Neighborhood Watch: Self-sufficient in Samaria

Ariel is in a rural area, but it offers cultural activities and, thanks to its 12,000-student university, job opportunities.

By JOHN BENZAQUEN
Ariel 521 (photo credit: Ariel Council)
Ariel 521
(photo credit: Ariel Council)
Ariel is a small town of 20,000 people located in the heart of biblical Samaria, now known as the West Bank.
It is in what is termed the “consensus areas” – areas that are not legally part of the State of Israel, but that the vast majority of Israelis expect to remain under the state’s sovereignty in any peace treaty.
In 1978, 40 families led by incumbent mayor Ron Nahman took up residence atop a barren and rocky hill that would become the city of Ariel. It was part of a trend after the Six Day War to settle areas that were strategically important to the state, and this high range of hills commanding the whole region was one such area.
At that time, living conditions were harsh, but 30 years later, Ariel is a pleasant place to reside. The municipal area covers 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) on hilly country at an altitude of over 700 meters. Located midway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River – 35 kilometers both ways – the town is a 25-minute drive from the Morasha junction, the entry to Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan, and a 50-minute drive from Jerusalem.
Ariel supplies most of its own cultural and entertainment needs and has a full-fledged university with 12,000 students.
Having that many students in a town of 20,000 has a notable impact on the city’s social and cultural life.
Hana Golan, general manager of Gvanim – the municipal company that deals with the town’s cultural and entertainment needs – tells Metro that “the local Heichal Hatarbut [cultural center] is a venue for plays, concerts and other cultural events.... We are a not a dormitory town. We have cultural activities, and the town has restaurants, coffee shops, a country club and a hotel, Eshel Hashomron, which attracts... Christian pilgrims.
This is Old Testament country, which is the reason these tourists come to Ariel.”
Tova Gilboa and her husband, Menahem, are old-time residents in Ariel, having come with the second batch of residents in 1979. They are the owners of the Eshel Hashomron Hotel, and Tova considers the town one of a kind.
“There are those who consider living in Samaria problematic,” she acknowledges.
“I think otherwise. It has its drawbacks, but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages by far. Where in Israel can you find a town of our size in a geographically peripheral area with an academic institution and a vibrant cultural [community]? In many ways we combine the advantages of a small town with those of a larger urban entity – the coziness of a small town with a level of services not much inferior to that of a large city.”
When it comes to real estate, the university, with its large student body, generates substantial demand for rented accommodation, while the fact that Ariel is not a dormitory town attracts potential residents because young families with children prefer an urban environment with commercial, educational and governmental services.
Beyond this, Ariel offers job opportunities.
The university is an important source of employment, as are the technological incubator and the industrial parks in the town itself, and the Barkan industrial park nearby.
Nahman, who has held the mayoral post there since the city was founded, is upbeat about his city.
“Ariel is in the heart of the Land of Israel, and there is a general consensus that it will remain part of Israel in any peace treaty,” he says. “It is in demand because we offer housing at very attractive prices, and because the living conditions are excellent – excellent climate, excellent educational network, etc.”
Living conditions in Ariel may be excellent, but at present, demand for real estate is on the weak side – though this is not exclusive to Ariel.
Still, real-estate operators in Ariel describe the situation as satisfactory.
Eli Arbiv, one of the leading realestate brokers there, tells Metro that “in the recent past, the situation in Ariel from a real-estate perspective was better. The tempo was faster and homes were sold relatively fast. Today, people sell homes and buy homes, but the tempo is slower.”
Nonetheless, he says, “investment exists; after all, a yield on a three-room apartment in one of the less expensive parts of town can reach an annual 4.5 percent a year – hefty amounts compared to yields in bank deposits, and the 4.5% does not include the expected appreciation of the property.”
Most demand comes from local residents who want to live in more upscale apartments. They sell to newlyweds who have left the parental nest, to local residents who want an investment, or to outsiders who are also on the lookout for a modest realestate investment.
Demand from outsiders who want to live in Ariel is relatively small. It exists among those looking for a house with a garden at a relatively low price.
Like all towns, Ariel has its better neighborhoods and those that are less high-end. The least expensive area is the one built for newcomers 30 years ago in the vicinity of the town’s western entrance. A three-room apartment in this area can cost less than NIS 600,000 and rent for NIS 2,200 on average.
In contrast, the most expensive area in town is in the vicinity of Hashaked Street. Located on the town’s western ridge, these houses are mostly single-family homes or semidetached residences with unobstructed views of the surrounding country. These dwellings were built on plots of land sold to some of the first residents in the late ’70s. The plots can be as large as 650 square meters, and the houses can have a floor area of up to 250 sq.m.
They are valued at between NIS 2 million and NIS 2.5m.
The area near the university is also expensive by Ariel standards, and a four-room, 120-sq.m. apartment can cost NIS 950,000. These apartments can rent for a monthly NIS 3,500.