Emmanuel is hardly the first name that comes to mind when discussing predominantly ultra-Orthodox Israeli population centers. Far from it. While a recent survey by the research firm Askaria indicated that most ultra-Orthodox Jews prefer to live in homogeneous cities populated by their own kind, or at least in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of mixed cities, Emmanuel does not feature in the responses of those polled. Some 43% of the respondents live in the cities of Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, and others in Beitar Illit, Modi'in Illit and Beit Shemesh.

Although established almost 40 years ago, only about 800 families live in Emmanuel, fewer than in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of mixed cities such as Ashdod and Kiryat Gat (3,000 families). In fact, Emmanuel has fewer residents than does the newly developing ultra-Orthodox community in Nof HaGalil (formerly Upper Nazareth).

Emmanuel is a West Bank settlement that lies to the north of the settlement town of Ariel. It was founded in the early 1980s by an entrepreneur named Pinhas Eliyahu Ehrenreich, who recruited his British investor friend Yosl Margaliot.

Its marketing campaign is to this day considered an anomaly in the ultra-Orthodox landscape — gimmicks such as throwing stickers from helicopters into the hearts of ultra-Orthodox cities with the inscription, “Moishi, have you been to Emmanuel yet?” The success was immediate.