Yoel Zilberman, founder and CEO of Hashomer Hachadash, outlined a plan on Tuesday to establish 150 new communities across Israel, focusing on border areas, during the People of the State conference organized by ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth. He described the initiative as a way to provide affordable housing opportunities while strengthening security and development along the frontiers.

Zilberman noted that ordinary citizens face little chance of building a decent home in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, but open spaces near the borders offer a chance to create a dream home. He said a new moshav, the first in Israel in 20 years, was established a month ago. The organization already operates student villages, Nahal military-service groups, educational campuses and the Adam VeAdama school network.

He pointed to a 20-kilometer stretch of empty land along the Egyptian border as suitable for dozens of new communities. For each site, planners must incorporate employment options, renewable energy projects and therapeutic services. Zilberman stated that Israel can and should lead the world in solutions to global water and food challenges.

The plan also seeks to involve the ultra-Orthodox community by encouraging them to build yeshivas along the Jordanian border rather than in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak or Modi’in. Within three weeks, the first such yeshiva is set to open at Mahaneh Shetach, north of Jericho, alongside a planned ultra-Orthodox city called Ir Hatmarim, or City of Palms. The area, linked historically to Yoel Moshe Salomon’s vision near the Jordan River crossing and already known as Petah Tikva with an existing community, could draw between 20,000 and 50,000 ultra-Orthodox young people.

Zilberman expressed certainty that the effort would gain wide political backing no matter which government forms next, saying anyone with even a spark of Zionism would join because every citizen depends on the strength and resilience of the borders. He compared the potential to the growth of Las Vegas and said there is no reason similar development cannot occur along Israel’s frontiers.