Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar join Channel 7’s studio for a conversation with media personality Hadar Miller about their partnership, their aliyah to Israel, their struggles over the land, the founding of the Sovereignty Movement alongside building a family, and what is needed moving forward.
Leaders of the Sovereignty Movement, Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, continue their advocacy campaign to instill the importance of applying sovereignty. Presented here is their podcast from the Arutz 7 studio, hosted by journalist Hadar Miller. In Hebrew
Katsover and Matar open by recounting how they met during the struggle against the evacuation of Gush Katif—an encounter that bonded them and led to the realization that although the Six-Day War was an incredible and historic victory, it has not yet been completed, as the military victory was never translated into a political-diplomatic one.
From there, Nadia Matar describes the group of early pioneers who, led by Rabbi Levinger and others, initiated a truly transformative process beginning with the settlement at Beit Hadassah, where Yehudit Katsover played a leading role. Matar describes this as an event worthy of a Hollywood production: “A group of women changed history,” she says.
Matar notes the “Women in Green” movement, which she co-founded with her mother-in-law Ruth Matar z"l as a protest movement against the Oslo Accords. Katsover joined after the expulsion from Gush Katif with the understanding that a fundamental change in the status of the land was necessary—and that without such a political shift, another evacuation would only be a matter of time.
Katsover, for her part, speaks about her transition from the world of education in Dimona—where she felt a deep sense of mission—to an awareness of the importance of settlement in Judea and Samaria. This shift came through her brother-in-law, Benny Katsover, who introduced her husband, Zvi, to the vision of establishing Kiryat Arba. “The issue of Hebron changed my life and my entire perspective on the Land of Israel,” she says.
How do you raise children and build a family in the shadow of ongoing struggles over the Land of Israel? Yehudit Katsover shares the “little accounts” her children still remember—now all married with children of their own—about moments when she was at demonstrations instead of being with them. “They are proud, but they also like to tease me about it,” she says. Still, her personal example instilled in them and in their children a deep love and devotion to the land.
Matar also speaks about balancing the challenges of activism for the Land of Israel and the “Women in Green” movement with building a family. She recounts how she and her mother-in-law went to prison together: “We went to jail not because we robbed a bank, but because we fought Oslo.” She also recalls the violent reactions they faced from police, who beat them and broke bones despite their commitment to peaceful roadside protest.
For their children, it was not easy—not only due to arrests and absences, but also because of the “stigma of the extremist mother.” Today, as the struggles have borne fruit in terms of settlement, she is convinced that they are proud of her and her work.
Katsover views the dramatic changes that have taken place in recent years—both on the ground and in leadership—with great optimism. She points to the tremendous growth throughout Judea and Samaria and to the rise of religious Zionism into leadership roles in both the security and political arenas. Still, she continually strives for more, toward the realization of full sovereignty. “There is a light emerging from the fog of war—both in the identity of the people of Israel and in its approach to security and education. Everything is on the rise, and that gives strength.”
She also highlights the enormous difference between the reality of decades ago—when every attempt to settle the land involved struggle, forced evacuations, and repeated returns—and today, when those who come to settle receive support and assistance. “We truly felt like dreamers,” she says.
Matar reflects on her different perspective as someone who made aliya to Israel at age 18, compared to those born in Israel who may take it somewhat for granted. Abroad, she says, she did not experience antisemitism; the community was warm and supportive, and Jewish institutions functioned well. Yet during her visits to Israel, she felt that her soul belonged here—in the Land of Israel—where one can shape reality, participate in the game, and not merely sit in the stands.
Matar describes her work alongside Yehudit Katsover, who is never satisfied with what has been achieved and always pushes to the next stage. This was evident in the founding of the Sovereignty Movement: the first conference had 200 participants, the next 400, and the following 1,100. Even then, Katsover did not stop—she pushed to reach hundreds of thousands through the Sovereignty journal and later initiated the Sovereignty Youth movement, expanding beyond the older audience that attended the conferences. The same drive is evident in settlement challenges as well.
Katsover shares memories of her childhood in Romania, as part of a Satmar Hasidic family that lived with a constant expectation of reaching the Land of Israel. She describes the special light she saw from the deck of the ship when the port of Haifa came into view as she arrived at age 12—a light that Matar also recalls, and one that those born in Israel may not perceive in the same way.
Does the fact that, despite their extensive efforts to deepen awareness of sovereignty, the government has not taken advantage of the current political reality and supportive administration to apply sovereignty weaken their resolve? Nadia Matar quotes Katsover, who says that if sovereignty has not yet been applied, it means they have not worked hard enough—and must increase their efforts.
“As long as there is no sovereignty, the world will continue to say that Israel has not decided, and it signals that the land is not truly ours forever. Until Smotrich led the revolution of recent years, Jewish settlement covered only 3.5% of the land. Today it is 10–11%, still much too little, while Arabs, funded by anti-Israeli NGO's and countries, continue to take over every hill they can. The latest wave of new Jewish farms and neighborhoods is wonderful but it is still emptying the sea with a spoon. We must not fall into complacency—we must not fall asleep. There is much more work to do. Oslo must be canceled, and we must also retake Areas A and B. We must persuade and achieve sovereignty over all of Judea, Samaria. That is the victory—and of course also over Gaza, through settlement.”
Katsover also speaks at length about the youth of the settlement movement, who understand realities that even the older generation sometimes does not. They face challenging pioneering conditions, as well as criticism and defamation—even from parts of the right that do not grasp the full picture: the broader struggle against the Arab enemy , often seeing only the determined Jewish response and not what preceded it.
Nadia Matar emphasizes the clear conclusion drawn from the widespread support among Arabs in Judea and Samaria for the October 7 massacre, as well as the support and celebration among Israeli Arabs for missile attacks from Iran. This, she argues, demonstrates the need to find a solution in the form of encouraging Arab emigration for those who seek Israel’s destruction. “A democratic state cannot allow itself to live with a population within it that wants to destroy it.”
Katsover notes the contribution of the U.S. President in advancing this idea by placing voluntary Arab emigration from the Gaza Strip on the agenda—something that obligates Israel to prepare organized plans to implement such a move.