Har Bracha, Samaria — One of Israel’s most influential Religious Zionist rabbis is calling on Jews to move to Judea and Samaria “in great numbers,” warning that hesitation in populating the region is jeopardizing Israel’s future in its biblical heartland.
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, chief rabbi of Har Bracha, published a sharply worded column in BeSheva urging Jews to “return to building and absorbing many more families” across the territory. “Whether sovereignty is applied or delayed,” he wrote, “the future of Judea and Samaria will be determined by the number of Jews living there.”
Rabbi Eiezer Melamed (Photo via Wikipedia)
Rabbi Melamed is regarded as one of the leading religious authorities in the Religious Zionist movement and a key ideological influence among settlers of Judea and Samaria. His Peninei Halakha series, covering Jewish law and philosophy, is studied widely in Israel. Known for his warm openness toward pro-Israel Christian supporters, he has long emphasized the shared belief that the Jewish people’s return to the Land of Israel fulfills biblical prophecy.
Melamed said that while Israeli authorities have eased restrictions on new housing projects under Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, local councils and settlers have not acted decisively enough. “The gates have opened for expanding settlement,” he wrote. “It would have been possible to double and triple the pace of construction. Instead, these have been the two most difficult years for construction and absorption in Judea and Samaria.”
He criticized settlement leaders who have refused to employ Arab laborers in new construction, arguing that moral or political discomfort cannot outweigh the commandment to build. “When we continue to build, the result is nine-to-one in our favor,” he said. “When we refrain, the result is nine-to-one in theirs.”
Melamed tied his argument to a recurring theme in Jewish history — that divine opportunities, once missed, do not return. He cited the biblical account of the spies in the Book of Numbers, the Israelites’ failure to enter the Land of Israel under Moses, and the slow return from Babylonian exile under Cyrus. “In every generation,” he wrote, “delay in fulfilling the commandment of settling the Land has carried a terrible price.”
The rabbi warned that hesitation today could carry similar consequences. “Let us not think that we have done much for the settlement enterprise and this merit will stand for us,” he wrote. “We began this great commandment; we must complete it.”
Melamed’s call comes amid renewed tension over Israel’s control of Judea and Samaria. President Donald Trump announced last month that he would oppose any move by Israel to formally annex the territories, a policy reversal that has left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu balancing U.S. pressure against demands from his right-wing coalition, which is strongly in favor of declaring sovereignty over the biblical heartland.
He rejected the idea that Israel’s future in Judea and Samaria depends on international approval, insisting that what will shape the outcome is Jewish determination. At the same time, he warned that hesitation sends a dangerous signal. “Our delay shows the people of Israel and the entire world that settling Judea and Samaria is not very important to us,” he wrote. “God forbid, the pressures may increase greatly.”
The rabbi closed with a warning that time is running out. What happens next, he said, will be decided not by diplomacy but by action. “We must return to building,” he wrote, “thereby protecting the people and the Land, and fulfilling the great commandment of settling the heart of the Land.”
