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Betar Illit (Israel, Judea and Samaria)

Iriyat Betar Illit, Municipality of Upper Betar

image by Željko Heimer, 19 March 2006 | 2:3

♦ photo

Description
Coat of Arms

See also:

Description

Betar Illit (meaning Upper Betar) is situated in Judea Mounts, 8 km south of Jerusalem, and has just promoted from Local Council to municipality. It is named after the ancient Jewish fortified town of Betar, centre of the Jewish rebellion against the Roman Empire. It has 16'000 inhabitants, almost all of them Orthodox Jews. Its unofficial flag is the municipal emblem on white and can be seen behind the Mayor at the city website [retrieved].
Dov Gutterman, 5 September 2001

The emblem of Betar Illit has not been formally adopted, and since it still has the 'Local Council' inscription it will probably be amended in the near future. Israeli municipalities in areas occupied since 1967 cannot register their emblems*. The reason is that those areas are not legally part of Israel and according to international law they are governed by decrees of the military commander of the areas. Many Israeli laws are in force in those municipalities when adopted there by the military commander, but the Symbols/Emblems Protection Act of 1974 is not one of them.
Dov Gutterman, 5 September 2001/19 January 2003
* See remarks

Betar Ilit became a municipality in 2001 and already got 22'000 inh. (2003), almost all Ultra-Orthodox Jews.
The flag is white and charged with the emblem as seen at several photos at the municipal site. However, the use of other background can't be ruled out.
Dov Gutterman, 9 April 2005

♦ Historical Background (betar-illit.muni.il, Hebrew | English translation)

Coat of Arms

(source)

♦ photo

Red inscription: עיר התורה בהרי יהודה (ir hatorah behari yehuda, City of Torah in the Judean Mountains)