Families Return to Reestablish Kadim Settlement 21 Years After Disengagement

Thirty families have permanently resettled in Kadim, a northern Samaria settlement, 21 years after its evacuation during Israel's disengagement plan. The returning group, mainly composed of families from Tel Aviv and central Israel, includes graduates of Zionist yeshivas and veterans of the 2023 "Iron Swords" war. At the return ceremony, Ogden Drori, a former resident expelled from Kadim and one of the founding families, presented Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council, with a plaque bearing the original oath to return and a foundational scroll signed by the settlement's founders in 1983. Drori emotionally recited the vow, emphasizing their determination to rebuild Kadim for "at least 21,000 years." He also displayed an old Israeli flag, pledging to raise it permanently in Kadim.

Yossi Dagan highlighted the significance of the 21st anniversary of the expulsion, declaring the return a rectification of the past and announcing plans to establish 19 new thriving settlements in northern Samaria as part of a broader government-backed initiative called "A Million in Samaria." This plan, led by the Shomron Regional Council and the Amana movement, follows government decisions spearheaded by ministers Israel Katz and Bezalel Smotrich. The return to Kadim completes the reestablishment of the four northern Samaria settlements uprooted during the disengagement: Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim.

The event included readings of the Kadim citizens' scroll and prayers for rebuilding, attended by key figures such as Ze'ev Hever (Amana secretary-general), Benzi Lieberman (Shomron council head during the disengagement), Rabbi Chaim Gantz, and Rabbi Ben Artzi, who leads the renewed community. The ceremony concluded with applause as the foundational scroll was handed to Oz Tzohar, the new settlement chairman. The return marks the culmination of over two decades of efforts led by Dagan, the expelled residents, the "Homesh First" organization, and Homesh Yeshiva to restore Jewish presence in the area.