The Netzarim community in Gush Katif was a symbol of resistance and faith in the struggle for Jewish rights in Gush Katif. After the disengagement, despite the pain, half of the residents of the evacuated Netzarim community inspired by Religious -Zionist teachings – decided to channel their powerful emotions into positive action and growth and built the community of Bnei Netzarim in the Negev.
The initial group of 48 families that hailed from Netzarim in Gush Katif and were relocated to Bnei Netzarim in the Western Negev in 2005 included slightly more than 300 men, women and children. As of May 2017, the population of Bnei Netzarim is now 92 families and approximately 500 people. Within Bnei Netzarim there is an organic farming business of more than 5,000 acres and a full range of educational programs from infant day care to high school The majority are young families and many have joined Bnei Netzarim over the past 5 years. Two additional communities were founded by Gush Katif evacuees in the Western Negev — Naveh with 100 families, and Shlomit with about 50 families. These, along with Bnei Netzarim, are in the Halutza region and all of them have the common goal of settling the Negev.
The might of the settlement of Netzarim and its continuation in Bnei Netzarim draws its strength from the Torah. The power to withstand daily security difficulties, and in recent years the efforts being made to make the desert bloom, stem from the adherence toTorah study by the Bnei Netzarim residents.
Therefore, as a natural progression, in the summer of 2015, the Bnei-Netzarim Yeshiva was established for yeshiva students who are either post high school or pre or post military service.The Yeshiva is the beating heart of the entire large enterprise that is rising in the sand dunes of Bnei Netzarim.
