Hilltop Youth

Hilltop Youth ( _he. נוער הגבעות, "Noar HaGva'ot") is the term commonly used for several right-wing dissident youth groups in Israel. The groups are influenced by religious Zionist ideals. Their spiritual leader is Avri Ran, though he does not see himself as such and the group's philosophy is a mix of almost anarchist contempt for the Israeli government and a desire for a restored Jewish monarchy. They were also strongly influenced by the late Netanel Ozeri, who was killed by Palestinians on Hilltop 26 near Hebron.

The groups are not centrally organized, but they regularly receive assistance such as legal fees from the mainstream settler organizations. Their main activity is erecting illegal outposts outside existing settlements, often engaging in organic farming and shunning Palestinian labor in favor of 'Avoda Ivrit' - Hebrew labor.

Many of the hilltop youth feel that the mainstream settler movement has lost its way, opting for cheap housing close to major cities, built by local Arab labor, with tall fences and no space between their homes. Much of Israel's organic produce is cultivated by the hilltop youth.

A handfull of the new hilltops, such as Sde Boaz, Ma'ale Rehav'am and Esh Kodesh are populated by both religious and non-religious Jews and there is a sense that they wish to serve as an example of religious tolerance in a society where the two groups often live apart from one another.

The mainstream Israeli settlement movement and other nationalist parties insist that the Hilltop Youth are not part of their movement.

External links

* [http://www.paulasays.com/articles/on_israel/caught_between_heart_and_soul.html About Nati Ozeri]
* [http://www.arutzsheva.com/news.php3?id=90208 Interview with Avri Ran]