Origin of the name: The Tribe of Judah (Yehuda) from the Old Testament. Most of the land in the regional council is situated in the historic Judean lands that belonged to the ancient Tribe of Judah.

Symbol: A lion, two crop spikes and a wheel of industry.

Jurisdiction: The region's jurisdiction contains approximately 130,000 square acres, making it the largest region in Israel. The Matte Yehuda Regional Council boundary passes in close proximity to the Capital of Israel – Jerusalem. The municipal offices are located near Moshav Naham, situated at the center of the region.

Founding date: The Matte Yehuda Regional Council was established, in its present municipal format, in June 1964. On that date, four small municipal authorities were united into one large regional council whose name was changed to Matte Yehuda Regional Council.

Population: 37,000 people reside within the region's boundaries; 22,000 of them are aged 18 years and older.


General Background:

The Matte Yehuda Regional Council consists of 57 separate entities, including moshavim, kibbutzim, community villages, Arab villages, agricultural farms and one joint Arab-Jewish settlement (one of its kind in Israel) and monasteries.

The region contains a widely diverse population of residents who originally came from numerous countries from all over the world. Generally speaking, each community has between 300 and 1000 residents (with some exceptions). In order to maintain the heritage brought from their lands of origin, it was decided to invest a large amount of resources in the preservation of the folklore, song, dress and cuisine of each and every ethnic group. The Matte Yehuda region extends from Jerusalem, in the east, to Tel Aviv and the lowlands, in the west. Right through the middle of the region passes the vitally important Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway. Also in our territory are some of the most beautiful parks and forests in Israel. Employment for our residents has been undergoing transition, from what was mainly agriculture to new areas, such as: tourism, urban industrialized agriculture and small industry. Matte Yehuda features a "Wine Route" of the Yehuda Wineries numbering around 30 wine producers dispersed throughout the region, many combined with restaurants, guest houses and hotels. The “Wine Route” is the "jewel in the crown" of tourism in the region.