Erev Rosh Hashana 2006

Update from Shaul Goldstein
Mayor Regional Council Gush Etzion

Fence – we are waiting for the final decision from the courts, in the meantime the previous command has been canceled and continuation of work will continue from the check point of the tunnels to the southern Efrat entrance.

As of now the plan is that the northern entrance to Efrat will be parallel and adjacent to the route of the fence. Eli Mizrachi, mayor of Efrat is in charge of the final adjustments to this plan.

Eastern bypass road ( zaatra) – temporary section, of road has reached the final permits and we are waiting, for the opening to go into effect. A bid has opened to complete the permanent section of the road yet the final budget has not yet been approved. Thanks to the engineer of the regional council and Yehoshua from Nokdim for their efforts.

Traffic jams on the tunnel roads – the recent situation is due to the major increase in number of vehicles on the road with insufficient lanes to carry the present volume of the transportation. We have approached the Ministry of Transportation and the roads Authority, to expand the section between the El Hader junction, and the entrance to the southern tunnel.

As far as the traffic jam in the opposite direction, this is due to the police checking for stolen vehicles. On this issue I am trying to move the check point 100 meters south as not to interfere with the flow of traffic and to enable the police to continue their business. This process is complicated since we are speaking about two different police districts.

Kedar – we are trying to have the community included in the fence, but the Council for Peace and Security, along with Israeli and Arab lawyers are trying to make sure that Male Adumim will be surrounded and strangled by the fence.

A professional security document was prepared on the fence by Shuki Reinski and endorsed by Brigadier General, Yossi Peled, to be presented to the courts on the issue of the fence

The Idf Central Command division, generals, lieutenants, division heads and professional staffers visited Gush Etzion.

 We also hosted the Chief of the Educational division of the Idf, Deputy General, Ilan Hararai, with the intent of exposing the importance of our region so that the army will put Gush Etzion on its itinerary as a place of utmost historical importance for soldiers to visit.

We are waiting for new instructions from the Ministry of Education as to what security leniencies are going to be implemented in the new school year for groups wishing to visit Gush Etzion. When this will go into affect it will permit for many groups to visit Gush Eztion and we will be expanding the amount of people who will visit the area.

Tourism - This year 2006, has shown a great increase in the number of tourists that visited Gush Etzion. For example in 2005 14,000 people toured the Herodion, and in 2006, 22,000. The Field school has a completely booked occupancy as do their tours. We receive calls everyday from all over the country  showing a tremendous interest to visit the Gush.

Succot -  we are continuing with our annul tradition of our SuccotFfestival in Gush Etzion. This will include a wine and theater festival and the kite festival in Pnei Kedem, activities for the whole family, and entrances to the local tourist attractions.

Herodion – is in need of immediate repairs and renovations, I am approaching different government offices on this issue.

Tourism- there is a need in the area for development of, lodgings, B&B, motel/ hotel. We are looking for investors. Anyone who has ideas or connections are welcome to approach me.

The poll on Gush Etzion has begun. Five hundred households, in Tel Aviv have already been contacted as to their knowledge about Gush Etzion. We will soon have the results of the poll.

Shoshi Ben Yakov our regional youth director is running the internal poll of our residents, together with our youth in our communities. The residents are asked to please cooperate, your participation in the questionnaire is crucial for the results of this project.

Immediately after Pesach, Gush Etzion, will host an event commemorating, the soldiers who fell in the 1948 battle. This will be in conjunction with other national offices.

The Gush Eztion Field school, together with Yochanan Ben Yakov of Kfar Etzion, will be publishing a booklet for junior high school students on the history of Gush Etzion.

The Ackerstein factory was visited by the engineer of the Regional Council to find an esthetic solution for the security fence. The decision was to cover the fence with a type of stone and plants to make this "fence' situation more environmentally friendly.

Special thanks to Oriya Dassberg for all of her efforts and work, and also to the department heads and staff of the Regional Council who are being challenged daily with all of these new developments and projects so that they may benefit us and the entire region. 

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