In a recent investigative segment, Al Jazeera focused attention on the hilltop communities of Maoz Esther and Or Ahuvya. The network’s report sought to portray the settlements as extreme and dangerous; residents and other commentators interviewed in the piece disputed that characterization, asserting that what is perceived as threatening is in fact the presence of robust Jewish communal life.
One interviewee told the reporters, “Their danger is that there are families, girls and boys there,” adding that the communities are “the core of the Jewish villages and not just random outposts that no media outlet, especially not Arabic-speaking ones, can reach.”
The program’s commentators went on to outline a wider narrative, depicting the communities not merely as isolated actions but as elements of a purportedly expansive strategic vision, which they described as aiming to extend influence across multiple neighboring regions.
Al Jazeera also quoted a young woman from the settlements who addressed claims that residents are militants: “We are not just girls who went to live on a hill. We are here at war for our land,” she said.
Maoz Esther was established 18 years ago and underwent renovation seven years ago by groups of young men and women. Despite repeated demolitions carried out by the Civil Administration and challenging living conditions — and notwithstanding the site’s location on land described in the report as “Palestinian private land” — the community reports steady growth. It currently comprises approximately 19 families, more than 50 children, a yeshiva, and a seminary.
Or Ahuvya, founded about a year and a half ago by a group of young women from Maoz Esther, is described by its parent community as continuing the same pioneering trajectory. Despite demolitions and difficult conditions at an elevation of some 900 metres, Or Ahuvya supports a girls’ yeshiva, a youth movement, and two resident families.
Representatives of Maoz Esther said the Al Jazeera article confirmed long-held convictions within the community: that the presence of Jews on the land is what most unsettles their opponents. They emphasized, however, that their motivation extends beyond confrontation. “We are here because this is our land — we are waiting to see Jews living in the entire Land of Israel,” the community stated.