Caesarea, Israel
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Caesarea ( ; Hebrew: קיסריה, Qeysarya) is a modern locality in Israel. It is situated nearby historical Caesarea Maritima, some 50 km. north of Tel Aviv and several kilometers north of Hadera.
As of September 2005 Caesarea had a total population of 4,200. The beginning of the modern settlement was in 1884, when Muslims from Bosnia settled there and erected a mosque, though a group of Templers had attempted settlement under the guise of an archaeological camp. In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the village, which was home to 1,120, was abandoned.[citation needed] In the end of the nineteenth century and in the beginning of the twentieth century Baron Edmond James de Rothschild purchased much of the land around Caesarea. After the establishment of the State of Israel, the Rothschild family endowed those holdings to the Caesarea Foundation. The Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Development Corporation (called in Hebrew החברה לפיתוח קיסריה אדמונד בנימין דה רוטשילד) is the operational arm of the Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Foundation, and it exists "in order to establish a unique settlement, based on the values of quality of life and the environment, beside it a business park for advanced industries, and to develop Qeysarya as a national tourism center.".
As such, Caesarea is the only locality in Israel which is managed by a private organization (the Caesarea Development Corporation) rather than a municipal governmental organization. Besides providing municipal services to the residents of Caesarea it also markets plots for real-estate development in the locality (since it owns most of the undeveloped land there) and owns and manages the nearby business park as well as Caesarea's golf course and country club.
The locality is considered one of the most upscale residential developments in Israel. The current Baron de Rothschild still maintains a home in Caesarea as do many other wealthy individuals and high government as well as some foreign officials.
