Be'er Ya'akov

Be'er Ya'akov (, lit. Jacob's Well) is a town with local council status in central Israel, near Ness Ziona and Rishon Lezion. The town has an area of 8,580 dunams (~8.6 km²), and had a population of  in .

History

Be'er Ya'akov was established in 1907 on 2,000 dunams of land purchased by a company headed by Meir Dizengoff from a Lutheran German colony the previous year. It was divided into two sectors, one for immigrants from Russia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Argentina, and Iran, and the other for Mountain Jews from Dagestan. It was named after Ya'akov Yitzhaki, a rabbi and pioneer from the Mountain Jewish community. Yitzhaki headed the Mountain Jewish pioneers who settled there.

In 1909, there were 25 families living in Be'er Ya'akov, and tensions between the Ashkenazi and Dagestani families. In 1910, the first elementary school was established. According to a census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Be'er Ya'akov had 131 inhabitants, which had increased in the 1931 census to 265 residents in 58 houses.  By 1947, it had a population of 400. It achieved local council status in 1949.

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and until the Israeli capture of Ramla in July 1948, Be'er Ya'akov was on the front line. The population at that time was evacuated and a new settlement, Be'er Shalom, was established nearby by members of Kibbutz Buchenwald, the first pioneer training group formed in post-World War II Germany.

Two hospitals are located in Be'er Ya'akov: Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center (near Tzrifin), and Shmuel HaRofe Geriatric Hospital.

The town is growing rapidly, with massive urban development, including the construction of new neighborhoods taking place, and it is expected to gain city status in the coming years. In 2017, a new plan was approved to massively expand Be'er Ya'akov in area and population. Once the Tzrifin complex of military bases is vacated and most of the bases are relocated to the Negev, Be'er Ya'akov will expand onto land once occupied by military facilities. It is planned that Be'er Ya'akov will eventually have a population of 100,000.

Industry
IAI's MLM Division, Israel's main missile assembly facility is located in the south of Be'er Ya'akov. The Jericho and Arrow missiles and the Shavit launch vehicle are assembled there. The facility area is situated east of Diezengoff Street.

Sports
Maccabi Be'er Ya'akov is the local football club.
Maccabi Be'er Ya'akov B.C., the local basketball club, plays in Liga Leumit, the second tier.

Transportation
Be'er Ya'akov is served by the Be'er Ya'akov Railway Station, for trains on the Binyamina-Ashkelon line.

Notable residents
Ron Atias, taekwondo athlete who represented Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Noam Dar, professional wrestler
Moshe Peretz, singer

References

Category:Local councils in Israel
Category:Jewish villages in Mandatory Palestine
Category:Local councils in Central District (Israel)
Category:Populated places established in 1907
Category:1907 establishments in the Ottoman Empire