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'Netanya' (Hebrew: נְתַנְיָה, Standard Hebrew Nətanya) is a city in the Center District of Israel and is the capital of the Sharon plain. It is located between "Poleg" stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the "Avichail" stream in the north. Its 14km of beaches have made the town a very popular tourist resort. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2006 the city had a total population of 173,300. Its mayor is Miriam Fireberg.

Contents

Etymology

History

Demographics

Education

Sister Cities

Attractions

Sports

Famous citizens

Trivia

External links

Etymology

Netanya city is named after the Jewish American philanthropist Nathan Straus who devoted much money to activities in Israel.

History

Established near the ancient Poleg, Netanya was originally part of the Palestinian city of Tulkarem prior to 1948, when the area was used by Palestinian farmers. Jewish settlement in the area began in 1928 with the creation of citrus farms. There is considerable controversy amongst Palestinian and Israeli interpretation about whether land was sold (primarily from non-resident Arab land holders) during the British Mandate.
Made vulnerable by its proximity (14 km, 9 mi) to the Palestinian city of Tulkarm, Netanya has suffered from numerous Palestinian terrorist attacks aimed at Israeli civilians, including, notably, an attack in March 2002 which has come to be known as the Passover Massacre.

Demographics

In 2006, Netanywa was home to 173,300 people, which, according to a 2001 survey by the CBS, are 99.9% Jewish and other non-Arabs, with no significant Arab population. In 2001 alone, the city became home to 1,546 immigrants. Acording to CBS, in 2001 there were 78,800 males and 84,900 females with the population of the city being spread out with 31.1% 19 years of age or younger, 15.3% between 20 and 29, 17.2% between 30 and 44, 17.4% from 45 to 59, 4.2% from 60 to 64, and 14.9% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 1.3%.
As of 2000, the city had 58,897 salaried workers and 4,671 self-employed with the mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city being NIS 4,905, a real change of 8.6% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of NIS 6,217 (a real change of 9.0%) versus NIS 3,603 for females (a real change of 6.8%). The mean income for the self-employed is 6,379. There are 3,293 people who receive unemployment benefits and 14,963 people who receive an income guarantee.

Education

According to CBS, there are 68 schools and 30,975 students in the city. They are spread out as 46 elementary schools with 15,602 students and 33 high schools with 15,373 students. 52.7% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.

Sister Cities

★ Bournemouth, England, United Kingdom

★ Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (2000)

★ Dortmund, Germany

★ Gießen, Germany

★ Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

★ Nice, France

★ Sarcelles, France

★ Siofok, Hungary

★ Stavanger, Norway

★ Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, United States

Attractions

Netanya's long seashore and many beaches have created a holiday industry, which in turn features resort hotels, restaurants, and malls.
In addition, Netanya is home to the Poleg nature reserve and the Irises Dora Rainpool nature parks. The Irises park contains the world's largest population of Iris atropurpurea.
In March 2006, American property tycoon, Donald Trump, announced plans for a new hotel in Netanya. [1]

Sports

Netanya boasts three football clubs, the main club being Maccabi Netanya, who shares a local rivalry with Beitar Nes Tubruk when it comes to securing the top local products. The third club is Maccabi HaSharon, though the club has been limited to sixth tier football in the Liga Gimel. Second to the football clubs is Elitzur Netanya who represents the city in the 2nd tier of Israeli basketball. In baseball, the city is represented by the Netanya Tigers in the Israel Baseball League. As part of ''"Netanya - city of sport"'' program the beach soccer stadium was established and it hosts for now all games of Israeli championship and also international "Diamond tournament".
Aside from the professional sport clubs, Maccabi Netanya also has a boxing and fencing club while Hapoel Netanya has judo and gymnastic clubs.

Famous citizens

★ Shiraz Tal

★ Mordechai Spiegler

★ Maya_Buskila

Trivia

★ Netanya is home to Israel's first IKEA superstore

External links

★ Official website

★ Official tourism website

★ Other info in french

★ Tourism site