Kokhav Ya'akov

Kokhav Ya'akov (Hebrew: כּוֹכַב יַעֲקֹב, lit. Star of Jacob) is a religious communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is located between Ramah in Benjamin and Beit El near al-Bireh, and is about 10 minutes away by car from the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Pisgat Ze'ev and Neve Yaakov. It falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, and had a population of 7,646 in 2015. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

History

The settlement was established in 1985 by the Amana settlement movement, and was initially named Abir Ya'akov after rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira. In 1988, its name was changed to Kokhav Ya'akov.

The Haredi neighborhood of Tel Zion, established in 1990, is part of the village.

Yemen Gallery

In March 2013 a heritage and tourism site promoting the legacy of Yemenite Jewry opened in Kokhav Ya'akov. Founded by Shoham Simchi, the Yemen Gallery (Hebrew: החצר התימנית‎) houses an art gallery and a workshop that recreates the life of Yemen's Jews. The building itself is designed in the spirit of traditional Yemenite architecture.

Jacob

Jacob (later given the name Israel) is regarded as a Patriarch of the Israelites. According to the Book of Genesis, Jacob (/ˈdʒeɪkəb/; Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב Standard Yaʿakov) was the third Hebrew progenitor with whom God made a covenant. He is the son of Isaac and Rebecca, the grandson of Abraham, Sarah and of Bethuel, and the younger twin brother of Esau. Jacob had twelve sons and at least one daughter, by his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and by their handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah.

Jacob's twelve sons, named in Genesis, were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. His only daughter mentioned in Genesis is Dinah. The twelve sons became the progenitors of the "Tribes of Israel".

As a result of a severe drought in Canaan, Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt at the time when his son Joseph was viceroy. After 17 years in Egypt, Jacob died and Joseph carried Jacob's remains to the land of Canaan, and gave him a stately burial in the same Cave of Machpelah as were buried Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, and Jacob's first wife, Leah.