Yishuv Tekoa

Tekoa birthplace of the Prophet Amos was a fortress town in biblical times providing early warning and defense to Jerusalem against an invasion from the East. Similar considerations prompted then OC Central Command Rehavam Zeevi and then Defense Minister Shimon Peres to reestablish Jewish Tekoa as a Nahal paramilitary settlement in 1975 that was civilianized in Sukkot 1977.

Tekoa under very rudimentary conditions started with 10 families all immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The difficult conditions reduced the number to 3 when in 1979 the growth spiral began. A community that once could fit in a SUV recorded 67 births last year and an influx of a hundred families a year over the past two years.

Growth has strained infrastructure at a time that the government due to outside pressure and fiscal constraints has sharply curtailed investments. Parks, synagogues that once adequately served the community cannot cope with the welcome population growth and the distance to more far flung neighborhoods.

Nobody gets a house for free and all development and construction costs fall on the individual builder. There are communities that have tacked on extensive development costs that finance some of the infrastructure. This policy while sensible means that only financially comfortable families can afford the housing and would effectively exclude young couples and people on moderate incomes. Tekoa from the very outset took a decision to be mixed. The most important standard is to have a mixed religious and secular population, mixed in terms of immigrants and veteran Israeli and mixed occupationally. In addition to local taxation residents bear a security assessment that is not born by most Israelis and a legal defense fund.

Tekoa has had to cope with Arab terror during its existence and we have lost five members of our community. We are therefore security conscious and are also aware that the relative tranquility (rock throwing and fire bombs are not newsworthy) could take a turn for the worse. In case of a wider war the community will have to assume an even greater burden and therefore a modernization of body armor, communications, and emergency medicine equipment are serious needs. We have received the following lists of needs from our security chief.

We are therefore turning to you and counting on your generosity in keeping pace with our expanding needs and addressing anticipated dangers.