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{{redirect|Asfar|other uses|ASFAR (disambiguation){{!}}ASFAR}}
{{Infobox Israel village
|pushpin_map=Israel south wb
|pushpin_mapsize=250
|pushpin_label_position= right
|coordinates = {{coord|31|35|9|N|35|11|14|E|display=inline,title}}
|name=Metzad
|image= Meitzad.JPG
|caption=
|imgsize=250px
|hebname={{Script/Hebrew|מיצד}}
|arname=
|stdHeb=
|altOffSp=
|altUnoSp=Asfar
|meaning=
|founded= 1984
|founded_by=
| country =
|region= [[West Bank]]
|district= js
|council= [[Gush Etzion Regional Council|Gush Etzion]]
|affiliation=
| population = {{Israel populations|Asfar}}
| popyear = {{Israel populations|Year}}
| population_footnotes = {{Israel populations|reference}}
|area_dunam=
|website=
}}
'''Metzad''' ({{langx|he|מיצד}}), also known as '''Asfar''' (אַסְפָר), is an [[Israeli settlement]] organised as a [[community settlement (Israel)|community settlement]] in the [[Gush Etzion Regional Council|Gush Etzion]] settlement bloc in the [[West Bank]].  Established as by [[Ultra-orthodox Judaism|ultra-orthodox Jews]] in 1984, it is located south of [[Bethlehem]] in the eastern [[Judean Mountains]], 14.5&nbsp;km from the [[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]], outside the [[Israeli West Bank barrier|Separation Barrier]]. In January 2022 its population was 1110, up 35% from five years earlier. It falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the [[Gush Etzion Regional Council]].<ref>[http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/communities.asp Gush Etzion Communities] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905062444/http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/communities.asp |date=2011-09-05 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm |title=The Geneva Convention |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=10 December 2009 |access-date=27 November 2010 }}</ref>
{{Short description|Israeli settlement in the West Bank}}
==History==
Metzad was established in 1984 by [[Aliyah|immigrants]] from the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa and France. The settlement was built on the site of a [[Nahal]] paramilitary outpost called ''Nahal Asfar'' (named after a biblical place of the Maccabean revolt (1 Maccabees 9:33)) established in 1983, and which Palestinians state was confiscated from the village of [[Ash-Shuyukh]].<ref>[http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=760161 'Settlers destroy 1200 Palestinian olive trees near Hebron ,'] [[Ma'an News Agency]] 27 March 2015.</ref> The first structures on Metzad were erected by the [[Israel Defense Forces]]'s civil corps of engineers. They were handed over for civilian use at the time of the creation of Metzad in 1984. Initially, the road up to the settlement was unpaved, water was brought by truck, and electricity was sporadically provided by a generator.
The next phase of development involved the placement of sixty caravans to serve as homes, offices, security compound, award-winning Preschool facilities, Clinic, Youth Center, Library, Weaving and Art Studios, and Computer Center. Construction of a new neighborhood of twenty-five permanent homes began in 1992. This included the building of a Family Health Center, an industrial building housing both the Weaving Studio and a [[Simcha]] Hall for special events and an outdoor basketball court.
Metzad is the southernmost settlement in the Gush Etzion bloc, and is one of its three Haredi settlements, the others being [[Betar Illit]] and [[Ma'ale Amos]]. The settlement contains one [[Kollel]]: ''Metzudat David'' and elementary school "Dover Shalom".  The synagogue is the highest building in Metzad. The second floor offers a panoramic view of the [[Judean Mountains]], the [[Dead Sea]] and [[Jerusalem]].<ref>[http://www.metzad.com/about.htm About Metzad] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821091931/http://www.metzad.com/about.htm |date=2010-08-21 }}</ref>
Immediately to the west is ''Khirbet ez-Za'feran'' or ''Hurvat Za'afran'', thought to be the site of the ancient ''Bor Asphar'' (Well of Asphar), where, according to [[1 Maccabees]] and [[Josephus]], the [[Maccabees]] gathered following [[Judas Maccabeus]]'s death.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Maccabees|9:33}}; Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews,'' 13:1:2-8</ref><ref name="AY19762">{{Cite journal |last=Avi-Yonah |first=Michael |date=1976 |title=Gazetteer of Roman Palestine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43587090 |journal=Qedem |volume=5 |pages=33 |issn=0333-5844}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131013131218/http://peacenow.org.il/eng/content/asfar Peace Now fact sheet]
{{Gush Etzion Regional Council}}
[[Category:Religious Israeli settlements]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1984]]
[[Category:Gush Etzion Regional Council]]
[[Category:1984 establishments in the Palestinian territories]]
[[Category:Community settlements]]
[[Category:American-Jewish culture in Israel]]
[[Category:British-Jewish culture in Israel]]
[[Category:French-Jewish culture in Israel]]
[[Category:South African-Jewish culture in Israel]]
[[Category:Israeli settlements in the West Bank]]