Bat Ayin
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Bat Ayin בַּת עַיִן |
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 Bat Ayin
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| Coordinates: 31°39′25.98″N 35°6′8.14″E / 31.6572167°N 35.1022611°ECoordinates: 31°39′25.98″N 35°6′8.14″E / 31.6572167°N 35.1022611°E | |
| District | Judea and Samaria Area |
| Council | Gush Etzion |
| Region | West Bank |
| Affiliation | Amana |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founded by | Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg |
| Population (2015) | 1,226 |
| Name meaning | Daughter of [the] Spring |
| Website | bat-ayin.org |
Bat Ayin (Hebrew: בַּת עַיִן, lit., "daughter of the eye" or "apple of the eye", i. e., pupil) is an Israeli settlement in Gush Etzion in the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Hebron. It is administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council, and contains roughly 200 families of settlers, consisting mainly of "Ba'alei T'shuva" (back to the faith) Jews with Hasidic tendencies. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
Bat Ayin was established by seven families led by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg in 1989, on land originally purchased by Jews before 1948, which, under Jordanian rule until 1967, was treated as "enemy property". Eventually, large lots of land were allocated to some 40 families. People of the settlement did not come from the settler mainstream establishment. Many of the original settlers were raised on the "hills". It gained a reputation for being particularly extremist and very callous towards local Palestinians, none of whom were allowed to pass anywhere near the settlement. In the early 2000s general elections, half of Bat Ayin voters expressed a preference for the Herut candidate Baruch Marzel. In 1993, Motti Karpel and Chaim Nativ set up the Chai Vekayam (Alive and Well) movement in Bat Ayin, whose document, "Identity Card", stated clearly that the laws of the state of Israeli are not binding on West Bank settlers. According to one resident, in an extensive interview, Israel is only for Jews who are a "chosen people", and Palestinians are required to serve them, according to the Torah's words: "People will work for you, nations will bow for you." The settlement is said to have expansionist interests, having established an illegal outpost called West-West Bat Ayin.
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