Bat Yam
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| Hebrew | בת ים |
| Name meaning | Daughter of the sea |
| Founded in | 1926 |
| Government | City (from 1958) |
| District | Tel Aviv |
| Population | 130,400 (CBS end of 2004) |
| Jurisdiction | 8,000 dunams (8 km²) |
| Mayor | Shlomo Lahiani |
Bat Yam (Hebrew: בת ים) is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip, just south of Tel Aviv, and part of the metropolis known as Gush Dan, in the Tel Aviv District.
The key feature of Bat Yam is its beautiful beach, attracting tourists every summer.
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[edit] History
Bat Yam was established in 1926 as Bayit VaGan (Hebrew: בית וגן, House and Garden), a neighbourhood dedicated to Orthodox Jews. However, the original plan didn't materialize. During the 1929 Palestine riots, Bayit VaGan came under attacks by Arab gangs from neighbouring Jaffa and was evacuated by British Authorities, then was reestablished in 1930. In 1936 it was given the status of local council.
In 1938 the name of the neighbourhood was changed to Bat Yam. In the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, once again there was fighting in Bat Yam, until Jaffa surrendered on May 13, 1948.
In the first decades of Israel's independence Bat Yam grew due to mass immigration, becoming a city in 1958. It experienced a rapid growth again in early 90s, as many immigrants from former Soviet Union chose Bat Yam as their new residence because of its proximity to industrial centers of the country combined with relatively low real estate prices. According to Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, the city population as of June 2005 is some 130,000 people.
[edit] Leaders
| Type | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Head of council | Mintz Ben Zion | 1936-1937 |
| Head of council | Israel Ben Zion | 1937-1939 |
| Head of council | Israel Rabinovich-Teomim | 1939-1943 |
| Head of council | Eliav Levai | 1943-1950 |
| Head of council | David Ben Ari | 1950-1958 |
| Mayor | David Ben Ari | 1958-1963 |
| Mayor | Menahem Rothschild | 1963-1973 |
| Mayor | Yitzhak Walker | 1973-1977 |
| Mayor | David Mesika | 1977-1978 |
| Mayor | Menahem Rothschild | 1978-1983 |
| Mayor | Ehud Kanmon | 1983-1993 |
| Mayor | Yehoshua Sagi | 1993-2003 |
| Mayor | Shlomo Lahiani | 2003-date |
[edit] Twin cities
 The municipality building. |
 The beach, south. |
 Kikar ha-Meginim (The Defenders Square). |
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
- Official website (Hebrew)
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| Cities | Bat Yam · Bnei Brak · Giv'atayim · Herzliya · Holon · Or Yehuda · Ramat Gan · Ramat Hasharon · Tel Aviv-Jaffa · Qiryat Ono |  |
| Local councils | Azor · Kfar Shmaryahu | |
| Regional councils | Ef'al | |
