Eshtaol
Encyclopedia
Eshtaol is a moshav
in central Israel
. Located north of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council
. In 2006, Eshtaol had a population of 876.
, Samson
began to prophesy "between Zorah
and Eshtaol" . After his death in Gaza, Samson's body was brought back for burial in his father’s tomb between Eshtaol and Zorah . Five scouts from Eshtaol and Zorah were sent out to find a land suitable for the tribe of Dan. .
Modern Eshtaol was founded on the lands of two depopulated Palestinian
Arab villages, Ishwa'
and Islin
after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. It was part of a plan to establish settlements in the Jerusalem Corridor
in order to create a contiguous bloc between the coastal plain and Jerusalem. The first residents were Jewish immigrants
from Yemen
, who settled there in December 1949. They worked in land reclamation and forestry. The Jewish National Fund
established a 45-dunam nursery in Eshtaol to supply saplings for JNF forests. Later, the moshav branched out into poultry and other agricultural enterprises. At the end of the 1990s, the moshav absorbed 100 new families.
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
in central Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Located north of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council
Mateh Yehuda Regional Council
Mateh Yehuda Regional Council is a regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2008 it was home to 36,200 people.The name of the regional council stems from the fact that its territory was part of the land allotted to the Tribe of Judah, according to the Bible.-Places and...
. In 2006, Eshtaol had a population of 876.
History
Eshtaol was in the territory allotted to the tribe of Dan . According to the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
began to prophesy "between Zorah
Tzora
Tzora is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located about 20 km from Jerusalem, near the city of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. At the beginning of 2009, the kibbutz had a total population of 800, of whom 350 were members.-History:The kibbutz derives its...
and Eshtaol" . After his death in Gaza, Samson's body was brought back for burial in his father’s tomb between Eshtaol and Zorah . Five scouts from Eshtaol and Zorah were sent out to find a land suitable for the tribe of Dan. .
Modern Eshtaol was founded on the lands of two depopulated Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
Arab villages, Ishwa'
Ishwa'
Ishwa was a Palestinian village that was captured by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The village was located about 20 km west of Jerusalem, on the present location of Eshta'ol. In the 1931 British census of Palestine, Ishwa had a population of 468 in 126 houses...
and Islin
Islin
- History :In 1596, Islin appeared as Islit in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Ramla of the Liwa of Jaffa. It had a population of 14 Muslim households and paid taxes on wheat, barley, and goats or beehives....
after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. It was part of a plan to establish settlements in the Jerusalem Corridor
Jerusalem corridor
The Jerusalem corridor is a segment of Israeli territory between the Shephelah and Jerusalem which is home to over 700,000 Israeli Jews. Not including the Arab population of annexed East Jerusalem the areas population is almost 99% Jewish. Roughly stretching from Latrun in the west to Jerusalem in...
in order to create a contiguous bloc between the coastal plain and Jerusalem. The first residents were Jewish immigrants
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
from Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, who settled there in December 1949. They worked in land reclamation and forestry. The Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
established a 45-dunam nursery in Eshtaol to supply saplings for JNF forests. Later, the moshav branched out into poultry and other agricultural enterprises. At the end of the 1990s, the moshav absorbed 100 new families.