On the Sunday of our pilot trip earlier this month, we went to visit Karnei Shomron.

Karnei Shomron is a yishuv in the Western part of the Shomron that is spread over a number of hilltops, each hilltop further subdivided into different neightborhoods. The location is good if you need to do business on the coast, but not so good if you want to go to Yerushalayim often. The bus ride from the central bus station in Jerusalem was around 15 shekel (subsidized) and took about 2 hours. From Karnei Shomron, we were told that it is about 15-20 minutes to Kfar Saba and twice that to Tel Aviv.

Our very gracious hostess met us in the central part of Ginot Shomron (one of the 2 major parts of Karnei Shomron). The bus stop was right in front of a small mall - a good number of stores, pizza place, etc. From there we took a tour through the different hilltops and neighborhoods of Karnei Shomron.

The yishuv currently has around 1500 families, with plans to expand to many times that size. The religious makeup is all over the spectrum - dati, masorti, chiloni. People who live in Karnei Shomron get along with their neightbors, despite any hashkafic or religious differences. This is a big draw for some and a deterrent for others. They also have a hesder yeshiva.

There is one neighborhood in Karnei Shomron that is only-dati: Neve Aliza. It is not cut off from the rest of Ginot or Karnei; it is across the street from other neighborhoods that are not all dati. In Neve Aliza there are a good number of anglo olim (and some very beautiful houses). They currently have 180 families, looking to expand by about 50 more. They also have a number of shuls (including the local chapter of Yisrael haTza’ir).

There is a very good support network among the Anglo community. We got the impression (and I have read in other places) about the great hospitality and chessed that is done there.

All in all, Karnei Shomron is a very nice place. However, in the end it is not for us. This is for a few reasons:

• Proximity to Yerushalayim - there are only sporadic buses during the day, and the ride takes 2 hours.
• Religious Community - to some it is an ideal, to others it is not. If we have the choice, we would rather live in a place where there are no cars driving around on Shabbat, and where the community as a whole is committed to Torah and halacha. Not to say that there are not segments of the Karnei Shomron (and definately Neve Aliza) community for whom this does not hold true. But for us, it is not the ideal.

More on other communities to come…