Rimonim

Rimonim (Hebrew: רִמּוֹנִים, רימונים‎‎), is an Israeli settlement located on the Allon Road in the West Bank in the jurisdiction of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council about a twenty minute drive east from Jerusalem. As of 2011, the population of the village was about 150 families. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[1]

The name of the village comes from Book of Judges 20:47:

But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months.

Rimonim was first established 1977 (20 Shevat 5737) as a temporary pioneer Nahal military outpost. Three years later in 1980 (on 4 Tishrei 5741), it moved to the current location, demilitarized and turned over to residential purposes non-religious Jewish Israelis with help from the Amana settlement organization. In the mid-2000s, the village allowed religious Jews to move in. Until then, it had been almost exclusive secular in nature.

Services provided include a synagogue, half-Olympic sized swimming pool (open from June - September), post office, nursery, kindergarten, mikvah, library, basketball court, and youth centre.

At the edge of town, there is a look-out point, from which one can view the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea.

References

  1. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm. Retrieved 27 November 2010. 

External links