View source for Caravan (Israel)

{{Short description|Israeli term referring to a portable building}}
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 1805 Architecture of Israel הצבת הקארוונים הכתומים.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Posting of ''caravan'' in [[Mitzpe Hila]], Israel, 1982]]
'''Caravan''' ({{langx|he|קרוואן}}; pl. קרוואנים, ''caravanim'') is an Israeli term referring to a [[portable building]] used as a living space, school classroom, [[synagogue]], or community center.
==Description==
''Caravanim'' are constructed of [[aluminum]] or other metal siding with a [[corrugated metal]] roof, and are often attached to a cement-block base. They are not insulated but can be outfitted with heating and air-conditioning units, water lines, recessed lighting, and floor tiling to function in a full-service capacity.
The establishment of ''caravanim'' on disputed land by [[Judaism|Jewish]] activists is considered the first step toward the establishment of an [[Israeli settlement]]. In its initial stage of a few ''caravanim'', the establishment is called an "[[Israeli outpost|outpost]]." As more settlers move in, the establishment is upgraded to a "settlement".
Alternately, ''caravanim'' have been established on disputed land by Israeli<ref>{{cite web |last=Rappaport |first=Meron |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-completes-evacuation-of-bil-in-outpost-1.177194 |title=IDF completes evacuation of Bil'in 'outpost'. Some 150 troops break into caravan built near West Bank village to protest construction of separation fence |work=Haaretz |date=21 December 2005|accessdate=December 26, 2010}}</ref> and Palestinian activists as a sign of protest.<ref>{{cite web |last=HaLevi |first=Ezra |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/90257 |title=Arabs Establish Outpost on Hevron's Ancient Jewish Cemetery |work=Israel News |date=21 September 2005|accessdate=December 26, 2010}}</ref>
==Classrooms==
[[File:Tel Zion.jpg|right|thumb|School in ''caravanim'' (lower right) on the perimeter of [[Kokhav Ya'akov|Tel Zion]], a [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] settlement in the [[West Bank]].]]
[[File:Caravan shul interior.jpg|thumb|Interior of a [[synagogue]] housed in a ''caravan'' in [[Neve Yaakov]], Jerusalem.]]
''Caravanim'' are popularly employed by schools &mdash; especially in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighborhoods of Israel &mdash; that are unable to finance a permanent structure. A 2008 report by the [[State Comptroller of Israel]] reported that 125 out of 186 Haredi schools in [[Bnei Brak]], [[El'ad|Elad]] and [[Modi'in Illit]] were situated wholly or partially in ''caravanim'', some older than 15 years. The report criticized these structures for lack of ventilation, lack of bomb shelters, and lack of proper yards or playgrounds for the children.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hai |first=Yigal |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/952862.html |title=Comptroller report: Schools in Haredi, Arab sectors dilapidated. Classroom shortage has forced local authorities to cram students into hazardous temporary structures |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=11 February 2008 |accessdate=19 November 2010}}</ref> Though the construction of some ''caravan'' schools violate local planning and building laws, the government does not dismantle them.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3986983,00.html |title=Haredim staging Kiryat Gat takeover? |last=Dadon |first=Tova |work=[[Ynet News]] |date=22 November 2010 |accessdate=December 25, 2010}}</ref>
==Synagogues==
Many start-up religious congregations establish their synagogues in ''caravanim'' rather than the more expensive permanent concrete-and-stone structures.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lnshul.blogspot.com/2007/02/synagogue-review-hippies-in-suits.html|title=Synagogue Review: Hippies in Suits |last=Fischel |first=Marion |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=19 June 2005 |accessdate=December 25, 2010}}</ref> Synagogues housed in ''caravanim'' are common sights at [[Israel Defense Forces|Israel army]] bases.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}
==Living space==
''Caravanim'' are sometimes used as inexpensive houses in new or extensions of existing localities within Israel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://realtravel.com/e-156015-tel_aviv_entry-out_of_the_desert |title=Out of the Desert |date=23 March 2008 |accessdate=December 25, 2010 |publisher=realtravel.com |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201094506/http://realtravel.com/e-156015-tel_aviv_entry-out_of_the_desert |archivedate=December 1, 2010 }}</ref>
===Settler housing===
Most often, ''caravanim'' are employed by both settlers and the government as housing in Israeli settlement areas in [[Israeli-occupied territories|the territories occupied since 1967]]. Residents usually live in ''caravanim'' until permanent homes are built.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ireland-Cooperman |first=Sara |url=http://www.jewishpress.com/printArticle.cfm?contentid=38639 |title=Settlers In Caravans |work=[[The Jewish Press]]|date=18 March 2009 |accessdate=December 26, 2010}}</ref> The ''caravan'' may also be a more permanent low-rent option, particularly for young couples.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/tekoa.asp |title=Welcome to Tekoa |accessdate=December 25, 2010 |publisher=Gush Etzion Foundation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229172126/http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/tekoa.asp |archive-date=2010-12-29 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
The overnight installment of ''caravanim'' for housing is a popular means of establishing a new,<ref>{{cite web |last=Izenberg |first=Dan |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=87406 |title=Settlers Erect Two Caravans Near Bil'in |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=1 January 2008}}</ref> unauthorized settler outpost on disputed land.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiss |first=Efrat |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3468629,00.html |title=Peace Now: Settlers smuggling caravans to territories; Group issues report showing that settlers bypassing ban on moving caravans to West Bank by assembling them on site |work=Israel News |date=11 July 2007 |accessdate=November 19, 2010}}</ref>
===Caravillas===
[[File:New Karavilas.jpg|right|thumb|Vacant ''caravillas'' in Nitzan, 2005]]
In 2005 prefabricated homes, named ''caravillas'' ({{langx|he|קרווילה}}), a [[Portmanteau word|portmanteau]] of the words ''caravan'' and [[villa]], were set up to house the Jewish families evicted from their homes in [[Gush Katif]] in the [[Gaza Strip]] as part of [[Israel's unilateral disengagement plan]].
A ''caravilla'' is composed of several prefabricated sections that are joined on a foundation. ''Caravillas'', which vary in size from about 650 to 1,000 square feet, are akin to the Israeli concept of a villa, or [[single-family home]]. They were instrumental in pacifying objections to the disengagement plan. The biggest of these ''caravilla camps'' was established in [[Nitzan]], north of [[Ashkelon]] with 250 ''caravillas'', which has grown to accommodate over 500.<ref>{{cite web |last=Arfa |first=Orit |url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/sukkot/article/on_eve_of_sukkot_most_gaza_evacuees_still_live_in_temporary_housing_2010092/ |title=A Perpetual Sukkah: As Sukkot approaches, most Gaza evacuees still live in temporary housing |work=[[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles]] |date=September 21, 2010 |accessdate=November 19, 2010 |archive-date=June 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605010626/http://www.jewishjournal.com/sukkot/article/on_eve_of_sukkot_most_gaza_evacuees_still_live_in_temporary_housing_2010092/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Mobile homes]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Caravans in Israel}}
*[[United Nations]]: Report of the Secretary-General: [https://web.archive.org/web/20110622051542/http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/9203bf56676bb1be852577c7004c1632?OpenDocument Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan]. September 14, 2010
*Israeli Government [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726203036/http://dev.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/items/11243.html Summary of the Opinion Concerning Unauthorized Outposts] ([[Sasson Report]]). Talya Sason, March 8, 2005
*[[Peace Now]]: Dror Etkes, Lara Friedman: [https://web.archive.org/web/20091013034058/http://www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=62 Settlements in Focus. West Bank Outposts in 2006 - Same Song, Different Tune?] January 2006
*Peace Now Settlement Watch: [https://web.archive.org/web/20071021072412/http://www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=61 Bypassing the Settlement Freeze. Semiannual Report on Settlement Construction, January-June 2009]. August 2009
*Peace Now: [https://web.archive.org/web/20091013042144/http://www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=58 Outpost List]
[[Category:House types]]
[[Category:Portable buildings and shelters]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Israel]]
[[Category:Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew]]