Itamar

Itamar ( _he. אִיתָמָר) is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank's Samarian mountains near Nablus/Shechem. The village, named for Ithamar, the youngest son of Aaron the High Priest, was established in 1984 by several families from the Machon Meir Yeshiva in Jerusalem with the assistance of the Amana settlement organization. Tradition places the burial place of Ithamar in the same vicinity. The original name was "Tel Chaim", commemorating Chaim Landau.

Over 120 families live in this Orthodox Jewish community which is within the municipal jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council, including a community of Bnei Menashe from Manipur and Mizoram. [http://www.bnei-menashe.org] The location had been chosen to take advantage of the large reserve of state lands. Itamar is known for the many farms and hamlets (outposts) that dot the otherwise barren hills east of the village.

Education is a priority and several institutions operate locally: nurseries, the boy's Itamar Talmud Torah, the girl's Be'er Miriam Talmud Torah, the high school Hitzim Yeshiva, the Itamar "Higher Yeshiva" as well as a midrasha.

External links

* [http://www.shechem.org/itamar/eindex.html Unofficial website]