ANOTHER WEST BANK AMCIT SETTLER'S ACCOUNT

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000816

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR NEA/IPA, CA/OCS/ACS/NESA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC SOCI KWBG IS SETTLEMENTS ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS ISRAELI SOCIETY
SUBJECT: ANOTHER WEST BANK AMCIT SETTLER'S ACCOUNT

Ref: (A) TEL AVIV 000346


1. (SBU) On 24 Jan 2005 Conoff spoke with an American
citizen resident of the West Bank settlement of Elkana. The
American citizen was at the Embassy in Tel Aviv renewing the
U.S. passports of her children and was willing to discuss
the subject of life in Elkana.


2. (SBU) The American citizen is the mother of five U.S.
citizen children. Her husband is an Israeli. Two months
ago, the family moved from Jerusalem to the West Bank
settlement of Elkana. Elkana is located about four
kilometers east of the Green Line and due east of Tel Aviv.
She said the settlement has a population of about 750
families.


3. (SBU) When asked why the family chose to move to a
settlement at this time, she cited pragmatic reasons nearly
identical to those cited by the subject of reftel A. She
said the family could afford a large house with a yard in
Elkana, whereas in Jerusalem, they could only afford a small
apartment. Again, as did the subject of reftel A, she
pointed approvingly to the close communal atmosphere of the
settlement and cited the "quality people" of Elkana, most of
whom, she said, are college graduates. (Comment: The
observation that settlement residents are "nice" is a
recurring one. One American citizen resident of the West
Bank settlement Karnei Shomron compared these communities to
small towns in the American mid-west.)


4. (SBU) Furthermore, she said that Elkana has all the
conveniences one might expect in a developed Israeli town,
including a big supermarket and an excellent public library.
Echoing the sentiment of the subject in reftel A, she said
that Elkana is a suburb of Tel Aviv, with convenient access
to the new north-south toll road, Highway 6. Evidently in
an effort to emphasize this point, she professed not to be
certain that Elkana is indeed east of the Green Line at all.
Elkana is, however, on the Israeli side of the separation
barrier, a fact that she acknowledged is very important to
her. She is worried that the route may be altered to
Elkana's detriment.


5. (SBU) A significant advantage to life in Elkana, in
her opinion, is the quality education her children receive
in the settlement schools. She said the religious schools
her children attend are publicly funded and "always better"
than secular public schools.


6. (SBU) She denied having personal ideological reasons
for moving to Elkana. Her husband, on the other hand, was
primarily motivated by ideology. Her husband and children
faithfully attend anti-disengagement protests and rallies.
She said the Elkana schools provide the children with free
busing to these events.

KURTZER