31 Mazal Tov!

Modern Shiloh, at the site of ancient Biblical Shiloh is now 31 years old!!!

When early Gush Emunim, the pioneering Jews who established the first post-1967 communities in Judea and Samaria, brainstormed about the best place for the first Shomron, Samaria location, they decided on Shiloh, but they ended up going to what is today Ofra.

Shiloh was the obvious place to go, because Shiloh is where Joshua established the first Jewish capital after the exodus from Egypt. It was Shiloh where the Mishkan, the Tabernacle "rested" for 369 years. The stories of Eli the High Priest, Samuel the Prophet and Chana all took place in Shiloh.

They didn't go to Shiloh, because in their negotiations with the government it was demanded they they only go to places which had "usable" buildings, and Shiloh just had some ruins.

But now, Shiloh is all built up, with synagogues, schools, yeshiva, stores, industrial zone, medical clinics, sports facilities, tourist center and lots of homes.