The Samaria Regional Council said three new yeshivas will open in the Hebrew month of Elul, in the communities of Dothan Valley, Ganim and Mount Ebal, as part of 18 new settlements planned in northern Samaria. The Mount Ebal yeshiva will open on the first day of Elul and will be led by Rabbi Aviad Shinwal, formerly head of the Kesh pre-military academy in the Golan Heights. It will operate as a branch of the Alon Moreh Yeshiva, headed by Rabbi Eliakim Levanon.
On Thursday morning, Levanon, Shinwal, Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, Alon Moreh institutions CEO Elisaf Parshan, and yeshiva students held a first planning tour and study day at the Mount Ebal site. The visit focused on preparations for the first academic year and continued development of the settlement. The Mount Ebal yeshiva will join two others scheduled to open in Elul in northern Samaria.
In Ganim, a higher yeshiva will open under Rabbi Neria Bulak as a branch of the Bnei David Yeshiva in Eli, led by Rabbis Eli Sadan and Yigal Levinstein. In Dothan Valley, a new yeshiva will be opened as a branch of the religious and pre-military institutions run by Rabbi Chaim Baruch, which currently operate in Lod, Bruchin and Tiberias.
The Mount Ebal site has special historical and national significance, near the altar of Joshua bin Nun, and is meant to strengthen the developing settlement there, where families are expected to move in later. Levanon called the project an expression of the link between Torah and the Land of Israel, while Shinwal described it as a mission of “deep sense of purpose and great humility.” Dagan said the openings were “an enormous value-based announcement for the State of Israel,” calling them part of correcting the historical injustice of the evacuation of northern Samaria. Parshan said the Alon Moreh movement sees the branch as a real mission and a sign of renewed growth.
