Yad Binyamin

Yad Binyamin Template:Hebrew
Etymology: Binyamin Memorial
Country	Israel
District	Central
Council	Nahal Sorek
Founded	1962
Population  (2009)	3,200

Yad Binyamin (Template:Lang-he-n, lit. Binyamin Memorial) is a communal settlement in central Israel. The seat of Nahal Sorek Regional Council, it is located adjacent to the junction of three major highways; Highway 3, Highway 6 and Highway 7. In 2009 it had a population of 3,200.

History

Yad Binyamin was originally founded as a religious settlement and educational center in 1962 by Poalei Agudat Yisrael in partnership with the municipality of Nahal Sorek and named after the former Minister of Postal Services, Binyamin Mintz who had died the previous year. For many years, the community was a center of higher Jewish learning based around the yeshiva.

After the disengagement plan, around 200 families from Gush Katif moved into temporary pre-fabricated housing in Yad Binyamin. Some of them, the families of the Ganei Tal community, are slated to move en masse to Hafetz Haim, 100 families will be moving to Netzer Hazani adjacent to Yesodot, while others will be building permanent homes in Yad Binyamin.

Community

In the last few years hundreds of families moved into the new developments in Yad Binyamin. This population is all religious and made up of people with diverse backgrounds.

Transport

Yad Binyamin is located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the Re'em Junction on Highway 3 and one kilometer from the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 7. Israel Railways plans to upgrade the tracks of nearby Tel Aviv–Beersheba line and build a station at Kfar Menahem to serve the area which is scheduled to complete in 2011. A number of Egged bus routes provide transport links to Jerusalem, Ashkelon and other cities.