Nearly two years after an Israeli government decision to name a community after former president Donald Trump, the new township has finally gained its first family.
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
Nearly two years after an Israeli government decision to name a community after former president Donald Trump, the new township has finally gained its first family.
Married couple Daniel and Tzofit Bieber, along with their baby daughter Noam, officially moved into their Trump Heights home on Wednesday morning.
“Everything is fresh out of the box, the asphalt is new, there are street lights,” Daniel Bieber told Channel 12 News.
In front of a crowd of reporters, a local rabbi affixed a mezuzah to the Biebers’ doorpost, officially marking the establishment of the Jewish family’s home.
“From now on, when people arrive, they will see that there is life here,” Tzofit Bieber said to Channel 12 News.
Daniel grew up in Karmiel, and Tzofit was raised in Jerusalem. The young couple said they chose to move to Trump Heights because they thought it would be the best place to bring up their family.
“We both lived in cities and were looking for a place with a more communal lifestyle,” said Daniel Bieber. “We also wanted a place where the population would be mixed: religious, secular and everything in between – that’s what we believe in and that’s how we want to raise our children.”
Along with some 20 other families, the Biebers had been living in a caravan near Trump Heights since November 2020.
Additional families are expected to move into their permanent homes in Trump Heights in the coming weeks.
In November 2020, the director of community development at the Golan Regional Council encouraged families to apply to live in Trump Heights.
“We are definitely looking for people who are crazy and pioneers, those who have nothing to lose,” Rotem Kabalo told Channel 12 News.
“Families who settle here must understand that accessibility in the area is not high and that services are currently limited, but their quality of life will certainly increase.”
The State of Israel invested around 10 million shekels in building infrastructure for the township. The community plans to welcome both secular and religious residents, as is common in many Golan Heights municipalities.
The decision to name the town after Trump was made as a June 2019 birthday gift to the former president, seven months after his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.