Ariel

Ari"el is a large Israeli settlement located in"Area C" (Israeli managed territory in the West Bank), within the Northern Central region of the Israeli Administered West Bank (Judea and Samaria). It is approximately 25 miles east of Tel-Aviv Yafo and 17 miles east of Petah Tikva. It is beside the Palestinian town of Salfeet/Salfit.

Understand

Ari'el (Hebrew: אריאל ARI-EL) is a large Israeli settlement that was established in 1978 as settler community based on the ideas of Revisionist Secular Zionism, in particular the political philosophies of Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky, a noted early 20th Century Political Zionist Jewish Leader. It quickly grew during the 1980s and became a formative garrison settlement, equidistant between the Mediterranean Sea and the Hashemite Jordanian border, thus providing tactical awareness of the Northern Territory to the Israeli Army, allowing for threats emanating from Nablus and most Palestinian inhabited places of the West Bank to be countered. It today contains around 8,000 Russian Immigrants, many of whom are not Jewish by Jewish religious law. The rest are Israeli and predominantly secular, although more traditional than the coastal secular communities. Around 20% of the town's population are classed as Orthodox Israelis, with minute numbers of Haredim. It is also home to a large public college and an important industrial area called the Barkan, producing many Israeli kosher food exports in particular. The settlement's residential/commercial growth has been slow and relatively unsuccessful, due to its secular nature, low birth rate as well as its alienation from the main economic/cultural/religious life of the Israeli coastal plain. Strategically, along with the presence of a large population of Israeli settlers and the army to guard them, Israeli-only access via checkpoints, curfews and arbitrary military law imposed on the Palestinians, settlements such as Ariel control areas of West Bank overlooking the heavily populated Israeli Central Region. It has a population of 25,000 People, including permanent non-resident students.

Get in

By Bus:

From Tel-Aviv Central Bus Station, buses 86, 186 and 286. 86 is the express bus, bypassing other Israeli Settlement Communities. From Rosh Ha'Ayin North Train Station, Bus 100. From Jerusalem Central Bus Station: Bus 148 (Egged).

By Car":

From Tel-Aviv: Drive towards Herzliyah via Motorway 20 and take a rightward turn at Route Five. About 35 Minutes in the Car. From Jerusalem: Head Northwards towards Ramallah via Motorway 60. Follow Signposts to Beit-El. About 45 Minutes in the Car.

Get around

Hitchhiking (Tremp), Walking and General Buses.

See

• Heichal HaTarbut (Cultural Theater): Many Musicals and Shows scheduled across the year, showcasing Israeli Culture.
• Ariel Country Club: Range of Sporting Activities, including Swimming.
• Samaria Mountain Ranges: These hills contain the locations of the most famous Bible Stories. Magnificent view of the Israeli Coastal Plain and Gaza Strip.
• Shuchnat HaKaravanim (Caravan Neighobourhood): Contains Jewish Travellers, Biblical Wannabees, Hippies and Former Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip. Contains the Town's Main Yeshiva.

Do

• See former settlers from the former Gush Katif Jewish Settlement Bloc of the Gaza Strip: Witness their experiences of Israeli Police and life in one of the most violent places on Earth through their stories of hope, despair, history, Judaism and what they view as national redemption. Tips accepted.

• Target Shooting: One of Israel's biggest shooting galleries, located at the Eshel HaShomron Hotel, adjacent to Ariel Junction.

Buy

The usual Israeli fanfare.

Eat

• Pizza 2 for 1 in Mercaz Ha'Ir (City Center).
• Cafe-Cafe (Badatz Kosher Mehadrin), located in the Ariel Sport Center.

Drink

• Many Russian Vodka Bars located across town.
• Israeli Coffee Shops.

Sleep

• Eshel HaShomron Hotel [1]; average hotel containing a variety of recreational facilities and a 'Yesh' Supermarket

Contact

Ariel Settlement Website (English and Hebrew): www.ariel.muni.il

Go next

• Sodom and Gemorrah Park.
• Biblical Shechem/Nablus ([2]). Non-Israeli 'Tourists will need to take their passports with an Israeli entry stamp (or bring the seperate paper that the tourist stamp was given on), to show Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint to re-enter Israeli territory after visiting since it is located in Area A of the territory and under Palestinian Authority Control.' Hitch a ride or Palestinian Plated Taxi from Ariel Junction to Nablus.

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