Historical and Geographic Background
The regional council Matte Yehuda was founded in 1964 and is the .largest regional council in Israel The council is located on the historical site of the original tribe of Yehuda. It spans 520,000 dunams and stretches from Jerusalem in the east to the coastal plains in the west.
The council contains 57 municipalities, comprised of villages, kibbutzim community settlements, Arab villages, agricultural farms, and the village Neve Shalom which is the only Jewish-Arab community settlement in Israel.
The residents’ occupational profile has undergone many changes from dealing primarily in agriculture to newer realms such as tourism organic farming, and sophisticated industr.