Yesha Council
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Yesha Council is the umbrella organization of the various municipal councils of Jewish communities in "Yesha," a Hebrew acronym for Judea, Samaria, Gaza, which are otherwise referred to as the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The council was founded in the 1970s as the successor to Gush Emunim, an organization formed to oversee the return of Jewish settlers to what they see as their homeland. The Jewish population of the towns, cities, and villages that comprise Yesha stands at around 225,000. [1], although it is more around 500,000-700,000 by de-facto liberal estimates, conducted by NGOs.[citation needed]
The council consists of 25 democratically elected mayors and ten community leaders. Its mandate is to provide security: for example, by arranging for the acquisition of bullet-proof ambulances and buses; to oversee improvements to the infrastructure, like roads, electricity, and water supplies; and to act as domestic and international emissaries on behalf of residents.
In addition to municipal and security cares the council serves a political representative of the settlers and a lobby for their cause. It lobbies their interest in the Knesset and the government and is in charge of public relations campaigns and grass root protests when needed.
In 2005, it led the settlers' campaign against the disengagement plan with peaceful mass protests: the human chain of 130,000, the Kfar Maimon march of 50,000, the Kotel rally of 70,000, and the Tel Aviv rally of 200,000. The council was praised by centrists for refraining from the use of violence, but was criticized by the right for failing to prevent the disengagement.
Some see it as the precursor to a possible State of Judea, a project aimed at stopping futher withdrawals.
