An Israeli community in the sparsely populated Negev Desert has been established to honor the memory of IDF Col. Yonatan Steinberg, the Nahal Brigade commander who died battling terrorists from Hamas’s Nukhba special forces unit on Oct. 7, 2023.
The community, which has been named Mitzpe Yonatan and is located just outside the city of Arad, west of the Dead Sea, is already home to 20 young families. They are living in caravans and are committed to pioneering and revitalizing the area.
Weeks before he was killed, Steinberg, a 42-year-old father of six, had discussed the establishment of a ranch to raise livestock in the area, a proposal that is now part of a development plan for the community named in his memory.
“This beautiful place exemplifies Zionism at its finest,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said at a tree planting ceremony at Mitzpe Yonatan on Feb. 13. “Alongside the pain and mourning that have tested and continue to test us in the most difficult ways, we stand strong—filled with faith and hope. The proof of that resilience is right here before us.”
Organizers of the initiative—the HaShomer HaChadash agricultural volunteer organization, KKL-JNF and the Arad Municipality—hope to create scores of such communities in the area in the coming years to strengthen the southern frontier.
