Wikipedia
Efrat , or previously officially Efrata , is an Israeli settlement established in 1983 and a local council in the Judean Mountains of the West Bank. Efrat is located south of Jerusalem, between Bethlehem and Hebron, east of the Green line, inside of the Security Barrier. The settlement rises to a height of above sea level and covers about 6,000 dunam (1,500 acres). The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
Considered the capital of Gush Etzion, it had a population of in . Although geographically located within Gush Etzion, it is independent from the Gush Etzion Regional Council, and Palestinians in negotiations do not consider it as part of that block, since it lies to the east of Route 60 — their side of the Geneva Initiative map. Since November 2008, Oded Ravivi, an attorney and lieutenant colonel in the army and member of the Likud Central Committee is the head of Efrat regional council.
Efrat (also, Efrata) is an Israeli settlement in the Etzion bloc.
Efrat (Hebrew: אפרת) is a name with Hebrew origins that can also refer to:
- Efrat (organization), an Israeli charity which provides money to women considering abortion for financial reasons
- Ephrath, a biblical place in Judea, for which the modern settlement of Efrat is named
- Efrata (Ethiopia), a former district in the historic Ethiopian province of Shewa; sometimes used in the 19th century to refer to Shewa itself
- In Russian, a possible transliteration of the river Euphrates
People:
- Benni Efrat (born 1936), an Israeli artist
- Efrat Abramov (born March 1980), an Israeli TV anchor and screenwriter
- Efrat Gosh (born November 1983), an Israeli singer-songwriter.
- Efrat Natan, Israeli artist
Efrat is an Israeli anti-abortion group which tries to convince Jewish women not to undergo abortions. To this end, the organization distributes explanatory materials and offers economic aid to pregnant women considering abortion.
The name "Efrat" comes from I Chronicles, in which Efrat is the name of Caleb's wife (according to Jewish tradition, she is none other than Miriam). The Midrash Rabbah writes, "Why was she called Efrat? Because Israel was fruitful ("paru") and multiplied through her." This refers to her actions against Pharaoh's decree of infanticide, by which she saved the lives of many Israelite children.
Efrat's explanatory materials demonstrate the fetus' qualities of life during the different stages of pregnancy, with the goal of showing that the fetus is a human life. Additionally, the organization presents the medical dangers resulting from abortion, stories of women who had an abortion and later regretted it, and stories of women who planned to have an abortion but ultimately did not.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the organization has concentrated on providing financial support to pregnant women who plan on having an abortion due to their economic situation.
The organization's approach is illustrated by the following, quoted from Efrat's website:
What is an abortion? Abortion means ending the life of child who is not sufficiently developed to survive outside its mother’s womb.
Although the vast majority of abortions are performed on socio-economic grounds, an abortion does not resolve financial or social difficulties. Very often, the psychological scars caused by an abortion only serve to complicate existing problems. Sometimes, it takes women a lifetime to resolve these issues.
Economic and social problems can be worked out. Situations can - and do - change. But a life can never be restored.
The organization's main offices are located in Jerusalem, and is led by Dr. Eli J. Schussheim, and, according to the organization's website, has 2,800 volunteers working on the streets in Israel.
According to the publications by the organization, in 2006 it prevented the abortion of about 2,600 fetuses, and, in total, has prevented about 25,000 abortions as of 2007.