Binyamin is the regional council (Mateh Binyamin, מטה בנימין) that covers the hills north and east of Jerusalem, and its three best-known options for English-speaking olim are very different places: Mitzpeh Yericho, a religious desert community about 20 minutes east of Jerusalem with 2,867 residents; Shiloh, a larger religious hub in central Binyamin with 6,042 residents; and Gush Talmonim, a cluster of five communities in west Binyamin around Dolev and Talmon, closer to Modi’in. The resident counts are Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) estimates for the end of 2024. All of these communities are in the Judea and Samaria district, so olim whose status date is 1 April 2025 or later and who rent there can get rent assistance at the geographic rate, if they meet the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration’s other conditions. Most small communities take in new families through a meeting, a tour and often a Shabbat visit, so the first call is to the community’s absorption office, not to a landlord.
This guide compares the three areas on location, size, religious character, housing and services, so you can see which Binyamin community fits your commute and religious life. The numbers come from official data (CBS and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration); the descriptions come from the regional council’s own English pages for each community, which are not dated, so we say where a figure is the council’s.
What the Binyamin Regional Council is and what it offers olim
The council’s English site lists 48 communities by name. The CBS localities file for 2024, which counts only places with their own locality code, lists 30 localities under the council, home together to 80,917 residents at the end of 2024. The two lists count differently: the council names neighbourhoods and young communities on their own, while CBS does not, so Neriya and Kerem Reim, for example, have council pages but no separate CBS row.
In the council’s own words, its communities run from ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) to secular: some are defined as religious (Dati Leumi or Torani), some as Haredi, some as secular, and others are open to everyone. It also says Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are within about an hour’s drive. The council runs the local schools together with the Ministry of Education, from daycare at 3 months to the end of high school, with ultra-Orthodox, modern Orthodox and secular streams.
For olim, the council has a Making Aliya section in English with a page for each community, and an International Desk you can reach through its contact page. The council says most communities have a team responsible for absorbing new families, and that its staff help with practical steps such as school registration and finding work. The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration’s list of municipal olim coordinators, updated on 29 October 2026, shows two coordinators at the Binyamin Regional Council who speak English and French. Nefesh B’Nefesh’s community guide (undated) quotes the council as saying it has no municipal incentives for olim yet, so ask the International Desk what applies in the year you move.
The bigger money question is rent assistance. For olim whose status date is 1 April 2025 or later, the ministry’s geographic scope covers localities in the Interior Ministry’s Judea and Samaria district, and every community in this guide is in that district on the CBS file. Earlier status dates follow different rules. Our rental assistance for olim guide explains the conditions and payment dates.
Source: Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, rental assistance for olim, checked 29 Oct 2026. The total includes the base amount; other eligibility conditions apply.
Mitzpeh Yericho, Shiloh and Gush Talmonim at a glance
The table puts the official resident counts next to what the council says about each community. Drive times are the council’s own estimates, without traffic; check them on a journey planner at the hour you would actually commute.
| Community | Where it is (council’s drive times) | Residents, end of 2024 (CBS) | Religious character and admission | Housing the council describes | Services on site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitzpeh Yericho | East Binyamin, on Highway 1 towards the Dead Sea, about 20 km east of Jerusalem; about 20 minutes to Jerusalem’s outskirts and 15 to Ma’ale Adumim | 2,867 | Religious. Families are expected to keep a religious lifestyle, and women covering their hair is a condition of acceptance | Mostly regular houses; some families in temporary housing (mobile homes and “eshkubiot”) | Daycare to a religious elementary school (grades 1 to 6, separate classes for boys and girls), Clalit and Meuhedet clinics, grocery, library, pool, Egged buses |
| Shiloh | Central Binyamin; Jerusalem bus lines 461 and 463 | 6,042 | Religious community yishuv and the regional centre for schools, shopping and jobs | Several construction projects expanding the yishuv | Daycare, kindergartens, boys’ and girls’ elementary schools, yeshiva high school, girls’ ulpana, Leumit and Clalit clinics, supermarkets, summer pool, gym |
| Dolev (Gush Talmonim) | West Binyamin; about 25 minutes to Modi’in and about 50 to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv | 1,593 | Modern Orthodox | New neighbourhoods under construction and planned | Girls’ elementary school, mini-market, event hall, gym, summer pool, library, Leumit clinic, dental clinic |
| Talmon (Gush Talmonim) | West Binyamin; about 30 minutes to Modi’in | 6,040 | Dati Leumi (religious Zionist) | Rental units, caravans and “caravillas” (enlarged caravans), a few houses and apartments to rent or buy | Daycare, kindergartens, boys’ elementary school |
| Neriya (Gush Talmonim) | West Binyamin, inside the Talmonim bloc | Not listed separately; the council says about 370 families | Torani national religious | Rentals in the caravan area, the main community and the Zayit Ra’anan neighbourhood; duplexes and apartment buildings | Daycare, kindergartens, boys’ and girls’ Talmud Torah, girls’ ulpana (grades 7 to 12), supermarket |
| Kerem Reim (Gush Talmonim) | West Binyamin; about 25 minutes to Modi’in and 50 to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv | Not listed separately; the council says about 100 families | Open community with no admissions committee | Caravans and private homes for rent; new neighbourhoods being built and marketed | Synagogue, mikveh, daycare, kindergartens; a health clinic is planned but not open |
Sources: Central Bureau of Statistics, localities file 2024; Binyamin Regional Council community pages (Mitzpeh Yericho, Shiloh, Dolev, Talmon, Neriya, Kerem Reim), undated, read 30 Oct 2026.
The communities in detail
Mitzpeh Yericho (מצפה יריחו)
Mitzpeh Yericho sits on the road from Jerusalem down to the Dead Sea and looks out over Jericho and the Dead Sea. CBS records it as founded in 1978. The council says about 10% of residents are English speakers, and the community describes itself as small and religious: families are expected to keep a religious lifestyle, and acceptance requires women to cover their hair.
The council’s English page for Mitzpeh Yericho is undated; read on 12 November 2026, it says over 450 families live there.
Most residents work in Jerusalem. Most junior high and high school students travel to Ma’ale Adumim (about 15 minutes) or Jerusalem, and some boys study at the Netivot Yosef yeshiva high school in the community itself. Clalit and Meuhedet members have clinics on site, while Maccabi members use the Maccabi clinic in Ma’ale Adumim. The council puts Hadassah Mount Scopus, the nearest hospital, 15 to 20 minutes away. The community’s plan allows for 1,200 housing units in total, according to the council.
Shiloh (שילה)
Shiloh is a religious community yishuv in central Binyamin, next to the archaeological site of ancient Shiloh, where the Tabernacle (Mishkan) stood. The council dates it to 1978 and CBS to 1979. The council’s English page still describes about 400 families; the CBS count of 6,042 residents is much larger, so treat the page’s family count as old.
Shiloh is the regional centre for the smaller communities around it. Its two state religious elementary schools, Ohel Shiloh for boys and for girls, take children from the surrounding yishuvim, and there is a yeshiva high school for boys, the Amit Shiloh ulpana for girls (grades 7 to 12) and a hesder yeshiva. Registration for daycare (from 3 months) and kindergarten goes through the regional council. There are Leumit and Clalit clinics, supermarkets, a gym in the industrial zone, a library with English books and a seniors’ club that runs a Hebrew ulpan.
Gush Talmonim: Dolev, Talmon, Neriya, Kerem Reim and Harasha
Gush Talmonim (also called Gush Dolev-Talmonim) is a cluster of five neighbouring communities in west Binyamin: Dolev, Talmon, Neriya, Kerem Reim and Harasha. Harasha appears on the council’s list of communities but has no English page of its own. CBS publishes figures only for Dolev (1,593 residents) and Talmon (6,040). The Talmon figure is far larger than the “close to 300 families” on the council’s Talmon page, and CBS doesn’t say which neighbourhoods it counts inside Talmon, so don’t read it as the size of Talmon village alone.
The communities share their schools. Talmon’s boys attend the Ariel elementary school in Talmon and its girls attend Derech Yehudit in Dolev; for high school, Talmon’s girls mostly go to Ulpanat Neriya and its boys to Ner Tamid in Hashmonaim, which is also in the Binyamin Regional Council, although many choose boarding schools elsewhere. Neriya has a boys’ and a girls’ Talmud Torah and its own ulpana.
Two details in other English-language guides don’t match the council’s pages. Nefesh B’Nefesh describes the cluster as Orthodox to ultra-Orthodox, while the council describes Dolev as Modern Orthodox, Talmon as Dati Leumi and Neriya as Torani national religious, and lists Kerem Reim among its religious communities. Nefesh B’Nefesh also gives 15 minutes to Modi’in and 30 to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv; the council’s community pages say 25 to 30 minutes to Modi’in and about 50 minutes to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv without traffic, which is the safer figure for planning a commute. The list of services in that guide (mini-market, event hall, gym, summer pool, library, Leumit clinic) is the council’s list for Dolev, not for every community in the cluster.
All of the cluster is growing, according to the council. Dolev is planning a new neighbourhood of 382 housing units with schools and public areas; Talmon has a 120-unit project in its early stages; and Kerem Reim, founded in memory of three friends who fell in Israel’s wars, has about 300 housing units approved in its plan. Kerem Reim stands out for olim because it has no admissions committee and accepts anyone who wants to join.
How joining a Binyamin community works
The council says its smaller communities, those with fewer than 400 families, each run their own reception process. It usually means a meeting with a welcoming committee and a tour, and in religious communities the council recommends spending a Shabbat there first. Conditions differ by community, from Mitzpeh Yericho’s religious requirements to Kerem Reim’s open door.
- Choose by commute and community. Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim point to Mitzpeh Yericho; Jerusalem by bus and a large religious community point to Shiloh; Modi’in and the centre of the country point to Gush Talmonim.
- Contact the community’s absorption office. Use the contact on the council’s page for that community, and copy the council’s International Desk.
- Go through the reception process. Expect a meeting, a tour (the council says virtual tours are possible) and, in religious communities, a Shabbat visit. Ask what the community’s acceptance conditions are before you plan a move.
- Rent first. Talmon, Neriya and Kerem Reim list rentals, caravans and caravillas, and Mitzpeh Yericho has temporary housing. Our guide to why new olim rent first covers how long to rent before you buy.
- Check the purchase with a lawyer before you buy. Title, registration and mortgage questions in Judea and Samaria are not the same as inside the Green Line; see the risks of buying in Area C and use a lawyer who regularly handles property in these communities.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with a licensed professional.
How to contact the council and the communities
- Binyamin Regional Council, International Desk: through the council’s contact page.
- Olim coordinators who speak English: the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration’s list of municipal olim coordinators (search for מטה בנימין).
- Shiloh: the community office (kehila), listed on the council’s Shiloh page.
- Talmon: the community office, listed on the council’s Talmon page.
- Dolev: the absorption (klita, קליטה) contact on the council’s Dolev page.
- Kerem Reim: the absorption office, klita@kerem-reim.org.
- Mitzpeh Yericho: the contact for English speakers on the council’s Mitzpeh Yericho page.
If you are also weighing towns nearby, Ma’ale Adumim is the city closest to Mitzpeh Yericho, Givat Ze’ev is a separate local council just north-west of Jerusalem, and our guide to Anglo communities in Israel compares the other regions.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, localities file 2024 (יישובים בישראל): residents at the end of 2024, district, municipal status and founding year. Read 30 October 2026.
- Binyamin Regional Council, English site: Making Aliya, Why Binyamin Region, Binyamin Towns, Education and the community pages linked above. Undated; read 30 October 2026.
- Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, municipal olim coordinators by city and language, updated 29 October 2026.
- Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, rental assistance for olim, checked 29 October 2026.
- Nefesh B’Nefesh, Mateh Binyamin community guide (non-governmental, undated), used only where the text says so.
Narrowed it down to one of these communities? Send us your aliyah date, family size, budget and the community you’re considering, and we’ll look for rentals or homes for sale there and tell you what’s actually available before you visit.
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