Ma'ale Levona is an Israeli settlement

Israeli settlement

An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...

 in the West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

. "Ma'ale Levonah" means "Ascent of Frankincense

Frankincense

Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...

" in Hebrew. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law

International law and Israeli settlements

The international community considers the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories illegal under international law, but Israel maintains that they are consistent with international law because it does not agree that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the...

, but the Israeli government disputes this.

It overlooks its namesake

Namesake

Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another....

, an ancient mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 noteworthy as the site of the first Maccabeean

Maccabees

The Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...

 victory

Battle of Wadi Haramia

The Battle of Wadi Haramia was the first Hand to hand combat battle fought between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Empire in 167 BC. The Jewish forces were led by Judas Maccabaeus and the Seleucid army force was under the command of Apollonius....

 against the Selucids

Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...

. The mountain pass, "the Ascent of Levonah" is to the east of the village and links the Levonah valley to its north with the Shiloh valley to its south.

The "Levonah valley" is probably named for the frankincense

Frankincense

Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...

 grown there in biblical days for the incense used in the Tabernacle

Tabernacle

The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...

 of near-by Shiloh. There was an Israelite village on the edge of the valley that also carried the name "Levonah" ( see Judges

Book of Judges

The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...

 21:19). The name of that ancient site is preserved in the name of the nearest Arab village which today occupies its place- Lubban ash-Sharkiya

Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya

al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya is a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, located 20 kilometers south of Nablus, in the Nablus Governorate. The town has a total land area of 12,075 dunams of which 200 dunams is built-up area...

 (Eastern Levonah).

The village was initially established as a Nahal

Nahal

Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...

 outpost and was later turned into a civilian Israeli settlement

Israeli settlement

An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...

, under the municipal jurisdiction of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council

Matte Binyamin Regional Council

Mateh Binyamin Regional Council is a regional council covering 42 Israeli settlements in the southern Samarian hills of the West Bank. The seat of the council is Psagot. The council is named for the ancient Israelite tribe of Benjamin, whose territory roughly corresponds to that of the council.In...

. It is located in the northern West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

, in the Shilo

Shilo (town)

Shilo is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank, located 28 miles north of Jerusalem on Route 60, next to the Palestinian town Turmus Ayya...

-Eli

Eli (town)

Eli is a large mixed communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located on Highway 60 north of Jerusalem and Ramallah, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. At the end of 2008 it had a population of 2,800...

 bloc near Ariel

Ariel (city)

Ariel is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank. Ariel was established in 1978. Its population at the end of 2009 was 17,600, including 7,000 immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. It is the fourth largest Jewish settlement city in the West Bank., after Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit,...

.

Ma'ale Levona is home to around 120 families backgrounds of which include, besides Israel, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

, 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....

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, and various parts of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. In addition Ma'ale Levona features a petting zoo

Petting zoo

A petting zoo features a combination of domestic animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, also called children's farms or petting farms, many general zoos contain a petting zoo...

 with sheep, goats, a few horses, some peafowl

Peafowl

Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...

, and other animals. Every year after Shavuot

Shavuot

The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....

, Ma'ale Levona hosts a Hag Hagez, a biblically mandated

Torah

Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

 event in which the sheep are shorn of their wool. Ma'ale Levona also is home to a girls high school and a college that combines yeshiva

Yeshiva

Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

study with computer classes.