Kfar Saba
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| Kfar Saba | ||
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| Hebrew | כפר סבא | |
| Founded in | 1903 | |
| Government | City | |
| Also Spelled | Kefar Sava (officially) | |
| District | Center | |
| Population | 81,100 (2006) | |
| Jurisdiction | 15,000 dunams (15 km²) | |
| Mayor | Yehuda Ben Hemo | |
Kfar Saba (Hebrew: כפר סבא; literally: "Grandfather's Village"; officially also spelled Kefar Sava) is a city in the Sharon area, Center District of Israel in Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2006 the city had a total population of 81,100 (provisional figure).
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[edit] Demographics
- See also: Population groups in Israel
According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), in 2001, the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.9% Jewish and 0.1% Others. Additionally, there were 523 immigrant residents. Also according to the CBS, there were 37,000 males and 39,600 females in 2001. The population of the city was spread out with 31.1% 19 years of age or younger, 16.3% between 20 and 29, 17.7% between 30 and 44, 20.2% from 45 to 59, 3.5% from 60 to 64, and 11.3% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate was 2.0% for that year.
[edit] History
The land, where the city of Kfar Saba now is, was bought in 1892 by a group of Jewish Zionist settlers, who then offered the lands for sale. The acquisition turned out to be unsuccessful, because the lands were located at a desolate, neglected area and was far from any other Jewish settlement. After the failure they were finally bought 1896 by the Baron Edmond James de Rothschild. In 1903, the Baron sold the land to the farmers of Petah Tikva to be populated by the 2nd generation - the immediate descendants of the farmers. However, they in turn sold the land to others, mostly new immigrants. The Ottoman government refused to give building permits, therefore the first settlers were forced to live in huts made of clay and straw. They earned their living by growing almonds, grapes and olives. Only in 1912 the settlers moved to permanent housing.
In World War I, Kfar Saba was on the front line between the British army and the Ottoman army, and was destroyed. At the same time about a thousand residents of Tel Aviv and Jaffa came to live in the town. They had been forcibly deported from their homes by the Ottomans. Due to the pogroms of 1921 these deportees returned to their original cities. In 1922 the original residents returned and in 1924 additional settlers joined them. In this period the cultivation of citrus fruit developed. In 1937 Kfar Saba was declared a local council.
In the time of the Arab Revolt, in 1936-1939, as in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Kfar Saba's population suffered from attacks by Arabs from the Arab, Saba village and other villages in the area. A short time before the Israeli declaration of independence these villages were taken in Operation Medina. In 1962 Kfar Saba was awarded city status. At the time of the Six day war Kfar Saba suffered attacks from the neighboring town of Qalqilyah that is located just over the 1949 armistice line with Jordan.
Kfar Saba's notable landmarks:
Kever Beniamin, Benjamin Son of Jacob's Tomb, on the Eastern road, was an abandoned complex of funerary monuments from the Ottoman period, that have lately been cleaned and maintained by self-appointed religious Jews, who are developing it into a neo-Israelite cult site. Bar Mitzvah and other Jewish ceremonies are taking place in this holy complex under the direction of its attendants. 30 m North of the Kever there is another, smaller Ottoman tomb whose kippah (cupola) has been painted green and is being maintained by local Palestinian Muslims, who consider it the "real" tomb. Jews and Muslims venerate Benjamin. Kfar Saba is in the heart of Dan's tribal area, but there are traditions that explain why Benjamin's tomb is located in the land of the tribe of Dan. No historic research has been done to identify the person(s) actually buried under these structures.
The first borehole. The development of Kfar Saba started when water was discovered by Jewish settlement institutions. The machinery is conserved in the Chan (the first "hostel" built in Kfar Saba which serves as City Hall). The borehole exploits the Mountain Aquifer, providing excellent quality drinking and irrigation water to the early farmers. The nearest natural surface flow is the Shillo river, which drains Western Samaria (from biblical Shillo, nowadays a Ramallah neighborhood) into the Yarkon River, but its waters had been contaminated since historical times by the "kadachat" ("fewer" in Hebrew, malaria). Kfar Saba, therefore, was built on higher land, healthier but waterless.
Amrami's Dairy Farm. The dairy farm of Kfar Saba's first major still stands in the Amrami and Rothschild Street Corner. No memorial plaque signals the place, but the cowshed and Amrami's "office" is still standing and can be freely visited.
Ancient Kfar Saba: Within the framework of sewage infrastructure works for the Eliezer Neighborhood, ancient remnants of a Israelite village were discovered east of the city, probably the remnants of the Biblical Kfar Sabbah. The discoveries were kept secret as its announcement would have made the completion of the sewage works dependent from Israel's Antiques Authority licence. Some of archeological remnants may be observed near the abandoned steel factory (Tzomet Pladah).
The Nordenstein House. During WWI the area became lawless and the settlement was abandoned. The first family to return (in 1922) was Nordenstein, who built Kfar Saba's first defensible stone house. It took another two years for other families take courage and return (mostly from Petach Tikva). The Nordenstein House can be seen on the HaEmek Street near the Bus Station. Currently houses an Insurance Agency's office.
Kibbutz HaKovesh Communal Dining House. A high two stage stone house on HaEmek Street, designed for defense (outlooks and sharp-shooting parapets) that served as the Kibbutz's communal dining room in "normal" times. The pioneers themselves and their children lived in tents. Following the 1948 border exchange, the "Triangle" became Israeli territory and the Kibbutz moved north to secure the Kalkiliya front. The House serves as Kfar Saba's Civil Guard Station.
[edit] Income
According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 31,528 salaried workers and 2,648 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 7,120, a real change of 10.1% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 9,343 (a real change of 9.9%) versus ILS 5,033 for females (a real change of 9.7%). The mean income for the self-employed is 8,980. There are 1,015 people who receive unemployment benefits and 1,682 people who receive an income guarantee.
In May of 2004, the exploration company Givot Olam said that the Meged-4 oil well, located northeast of Kfar Saba, has exceeded original predictions and contains an extremely valuable deposit of oil[1].
[edit] Education
According to CBS, there are 37 schools and 15,598 students in the city. They are spread out as 20 elementary schools and 6,684 elementary school students, and 21 high schools and 8,914 high school students. 72.2% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
Kfar Saba has 10 high schools (grade 10-12)
[edit] Twin Cities
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official municipal website (Hebrew)
- Kfar Saba Museum (Hebrew)
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| Cities | Hod HaSharon | Kfar Saba | Lod | Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut | Ness Ziona | Netanya | Petah Tikva | Qalansawe | Ra'anana | Ramla | Rehovot | Rishon LeZion | Rosh HaAyin | Tayibe | Tira | Yavne | Yehud-Monosson |  |
| Local councils | Be'er Ya'akov | Beit Dagan | Bnei Aish | El'ad | Elyakhin | Even Yehuda | Gan Yavne | Gedera | Giv'at Shmuel | Jaljulia | Kafr Qasim | Kfar Bara | Kfar Yona | Kiryat Ekron | Kokhav Ya'ir | Mazkeret Batya | Pardesiya | Ramot HaShavim | Savyon | Shoham | Tel Mond | Tzoran-Kadima | Zemer | |
| Regional councils | Brenner | Gan Rave | Gederot | Gezer | Drom HaSharon | Hefer Valley | Hevel Modi'in | Hevel Yavne | Hof HaSharon | Lev HaSharon | Lod Valley | Nachal Soreq | |
| Boroughs | Neve Monosson | |
