SDEROT

'Sderot' (, «boulevards», ) is a city in the South District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2004 the city had a total population of 20,000.

Contents

History

City under attack

Demographics

Income

Education

Famous residents

References

History

The first inhabitants of Sderot arrived in 1951 to what was then known as the Gevim-Dorot transit camp. Most of these residents were Kurdish and Persian refugees who lived in tents and shacks before building permanent structures almost four years later in 1954. In the 1961 census, the percentage of North African immigrants, mostly from Morocco, was 87% in the town, whilst another 11% of the residents were immigrants from Kurdistan. In the 1950s, the city continued to absorb a large number of immigrants from Morocco and Romania, and was declared a local council in 1958.
In the 1990s Sderot again absorbed a large immigrant population from the former USSR, and doubled its population in this decade. In 1996 it was declared a city.

City under attack

Sderot lies a kilometer from the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada in October 2000, the city has been frequently attacked by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants using homemade rockets known as "Qassam rockets". Although they are very inaccurate, these attacks have resulted in a number of deaths and injuries as well as significant damage to homes and property, psychological distress among the residents, and a net emigration from the city. The Israeli government has installed a "Red Dawn" alarm system in an attempt to alert Israelis to possible shellings, though there are doubts concerning its effectiveness. Hundreds of Qassam rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip since Israel's disengagement from Gaza in September 2005.
In May 2007, a significant increase of Qassam rockets from Gaza were aimed at, and landed in Sderot leading to the semi-evacuation of thousands of residents.^[1]

Demographics

According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8% Jewish and other non-Arabs, without significant Arab population. See Population groups in Israel.
According to CBS, in 2001 there were 9,500 males and 9,700 females. The population of the city was spread out with 36.5% 19 years of age or younger, 16.2% between 20 and 29, 19.6% between 30 and 44, 14.3% from 45 to 59, 3.8% from 60 to 64, and 9.5% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2004 was 0.7%.
There are a few Palestinian Arabs originally from the Gaza Strip in Sderot who had collaborated with the Shin Bet.^[2]

Income

According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 6,301 salaried workers and 367 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 3,845, a real change of 9.0% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 4,911 (a real change of 11.3%) versus ILS 2,665 for females (a real change of 2.4%). The mean income for the self-employed is 5,378. There are 603 people who receive unemployment benefits and 3,183 people who receive an income guarantee.

Education

According to CBS, there are 14 schools and 3,578 students in the city. They are spread out as 11 elementary schools and 2,099 elementary school students, and 6 high schools and 1,479 high school students. 56.5% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.

Famous residents

Possibly the most famous resident of Sderot is former Defense Minister of Israel and Chairman of the Labor Party, Amir Peretz.
Another group of famous Sderot residents are members of the popular Israeli band, Teapacks, who represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

References

1. Israeli border town lives in the shadow of falling rockets Isabel Kershner
2. Shmulik Hadad: Palestinian collaborator: Terrorists only understand force, ''Israel News'', May 30, 2007