish labor exclusively (most settlements are built and maintained with Arab labor.) They've had a lot of trouble with harassment from the Shin Bet's Jewish section (the Yevsekciya, if that tells my readers anything) and the government in general. In a move close to my heart, they don't have a fence, on the proper understanding that putting yourself into a ghetto is not a wise or dignified move.

Bat Ayin started off on top of the mountain and grew downwards. The houses up top, in Bat Ayin Aleph, are more established and built up. As you move downhill, to Bat Ayin Bet, it looks a bit more like a trailer park-people build their home the best they can, then make improvements as their financial situation becomes more established. There is no code, so even the established houses look very individual. Everyone has lots of kids, and dogs run free.

Bat Ayin Aleph

Bat Ayin Bet

These trees are blooming, though it's winter.

Kids in Bat Ayin Bet

Bat Ayin Bet-you can see that people make improvements as time and their budget permit

Ya'akov

As I was walking through Bat Ayin Bet, this guy said hello to me. He was working on his house and invited me in to have some tea. Ya'akov's got a typical Bat Ayin story-he grew up in a big city in a non-Orthodox family. After the army, he worked on a farm for a couple of years. Then he became religious, got married, moved to Bat Ayin, and is now working in construction and studying construction management in college at night.

Ya'akov's house

Ya'akov's first house was destroyed by the government. His friends came over and helped him build this one. 24 hours after his house was destroyed, they had poured the foundation. Within the week, they had built the house. Then he built a second house. He was working on a storage addition when I met him.

He painted the portraits hanging next to the stove

Under a wing of the house that sits on pillars, he keeps goats, sheep and chickens

All the livestock and the dog were very friendly

Chicken coop