Beit El summer street fair
Beit El summer street fairBen Bresky

Beit El's main thoroughfare was packed with children, bicycles, baby strollers and more enjoying the annual Beit El End-of-Summer street fair Monday afternoon. Jewish music filled the air and vendors sold cotton candy, baked goods and an array of locally made arts and crafts ranging from jewelry to hand-crafted paintings.

Beit El is located in the Benyamin region of Samaria, about a 35-minute drive north of Jerusalem. It was founded in 1977 near the site of several ancient mikvot (Jewish ritual baths) and other ruins. In 2009, Beit El was estimated to have a population of 5,308, mostly Israeli-born but with a community of Bnei Menashe from India, immigrants from the United States, Russia and other countries.

Children at the annual Beit El end-of-summer street fair.



Cotton candy and other treats being sold.
Activities for children such as a moon bounce and slides are set up on the grass.


New Beit El postcards depicting local scenery are sold by Yael Enkin and the Beit El Heritage Center. 

Homemade crafts for sale by one of the many local Beit El artists.

Cookies from Herby's Bake Shop, a local award-winning bakery.

Two children from Beit El.

An ancient stone structure on top of the hill in Beit El. Neighboring Arab residents call it the Tomb of Sheikh Abdullah or alternately, Makum Nabi Ya'acub, an Arabic phrase meaning "the place of the Prophet Jacob." Beit El is known as the spot where Jacob had the dream of the ladder. Some local Beit El residents theorize the tomb may be the burial site of the Biblical prophet Iddo.

Ernie Singer contributed to this report.