Beit Yatir (Hebrew: בית יתיר), also known as Metzadot Yehuda (Hebrew: מְצָדוֹת יְהוּדָה), is a religious Orthodox moshav and Israeli settlement in the southern Hebron Hills of the West Bank along the Green Line south of Susiya. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[1]
The moshav is located on a hill 900 metres above sea level and within the municipal jurisdiction of the Har Hebron Regional Council. Nearby are the ruins of the ancient town of Eshtemoa. Beit Yatir was established in 1979 by students from the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva. In 1983, the moshav was moved southwest from its original location south of the town of As-Samu to its current location in the Yatir Forest. A visual landmark of the moshav is a high wind turbine.
The moshav belongs to the Amana settlement movement. A Religious Pre-Army Mechina, with several tens of students enrolled, is headed by Rabbi Moshe Hagar.
As of 2007, about seventy families live on the moshav, most of the parents newlyweds to middle age. The social make up of the moshav residents varies between sabras to immigrants from various countries including France, Russian, Brazil and English-speaking countries. The moshav does not require residents to become members of the cooperative.
Beit Yatir has a sister relationship with Congregation Beth Aaron, a synagogue in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA.
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