Gush Etzion

Efrat & Gush Etzion

Efrat is a town of about 12,000 south of Jerusalem that has long drawn English-speaking olim, largely for its schools and closeness to Jerusalem. Residents are mainly religious Zionist. The surrounding Gush Etzion communities (over 24,000 residents per NBN) mix religious, secular, traditional and Haredi households, with notable Anglo populations in places such as Neve Daniel, Elazar and Alon Shvut.

Visit Efrat & Gush Etzion Local Compare Efrat & Gush Etzion with other cities

What draws people

Long a popular destination for English-speaking olim; NBN lists a large English-speaking population and thousands of NBN olim. source ((opens in a new tab))
Small-community feel with city services, in NBN's words 'the services available in a city with the intimacy of a small community.' source ((opens in a new tab))
About 30 min by bus to Jerusalem. source ((opens in a new tab))

What to weigh

No hospital in Efrat; the major hospitals are in Jerusalem. source ((opens in a new tab))
No local government-run ulpan in Efrat. source ((opens in a new tab))
No train; travel is by bus or car, and Tel Aviv is about 1.5 hours by bus and train. source ((opens in a new tab))

The facts

Region: Gush Etzion
Location note: Efrat and the Gush Etzion communities are in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), south of Jerusalem.
Population: 12,114 (2024 estimate)Efrat only (CBS figures per Wikipedia). The Gush Etzion Regional Council lists 28,686 residents for 2024 on Wikipedia, without a named source.source ((opens in a new tab))
English-speaking community: Very large (5 out of 5)· judgment call
French-speaking community: Small (2 out of 5)· judgment call
Russian-speaking community: Small (2 out of 5)· judgment call
Religious mix: Mostly religiousMostly religious: Efrat is 'mainly religious Zionist, with a small number of ultra-orthodox and of non-observant residents.' Gush Etzion as a whole mixes religious, secular, traditional and Haredi communities.source ((opens in a new tab))
Rent (family-size apartment): No reliable figure found
To Tel Aviv: About 1 h 30 min to Tel Aviv by bus and trainAbout 1 h 30 min by bus to Jerusalem and then train to Tel Aviv Center (Rome2rio estimate).source 1 ((opens in a new tab))source 2 ((opens in a new tab))
To Jerusalem: About 29 min to Jerusalem by busAbout 29 min by bus 381 from Efrat South Junction (Rome2rio estimate).source 1 ((opens in a new tab))source 2 ((opens in a new tab))
Train station: No
Light rail: No
For families: Very high (5 out of 5)· judgment call
Quiet: Very high (5 out of 5)· judgment call

Why these scores

English-speaking community: NBN: 'Population: 10 K; Large English-speaking population; Thousands of NBN Olim.' Thousands of olim in a town of about 12,000 is a very high share. source ((opens in a new tab))
French-speaking community: Wikipedia lists France among the countries residents came from; no figures. Judgment call. source ((opens in a new tab))
Russian-speaking community: Wikipedia lists Russia among the countries residents came from; no figures. Judgment call. source ((opens in a new tab))
For families: Judgment: NBN says English-speaking olim choose Efrat largely for its schools and community. source ((opens in a new tab))
Quiet: Judgment: small town of about 12,000 described by NBN as having small-community intimacy. source ((opens in a new tab))

Some spellings of this name in other languages aren't confirmed by a source yet.

Sources

Checked 8 November 2026