Kiryat Yam
Kiryat Yam (Template:Langx, lit. Sea Town) is a city in the Haifa Bay district of Israel, Template:Convert north of Haifa. One of a group of Haifa suburbs known as the Krayot, it is located on the Mediterranean coast, between Kiryat Haim and the Tzur Shalom industrial area, east of Kiryat Motzkin. In Template:Israel populations it had a population of Template:Israel populations.Template:Israel populations
History
The area was acquired by the Jewish community as part of the Sursock Purchase, in which a large tract of land on the Haifa Bay was purchased from the Sursock family of Beirut by the American Zion Commonwealth in 1925.<ref>*Template:Cite book</ref> In 1928, the Bayside Land Corporation, a joint venture of the Palestine Economic Corporation and the Jewish National Fund, acquired 2,400 dunams of residential land in a deal related to the building of the IPC oil pipeline.<ref name=glass236>Glass, 2002, p. 236</ref> Development of a residential area began in 1939,<ref>Palestine Post, May 12, 1939</ref> and the first houses were completed in 1940.<ref name=glass236/>
Demographics
Kiryat Yam has a population of 38,945.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The northern area of the city is home to many immigrants from the former Soviet Union, North Africa and Ethiopia in which the municipality and its mayor Shmuel Sisso worked to build dozens of centers and homes to help the immigrants settle. The city is ranked medium on the socio-economic scale.<ref>Local councils and municipalities, by socio-economic index, ranking and cluster membership</ref>
Schools
Kiryat Yam has 15 preschools, eight elementary schools and 3 high schools (Rabin, Rodman & Levinson) with a student population of 10,000. In 2015 Rodman High School was merged with Rabin high school. The merging caused overcrowding at Rabin High School, resulting in overload and malfunction of public facilities and adjustment struggles of adolescents. Most of elementary schools and junior highs are included in public transport routes. Rabin high school was detached in circa 2015 from a particular bus line. The line has not been returned in spite of requests sent to the local municipality about the overcrowding and malfunction of public facilities.
Israeli-Arab conflict
During the 2006 Lebanon War, Kiryat Yam was hit by Hezbollah rockets and suffered casualties and property damage.<ref name=einav>Template:Cite news</ref>
Urban development
Urban development plans aimed at upgrading the old Gimmel neighborhood were blocked by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, whose main weapons development plant borders Kiryat Yam.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2009, the Haifa district planning committee approved high-rise construction for the neighborhood, overruling Rafael's objections.<ref>Kiryat Yam renewal gets go-ahead</ref>
Neighbourhoods
- Kiryat Yam (Dalet) - including Almogim
- Kiryat Yam (Gimmel) - built in the 1950s
- Kiryat Yam (Bet)
- Kiryat Yam (Alef)
- Savyoney Yam
- Psagot Yam & Bne Beitkha
Notable people
- Avner Shats (born 1959), author and poet
- Sam Vaknin (born 1961), writer
- Erez Eisen (born 1980), musician
- Orel Grinfeld (born 1981), football referee
- Gil Vermouth (born 1985), footballer
Twin towns – sister cities
Template:See also Kiryat Yam is twinned with:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col
- Template:Flagicon Créteil, île-de-France (France)
- Template:Flagicon Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Berlin (Germany)
- Template:Flagicon Makó (Hungary)
- Template:Flagicon Poti (Georgia)
- Template:Flagicon Sighetu Marmației (Romania)