Nesher

Nesher
  • נֶשֶׁר‬‎
  • نيشير‎
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • ISO 259 Nešr

Coat of Arms
Nesher
Coordinates: 32°46′N 35°03′E / 32.767°N 35.050°E / 32.767; 35.050Coordinates: 32°46′N 35°03′E / 32.767°N 35.050°E / 32.767; 35.050
District  Haifa
Founded 1925
Government
 • Type City
 • Mayor Avi Binamo
Area
 • Total 12,090 dunams (12.09 km2 or 4.67 sq mi)
Population (2017)[1]
 • Total 23,749
 • Density 2,000/km2 (5,100/sq mi)
Name meaning "Eagle" or "Vulture"

Nesher (Hebrew: נֶשֶׁר‬) is a city in the Haifa District of Israel. In 2017 it had a population of 23,749.[1]

History

Nesher Cement factory, 1924
Post office building in Nesher, 1938

Nesher was founded in 1924 as a workers town for the Nesher Cement factory, established in September 1923 by Michael Pollack, a Jewish industrialist from Russia. The area was swampy and malaria-infested, but employees of the factory gradually moved there with their families, bringing the population to 1,500.[2] Nesher was floated as a public company in 1925.[3] In 1929, the Arabs of Balad al-Sheikh attacked the factory and burned down a farm.[4]

By the mid-1930s, Nesher Cement had 700 employees, both Jewish and Arab.[3]

In 1948, thousands of Jewish immigrants from Europe, Iraq and North Africa settled in Nesher. In 1952, a local council was formed comprising four neighborhoods – Nesher, Giv’at Nesher, Ben-Dor and Tel Hanan. The first mayor was Yehuda Shimroni.[5]

Demographics

CBS statistics for 2005 show Nesher's ethnic makeup as 99.5% Jewish and other non-Arabs. 30.7% of the population in 2005 were immigrants who came to Israel after 1990.[6]

Education

The city's education system comprises six elementary schools, one comprehensive high school, two middle schools and 36 kindergartens and day care centers with an enrollment of 4,000 pupils. Over 70% of Nesher’s high school students take the Bagrut matriculation exams, with a pass rate of 98%, one of the highest rates in Israel. Nesher's high school won the Israeli Education Prize twice in the span of a decade.[5]

Twinning and cultural exchange

In 2005, the Broward County Jewish Federation established a partnership with Nesher in an effort to create a people-to-people cultural exchange program that includes high school and college student exchanges and video conferencing for events such as school celebrations and concerts.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "List of localities, in Alphabetical order" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  2. ↑ Nesher – At the heart of the region
  3. 1 2 Haifa: Transformation of an Arab Society 1918-1939, May Seikaly
  4. ↑ Tzadok Eshel, The Cement and his Manufacturers, The Portland Cement Company "Nesher", 1976 p. 68
  5. 1 2 About Nesher
  6. ↑ "Local Authorities in Israel 2005, Publication #1295 - Municipality Profiles - Nesher" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  7. ↑ Sharansky supports Federation-Nesher partnership
Panorama of Nesher View to Mt. Carmel
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