El'ad
| El'ad | |||
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| Hebrew transcription(s) | |||
| • Hebrew | אלעד | ||
| • ISO 259 | ʔelˁad | ||
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 El'ad
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| Coordinates: 32°3′8.34″N 34°57′4.47″E / 32.0523167°N 34.9512417°ECoordinates: 32°3′8.34″N 34°57′4.47″E / 32.0523167°N 34.9512417°E | |||
| District | Center | ||
| Founded | 1998 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | City (from 2008) | ||
| • Mayor | Yitzhak Idan (Shas) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 2,756 dunams (2.8 km2 / 1.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2009)[1] | |||
| • Total | 36,300 | ||
El'ad, also spelled Elad (Hebrew: אלעד), is a city in the Center District of Israel. Located about 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Tel Aviv on Route 444 between Rosh HaAyin and Shoham. In 2009 the town had a total population of 36,300.[1] El'ad is the only town in Israel officially designated a religious municipality. The name El'ad means “Forever God”.
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[edit] History
The building of El'ad started in the late 90's, following a government decision in 1990 to built a series of settlements along the seam line with the West Bank under then housing minister Ariel Sharon,[2] and provide immediate housing for 50,000 residents.[3] The town was built from scratch as a planned community according to urban planning paradigms not unlike Modi'in and nearby Shoham. While those towns were designed to suit a mixed population of non-religious and religious Jews, El'ad was originally planned to suit a mixed population of Modern Orthodox/Religious Zionist Jews and ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews, offering a solution to the acute shortage of affordable housing for Haredi families. The majority of the population are Haredi Jews. Accordingly, El'ad is built in a way that suits their religious lifestyle with a larger selection of housing options offering larger than average apartments to accommodate religious families who tend to have more children than the average national population. Another characteristic is easy access and short walking distances to local education institutions to avoid the need for school transportation costs.
By 1998, El'ad had already achieved local council status, in February 2008 El'ad's official status was changed to a city.[4] The city's current mayor is Yitzhak Idan, a member of the Shas party.[5]
[edit] Demographics
El'ad is one of the fastest growing towns in Israel with an annual population groth of 6 to 7 percent. Its population numbered 33.900 in 2008, 36.300 in 2009 and had reached 37.400 by the end of June 2009.[1] The population density per squarekilometer is 13,1,[6] median age is 11.[7]
[edit] Controversies
In August 2003, policemen responsible for maintaining law and order in the fast growing town, described El'ad as “a hornets' nest of crime, brimming with growing domestic violence, vandalism, juvenile delinquency and traffic violations”. The problems include religious-ethnic tension, frequently erupting in street brawls.[8] A year later, child neglect was added to the list.[9] At the same time, El'ad together with the mainly Arab town of Umm al-Fahm are among the Israeli cities with the lowest rate of police cases opened for violent crimes.[10] In 2008 it became public, that a local ultra-Orthodox school for girls allegedly discriminates against girls of Sephardic Jewish origines.[11]
The town's chief Ashkenazi rabbi is Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Grossman and the chief Sephardic rabbi is Rabbi Mordechai Malka. The two rabbis have a disagreement about the correct time for inaugurating the Sabbath, and for closing the gate to the city before the Sabbath begins, leading to tensions within the communities.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Table 3 - Population of Localities Numbering Above 2,000 Residents and Other Rural Population". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2010-06-30. http://www.cbs.gov.il/population/new_2010/table3.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
- ^ Shefer, Shlomi (2002-08-05). "A star settlement is born. In these hard economic times, Elad seems to be the only place that's booming as the ultra-Orthodox are flocking to its green spaces and relatively low house prices". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/a-star-settlement-is-born-1.37811.
- ^ Greenberg, Harry (2002-19-26). "City Development in Israel". http://www.fig.net/pub/fig_2002/Ts8-3/TS8_3_greenberg.pdf.
- ^ Fendel, Hillel (2008-02-06). "Ten-Year-Old Hareidi-Religious Community of Elad Named a City". Arutz Sheva. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125170.
- ^ a b Ettinger, Yair (2011-12-05). "Ashkenazi and Sephardi rabbis battle over Sabbath hours in Elad". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/ashkenazi-and-sephardi-rabbis-battle-over-sabbath-hours-in-elad-1.399590.
- ^ "Population and Density per Sq.Km in Localities Numbering 5,000 Residents and more on 31 XII 2009". Israel CBS. 2009-12-31. http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_15&CYear=2010.
- ^ "Population, by Poplulation Group, Religion, Age, Sex and Type of Locality, Average 2009". Israel CBS. 2009-12-31. http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_11x&CYear=2010.
- ^ Singer-Heruti, Roni (2003-08-08). "Haredi town's crime rate rises, and police are helpless. Rosh Ha'ayin policemen describe the nearby ultra-Orthodox town Elad as "a hornets' nest of crime," brimming with growing domestic violence, vandalism, juvenile delinquency and traffic violations". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/haredi-town-s-crime-rate-rises-and-police-are-helpless-1.96641.
- ^ Rotem, Tsahar (2004-08-04). "Toddler found wandering around Elad". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/toddler-found-wandering-around-elad-1.129800.
- ^ Kubovich, Yaniv (2011-10-09). "Police study: Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Haifa, Ramle and Eilat Israel's most violent cities. Umm al-Fahm and Elad report lowest incidence of violent crime". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/police-study-tel-aviv-jaffa-haifa-ramle-and-eilat-israel-s-most-violent-cities-1.388850.
- ^ Kashti, Or (2008-09-04). "Elad ultra-Orthodox school rejects Sephardi first-graders". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/elad-ultra-orthodox-school-rejects-sephardi-first-graders-1.253185.
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