Be'er Ya'akov

Be'er Ya'akov
  • בְּאֵר יַעֲקֹב‬‎
  • بئر يعقوب‎
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • ISO 259 Bˀer Yaˁqob
 • Also spelled Be'er Ya'aqov (official)
Be'er Ya'akov
Coordinates: 31°56′33.14″N 34°50′1.5″E / 31.9425389°N 34.833750°E / 31.9425389; 34.833750Coordinates: 31°56′33.14″N 34°50′1.5″E / 31.9425389°N 34.833750°E / 31.9425389; 34.833750
District Central
Founded 1907
Government
 • Type Local council (from 1949)
 • Head of Municipality Nissim Gozlan
Area
 • Total 8,580 dunams (8.58 km2 or 3.31 sq mi)
Population (2017)[1]
 • Total 22,851
 • Density 2,700/km2 (6,900/sq mi)
Name meaning Jacob's well
Website b-y.org.il

Be'er Ya'akov (Hebrew: בְּאֵר יַעֲקֹב‬, lit. Jacob's Well; Arabic: بئر يعقوب‎) is a town with local council status in central Israel, near Ness Ziona and Rishon Lezion. The town has an area of 8,580 dunams (~8.6 km²),[2] and had a population of 22,851 in 2017.[1]

History

Be'er Ya'akov railway station

Be'er Ya'akov was established in 1907 on 2,000 dunams of land purchased by a company headed by Meir Dizengoff from a Lutheran German colony the previous year. It was divided into two sectors, one for immigrants from Russia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Argentina, and Iran, and the other for Mountain Jews from Dagestan. It was named after Ya'akov Yitzhaki, a rabbi and pioneer from the Mountain Jewish community.[3] Yitzhaki headed the Mountain Jewish pioneers who settled there.

In 1909, there were 25 families living in Be'er Ya'akov, and tensions between the Ashkenazi and Dagestani families.[4] In 1910, the first elementary school was established. According to a census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Be'er Ya'akov had 131 inhabitants,[5] which had increased in the 1931 census to 265 residents in 58 houses.[6] By 1947, it had a population of 400.[7] It achieved local council status in 1949.

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and until the Israeli capture of Ramla in July 1948, Be'er Ya'akov was on the front line. The population at that time was evacuated and a new settlement, Be'er Shalom, was established nearby by members of Kibbutz Buchenwald, the first pioneer training group formed in post-World War II Germany.[8][9]

Two hospitals are located in Be'er Ya'akov: Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center (near Tzrifin), and Shmuel HaRofe Geriatric Hospital.

The town is growing rapidly, with massive urban development, including the construction of new neighborhoods taking place, and it is expected to gain city status in the coming years. In 2017, a new plan was approved to massively expand Be'er Ya'akov in area and population. Once the Tzrifin complex of military bases is vacated and most of the bases are relocated to the Negev, Be'er Ya'akov will expand onto land once occupied by military facilities. It is planned that Be'er Ya'akov will eventually have a population of 100,000.[10][11]

Sports

Transportation

Be'er Ya'akov is served by the Be'er Ya'akov Railway Station, for trains on the Binyamina-Ashkelon line.

Notable residents

References

  1. 1 2 "List of localities, in Alphabetical order" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Local Authorities in Israel 2005, Publication #1295 - Municipality Profiles - Be'er Ya'akov" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  3. ↑ HaReuveni, Immanuel (1999). Lexicon of the Land of Israel (in Hebrew). Miskal - Yedioth Ahronoth Books and Chemed Books. p. 76. ISBN 965-448-413-7.
  4. ↑ http://jpress.org.il/Olive/APA/NLI_Heb/SharedView.Article.aspx?parm=%2F0Rmc58rlIiyP%2BJnBfSTpUI655h4ZgTEIIKwqDtGB%2BW2Gcltxd8P%2BBN9gXAXSh%2B7Yw%3D%3D&mode=image&href=HHR%2f1909%2f07%2f29&page=9&rtl=true
  5. ↑ "Palestine Census ( 1922)". Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ Mills, 1932, p. 18
  7. ↑ Jewish National Fund (1949). Jewish Villages in Israel. Jerusalem: Hamadpis Liphshitz Press. p. 14.
  8. ↑ Jewish National Fund, p191
  9. ↑ Kibbutz Buchenwald, Judy Baumel Bar Ilan University
  10. ↑ "Part 3 – Southern Israel's Boom Towns". Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via Haaretz.
  11. ↑ "Beer Yaakov to become city of 100,000 - Globes English". Globes. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.