We're Building

Leaving his one-story home in the 150-member Gilgal kibbutz, Jerusalem-born Ami Cohen, 35, carries no weapon and seems oblivious to the border with Jordan, just four miles away. Indeed, the auto mechanic often bicycles around Gilgal dressed in little more than a swimsuit and a smile. He says he feels as safe in the kibbutz as he would anywhere else in Israel. Three years ago, Ami and his wife Chantal, 29, abandoned city life in Jerusalem and, with their three young children, joined the thousands of Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

Ideology burns bright in the hearts of many of...

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