Hashmonaim

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Hashmonaim
Ramat Modi'in
Country Israel
District Judea and Samaria Area
Founded July 7, 1988
Population (2005)
 - Total 2,400
Time zone IST (UTC+2)
 - Summer (DST) IDT (UTC+3)

Hashmonaim (Hebrew: חשמונאים‎, also known as Ramat Modi'in) is an Israeli settlement located in the Binyamin Region of Israel in the eastern section of the West Bank, off of Route 443, three kilometers north of Modi'in, and thirty minute drive from both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

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[edit] History

Construction of the first homes began in December 1983. A dedication ceremony on June 12, 1984, was attended by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and the Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu. The first families moved in on August 1987.

In 2008, there were 530 families living in Hashmonaim.[1] Over fifty percent of the residents are native English speakers. Most are members of the religious Zionist community.[2]

[edit] Communal services

The rabbi of the community is Rabbi Itamar Orbach, who rotates between Hashmonaim's seven synagogues. The largest is Glenwood Jewish Center, named after a synagogue in Brooklyn, New York, which paid for its construction.[3] Hashmonaim has five kindergartens, an elementary school, and a yeshiva. The community also has a clubhouse for young people, a Bnei Akiva branch, two basketball courts, a baseball field, playgrounds, a library and a fitness center.[4]

[edit] References

[edit] External links