Yad Binyamin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yad Binyamin | |
| Hebrew | יד בנימין |
| Founded in | 1962 |
| Government | |
| District | Center |
| Population | 3500 (June 2008) |
| Jurisdiction | 250 dunams |
| Head of municipality | Eli Eskezido |
Yad Binyamin (Hebrew: יד בנימין, lit. Binyamin Memorial) is a communal settlement located in central Israel and the seat of Nahal Sorek Regional Council. Yad Binyamin is located adjacent to the junction of three major thoroughfares; Highway 3, Highway 6 and Highway 7 and a thirty minute drive to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Beersheba. The railroad from Tel Aviv to Beersheba passes nearby. The nearest cities and commercial areas are Gedera and Rehovot.
[edit] History
Yad Binyamin was originally founded as a religious settlement and educational center in 1962 by Agudat Israel Workers in partnership with the municipality of Nahal Sorek and named after the Minister of Postal Services, Binyamin Mintz. For many years, the community was a center of higher Jewish learning based around the yeshiva.
[edit] Community composition
There are a number of communities who live in Yad Binyamin. The community size has more than doubled between 2002-2008.[citation needed] The total planned size for the entire Yad Binyamin community is approximately 700 families.At this time no overall community Rabbi has been selected for Yad Binyamin.
New Residents These are approximately 100 families who are a combination of native Israelis and Olim. Languages commonly spoken are Hebrew and English. The Olim come from a variety of countries including the US, Australia, the UK and South Africa. At present, there are a number of contractors who are building projects in Yad Binyamin that are scheduled for completion throughout 2008 and 2009.When construction is complete, the new residents will form the largest community.
Gush Katif residents Over 200 former families who were evicted from Gush Katif reside in temporary pre-fabricated housing within the village. Some of them, the families of the Ganei Tal community, are slated to move en masse to Hafetz Haim, 100 families will be moving to Netzer Hazani adjacent to Yesodot, while others will be building permanent homes in Yad Binyamin.
Yad Binyamin Vatikim comprises the original residents of Yad Binyamin.
Yeshivat Torat Hachaim is made of up more than 120 married kollel students and 100 yeshiva students under the leadership of Rabbi Shmuel Tal
Sha’arei Tzion comprises the Yemenite residents of Yad Binyamin
[edit] Transport
Yad Binyamin is located 3 kilometers from the Re'em Junction on Highway 3 and one kilometer from the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 7. Israel Railways plans to upgrade the tracks of nearby Tel Aviv-Beersheba line and build a station at Kfar Menahem to serve the area. A number of Egged bus routes provide transport links to Jerusalem, Ashkelon and other cities.
