Mateh Yehuda Regional Council

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council (Hebrew: מועצה אזורית מטה יהודה‎, Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Yehuda) is a regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2008 it was home to 36,200 people.

The name of the regional council stems from the fact that its territory was part of the land allotted to the Tribe of Judah, according to the Bible.

Places and communities

The regional council administers moshavim, kibbutzim, Arab villages and other rural settlements in the Jerusalem corridor, north and south of Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, from Jerusalem to Latrun and up to area of Beit Shemesh (Ha'ela Valley) in the South.

The settlements vary greatly in their character. There are religious, secular and mixed Jewish communities, two Arab communities, and the only mixed Arab-Jewish village in Israel - Neve Shalom. Many of the Jewish communities in the Mateh Yehuda district were established by immigrants from India, Yemen, Iraq, Iran and countries in Eastern Europe.

List of villages