Telem (Israeli settlement)
Telem
| |
|---|---|
| Etymology: Furrow | |
Telem | |
| Coordinates: 31°33′51″N 35°01′52″E / 31.56417°N 35.03111°E | |
| Country | Palestine |
| District | Judea and Samaria Area |
| Council | Har Hevron |
| Region | West Bank |
| Affiliation | Mishkei Herut Beitar |
| Founded | 31 January 1982 |
| Population (2023)[1] | 581 |
Telem (Hebrew: תֶּלֶם) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Organized as a communal settlement, it is located in the southern Judean Hills region, west of Kiryat Arba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Har Hevron Regional Council. In 2023 it had a population of 581.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[2]
Name, etymology
The settlement's original name was Mitzpe Guvrin, lit. 'Guvrin Lookout', since it overlooks the Beit Guvrin region.[3]
Telem (תָּלַם) means furrow, the ridge left by a plough; or to furrow, leave a ridge.[4][5]
History
According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated about 1000 dunams of land from the nearby Palestinian town of Tarqumiyah in order to construct Telem.[6]
The settlement was established on 31 January 1982 as a pioneering Nahal military outpost and demilitarized only a year later when turned over for residential purposes in the form of a non-religious cooperative village (Hebrew: מושב שיתופי, moshav shitufi) belonging to the Herut Betar movement. In 1995, with the assistance of the Amana settlement organization,[7] houses were built.
In 2004, a group of about twenty religious families joined the village in order to strengthen and build a mixed community. In the centre of the village, a beit midrash ('house of study') was established and named the Netivot Dror Yeshiva (lit. 'Paths[8][9] of Dror Yeshiva') in memory of Dror Weinberg, an Israel Defense Forces army colonel who, as of 2007, was the highest ranking Israeli soldier to be killed during the Second Intifada.
Economy
As of 2008, the community still had agriculture including vineyards and chicken coops.[3]
References
- ^ "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ a b Hoberman, Haggai (2008). Keneged Kol HaSikuim [Against All Odds] (in Hebrew) (1st ed.). Sifriat Netzaim.
- ^ "8525. telem". Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. Retrieved 6 February 2026 – via biblehub.com.
- ^ Jastrow, Marcus (1903). "תָּלַם". Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushlami, and Midrashic Literature. Retrieved 6 February 2026 – via sefaria.org.il.
- ^ Tarqumiya Town Profile, ARIJ, p. 15
- ^ "Amana Settlement Movement". Archived from the original on 2011-10-22. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
- ^ "5410. nathiyb". Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. Retrieved 6 February 2026 – via biblehub.com.
- ^ Diaz, Flor M. "The Ancient Path". bibleinteract.com. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
The term "paths" (netivot), is the plural of נָתִיב (nativ), which means a path traced.