For three decades, Daniella Weiss has been a dominant figure in the Gush Emunim settlement movement, which has restored Jewish life to Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan Heights. As a general secretary of Gush Emunim, she has been active in the establishment of many new communities in Yesha and has functioned as a spokesperson for the settlements, explaining to the public in her earnest, professional manner, the significance of the pioneer settlers' activities. She helped organize the initial Elon Moreh group of settlers, which established Kedumim, the first settlement in Samaria, during Hanukah of 1975. Since then, Daniella has worked to restore Jewish life to the ancient-new hills of Yesha.

Daniella has won the admiration of the Israeli public, not only for her leadership role in the settlement movement, but also as one of Israel’s leading pioneering figures. Respected on both sides of the country’s political map, Daneilla maintains close personal relations with many of Israel’s political leaders. Her charisma and her charm have made her the “first lady” of Judea and Samaria and one of the prominent political figures in Israel. Daniella is one of the most recognizable personalities regularly featured in the Israeli media.

During its early period of expansion and struggle, Kedumim built new neighborhoods on the hillsides surrounding the original mobile homes, ensuring that the community would spread out in every direction. The Kedumim example of building new neighborhoods at the outskirts of the settlement became the model adopted by new communities throughout Judea and Samaria. Daniella Weiss remained active in every stage of Kedumim’s development, from the planning stages to the stages to the development of infrastructure, and this comprehensive experience has made her an expert in the field.

One of Daniella’s most distinguished qualities is her dedication to our nation’s youth. “The real test of an ideology” she always says, “is the ability to pass the torch from one generation to the next”. A testament to this is the high percentage of Kedumim’s second generation who have made their homes in the community.

Daniella encourages the involvement of the youth in the building of Israel for she strongly values the creative contribution of the younger generation.

Daniella Weiss was first elected mayor of Kedumim in September 1996 and was re-elected for a second term in November 2001. She is singularly responsible for the surge of building that has taken place in Kedumim for the past 5 years, as new neighborhoods have sprouted up on the surrounding hillsides, once again, setting an example for all of Judea and Samaria.