Efrat

Efrat (Hebrew: אֶפְרָת), or previously officially Efrata (Hebrew: אֶפְרָתָה), is an Israeli settlement established in 1983 and a local council in the Judean Mountains of the West Bank. Efrat is located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) south of Jerusalem, between Bethlehem and Hebron, 6.5 km (4 mi) east of the Green line, inside of the Security Barrier. The settlement rises to a height of 960 metres (3,150 feet) above sea level and covers about 6,000 dunam (1,500 acres). The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

Efrat, considered the capital of the Etzion Block, had 9,238 residents as of January 2013. Although it is geographically located within Gush Etzion ("Etzion Bloc"), Efrat is independent from the Gush Etzion Regional Council, and Palestinians in negotiations do not consider it as part of that block, since it lies to the east of Route 60 — their side of the Geneva Initiative map. Since November 2008, Oded Ravivi, an attorney and lieutenant colonel in the army and member of the Likud Central Committee is the head of Efrat regional council.

Efrat (organization)

Efrat is an Israeli anti-abortion group which tries to convince Jewish women not to undergo abortions. To this end, the organization distributes explanatory materials and offers economic aid to pregnant women considering abortion.

The name "Efrat" comes from I Chronicles, in which Efrat is the name of Caleb's wife (according to Jewish tradition, she is none other than Miriam). The Midrash Rabbah writes, "Why was she called Efrat? Because Israel was fruitful ("paru") and multiplied through her." This refers to her actions against Pharaoh's decree of infanticide, by which she saved the lives of many Israelite children.

Efrat's explanatory materials demonstrate the fetus' qualities of life during the different stages of pregnancy, with the goal of showing that the fetus is a human life. Additionally, the organization presents the medical dangers resulting from abortion, stories of women who had an abortion and later regretted it, and stories of women who planned to have an abortion but ultimately did not.

Efrat (disambiguation)

Efrat (also, Efrata) is an Israeli settlement in the Etzion bloc.

Efrat (Hebrew: אפרת) is a name with Hebrew origins that can also refer to:

People: