City of Bat Yam

Bat Yam (Hebrew: בַּת יָם‎ or בַּת־יָם‎ About this sound(audio) (help·info)) is a city located on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the central coastal strip just south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area and the Tel Aviv District. In 2020, it had a population of 160,000.[2] History Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1948 2,300 — 1955 16,000 +595.7% 1961 31,700 +98.1% 1972 100,100 +215.8% 1983 128,700 +28.6% 1995 138,500 +7.6% 2008 130,300 −5.9% 2010 130,400 +0.1% 2011 128,200 −1.7% Source: CBS[3] British Mandate Bat Yam, originally Bayit Vegan (“House and Garden”),[4] was founded in 1919 by the Bayit Vegan homeowners association, affiliated with the Mizrachi movement. The association was formed to establish a religious garden suburb in Jaffa. By March 1920, it had 400 members. In 1921, 1,500 dunams of land were purchased, of which 1,400 were formally registered by 1923. In September 1924, an urban blueprint was approved by the association. In early 1926, the plots were divided up and a lottery was held to determine who would build first. By October 1926, roads and water supply were complete. Six families settled on the land in cabins. According to a report in 1927, ten houses were under construction. A synagogue was dedicated in October 1928. By then there were 13 families living in Bat Yam and a total of 20 houses. In the wake of the 1929 Arab riots, the residents were evacuated by the British army and their homes were turned into barracks. The soldiers left at the end of 1931. In 1932, the residents began to return and were joined by others. In November 1933, 85 families were living in the neighborhood. By early 1936, there were 300 homes and a population of 140. Local industry began to develop, a movie theatre opened and a hotel was established. The first school, Tachkemoni, was founded in 1936. The first headmaster was Haim Baruch Friedman.[5] In December 1936, Bayit Vegan was declared a local council. It encompassed 3,500 dunams, 370 dunams of which were Arab-owned. In December 1937, the name was formally changed to Bat Yam (literally “daughter of the sea”).[6] By 1945, 2,000 Jews were living in Bat Yam.[7] In 1936-1939, the town was cut off from Tel Aviv because the road ran though Jaffa, leading to the construction of a new road via Holon. According to the Jewish National Fund, the population had risen to 4,000 by 1947.[8] Following the vote in favor of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine on November 29, 1947, and the fighting that accompanied the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, violent incidents, including sniping, were reported by the residents of Bat Yam.[8][9] State of Israel After the establishment of the state in 1948, Bat Yam grew dramatically due to mass immigration. It gained city status in 1958.[10] Demography A small Hasidic enclave of Bobover Hasidim, known as Kiryat Bobov, was established in 1958.[11] The city later gained a sizable community of Jews from Turkey. Bat Yam again experienced a period of rapid growth in the early 1980s to the late 1990s with the mass immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. There is also a small Arab community (0.4% as per 2012), both Muslim and Christian, many of whom relocated from Jaffa. The vast majority of Israelis of Vietnamese origin live in Bat Yam.[12] Today, Russian immigrants make up nearly 30 percent of the population. Local government In the early 2000s, after financial scandals under the leadership of Yehoshua Sagi, the city was on the brink of bankruptcy. In 2003, he was replaced by Shlomo Lahiani, founder of the Bat Yam Berosh Muram (Bat Yam Heads-Up) party. In 2008, he was re-elected with 86% of the vote.[13] In 2014, Lahiani pleaded guilty to three counts of breach of public trust after being charged with bribery and income tax fraud.[14] He was replaced by Yossi Bachar.[15] In 2014, after the Bat Yam municipality petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court, Interior Minister Gideon Saar appointed a steering committee to explore the possibility of incorporating the city as part of Tel Aviv Yafo as a way of reviving its stagnant economy. Later that year, when Gideon Sa’ar was replaced by Gilad Erdan, a decision was reached to transfer funding to Bat Yam directly from the state budget. The plan for unification was postponed until the next municipal elections in 2023. In 2019, Bat Yam's current mayor, Tzikva Brot, said he opposed the union with Tel Aviv.[16]