City Focus Israel: Efrat

Efrat, located in the Gush Etzion region, is a religious town with a population of about 7,500. The vast majority of the towns residents are hard-line Zionists, and support the existence of the State of Israel on all territory that was a part of the original Eretz Zion.

The city is named for biblical Ephrath. In Hebrew, the name is pronounced Efrata. Biblical Efrat was located where Beit Lechem (Bethlehem) currently sits.

Efrat is made up of seven separate neighborhoods, each named for one of the seven native species, as celebrated on Tu B’Shvat.

Modern Efrat is a beautiful town filled with wonderful residents. Due to the proximity to several Arab Muslim towns, security in Efrat is a serious issue, and most residents have an automatic rifle at home.

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