| Bat Yam | |||
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| Hebrew transcription(s) | |||
| • Hebrew | בַּת יָם | ||
| • ISO 259 | Batt Yamm | ||
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Bat Yam
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| Coordinates: | |||
| District | Tel Aviv | ||
| Founded | 1926 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | City (from 1958) | ||
| • Mayor | Shlomo Lahyani | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 8,167 dunams (8.2 km2 / 3.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2009)[1] | |||
| • Total | 130,000 | ||
| Name meaning | lit. 'Daughter of the sea', can also mean 'mermaid' | ||
Bat Yam (Hebrew: בַּת יָם ) is a city located on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the central coastal strip, just south of Tel Aviv. Part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area, in the Tel Aviv District, the city is home to 130,000 people.[1]
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Bat Yam was established in 1926 as Bayit VaGan (Hebrew: בית וגן; House and Garden). During the 1929 Palestine riots, the town was attacked by Palestinian fighters from Jaffa and was evacuated by British Authorities. In 1930, it was re-settled. In 1936, it was granted local council status and renamed Bat Yam. By 1945, 2,000 Jews were living in Bat Yam.[2] According to the Jewish National Fund, in 1947 it had a population of 4,000.[3].
Following the United Nations vote in favour of a partition plan on November 29, 1947 and the subsequent civil war, inhabitants of both Bat Yam and Jaffa complained on violent incidents, inluding sniping.[3][4]. On May 13, 1948, Jaffa surrendered to Jewish forces.
In the years following Israel's creation, Bat Yam grew dramatically due to mass immigration and gained city status in 1958. A small Hasidic enclave of Bobover Hasidim, known as Kiryat Bobov, was established in 1959. The city gained a sizeable community of Jews from Turkey (est. 23% of the population). Bat Yam again experienced a period of rapid growth in the early 1990s with the mass immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union.
In the early 2000s, following financial scandals under the leadership of Yehoshua Saguy, the city was on the brink of bankruptcy. In 2003 a new mayor, Shlomo Lahiani, was elected and the city began to rejuvenate. Large investments were made in education, culture and the appearance of the city. Shlomo Lahiani was re-elected as the mayor of Bat Yam in the municipal elections of 2008. He won 86 percent of the vote.
| Type | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Head of council | Mintz Ben Zion | 1936–37 |
| Head of council | Yisrael Ben Zion | 1937–39 |
| Head of council | Yisrael Rabinovich-Teomim | 1939–43 |
| Head of council | Eliav Levai | 1943–50 |
| Head of council | David Ben Ari | 1950–58 |
| Mayor | David Ben Ari | 1958–63 |
| Mayor | Menachem Rothschild | 1963–73 |
| Mayor | Yitzhak Walker | 1973–77 |
| Mayor | David Mesika | 1977–78 |
| Mayor | Menachem Rothschild | 1978–83 |
| Mayor | Ehud Kanmon | 1983–93 |
| Mayor | Yehoshua Saguy | 1993–2003 |
| Mayor | Shlomo Lahiani | 2003–date |
| Source: Bat Yam's mayors on the official city website | ||
In 2008 the Bat-Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism, which is devoted to re-examining urban spaces through art and architecture, was held in Bat Yam. In 2010 the second Biennale, "Timing" took place,[5] which featured site-specific installations from designers and architects from around the world.[6] The city has two shopping malls, Kanyon Bat Yam, which opened in 1993, and Kanyon Bat Yamon.
The location of Bat Yam on the Mediterranean makes it popular with beach-goers. Bat Yam has a 3.2 kilometers long promenade along the ocean lined with pubs and restaurants. The city has six beaches, one of which is protected by a breakwater. The Museum of Bat Yam exhibits contemporary art.[7] Other museums include the Ben Ari Museum and Ryback Museum that houses the work of Issachar Ber Ryback. There is also a museum in the memory of the Yiddish writer Sholem Asch, who lived his last years in Bat Yam, and a small Holocaust museum.
All bus lines in Bat Yam have at least one terminus in Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion or Holon. Dan is the biggest bus company in the area. It operates frequent service to various neighborhoods of Tel Aviv, and also connects Bat Yam to Holon, Rishon LeZion, Ramat Gan, Giv'atayim, Bnei Brak, Tel HaShomer and Bar Ilan University. Egged connects Bat Yam to various neighborhoods of Holon and Rishon LeZion, and also operates service to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramla, Ben Gurion International Airport (part-time service) and intermediate communities.
The Bat Yam-Yoseftal Railway Station has opened in 2011 as part of the new Tel Aviv – Rishon LeZion West line. Bat Yam will also be the terminus for the red line of the Tel Aviv Light Rail.
The city's major football club, Maccabi Ironi Bat Yam, currently plays in Liga Leumit, the third level of Israeli football. The club was formed by a 2004 merger of Hapoel Bat Yam (which had spent several seasons in the second division in the 1990s) and Maccabi Bat Yam.
Bat Yam's Al Gal beach is regarded to be one of the best surfing spots in the region, having fairly consistent surf conditions, especially during the summer months.
Bat Yam is twinned with:
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