Gan Yavne is a (
local councilLocal councils are one of the three types of local government found in Israel, with the other two being cities and regional councils. As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel, these being settlements which pass a minimum threshold enough to justify their operations as independent...
) in the
Center DistrictThe Central District of Israel is one of six administrative districts, including most of the Sharon region. The district capital is Ramla. It is further divided into 4 sub-districts: Petah Tikva, Ramla, Sharon and Rehovot. The district's largest city is Rishon LeZion. Its population as of 2008 was...
of
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, located near the city of
AshdodAshdod , is the fifth-largest city in Israel, located in the Southern District of the country, on the Mediterranean coast, with a population of 207,000. Ashdod is an important regional industrial centre...
. It was founded in 1931 and declared a local council in 1950.
Gan Yavne lies east of the
Tel-Aviv–Ashkelon highwayHighway 4 is an Israeli highway that runs along Israel's entire coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea, its route in the north runs from the Rosh HaNikra border crossing with Lebanon until the Erez Border Crossing with the Gaza Strip...
(Highway No. 4). It is bordered to the west by Ashdod, to the north by
Gederot Regional CouncilGederot Regional Council is a regional council in the Center District of Israel. It is located between Ashdod, Yavne and Gedera and covers an area of 13,000 dunams...
, and to the east and south by
Be'er Tuvia Regional CouncilBe'er Tuvia Regional Council , is a regional council in the southern Coastal Plain region in Israel.It borders Yoav and Nahal Sorek regional councils in the east; Hof Ashkelon regional council, the Mediterranean Sea, the city of Ashdod and Gan Yavne local council in the west; Gederot, Hevel Yavne...
.
Gan Yavne’s emblem represents "
Torah and work", depicting the tablets of the
Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses on the mountain referred to as "Mount Sinai" or "Horeb" in the form of two stone tablets...
enveloping an orange and a lemon.
Gan Yavne is a (
local councilLocal councils are one of the three types of local government found in Israel, with the other two being cities and regional councils. As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel, these being settlements which pass a minimum threshold enough to justify their operations as independent...
) in the
Center DistrictThe Central District of Israel is one of six administrative districts, including most of the Sharon region. The district capital is Ramla. It is further divided into 4 sub-districts: Petah Tikva, Ramla, Sharon and Rehovot. The district's largest city is Rishon LeZion. Its population as of 2008 was...
of
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, located near the city of
AshdodAshdod , is the fifth-largest city in Israel, located in the Southern District of the country, on the Mediterranean coast, with a population of 207,000. Ashdod is an important regional industrial centre...
. It was founded in 1931 and declared a local council in 1950.
Gan Yavne lies east of the
Tel-Aviv–Ashkelon highwayHighway 4 is an Israeli highway that runs along Israel's entire coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea, its route in the north runs from the Rosh HaNikra border crossing with Lebanon until the Erez Border Crossing with the Gaza Strip...
(Highway No. 4). It is bordered to the west by Ashdod, to the north by
Gederot Regional CouncilGederot Regional Council is a regional council in the Center District of Israel. It is located between Ashdod, Yavne and Gedera and covers an area of 13,000 dunams...
, and to the east and south by
Be'er Tuvia Regional CouncilBe'er Tuvia Regional Council , is a regional council in the southern Coastal Plain region in Israel.It borders Yoav and Nahal Sorek regional councils in the east; Hof Ashkelon regional council, the Mediterranean Sea, the city of Ashdod and Gan Yavne local council in the west; Gederot, Hevel Yavne...
.
Emblem
Gan Yavne’s emblem represents "
Torah and work", depicting the tablets of the
Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses on the mountain referred to as "Mount Sinai" or "Horeb" in the form of two stone tablets...
enveloping an orange and a lemon. These symbolize the founders of Gan Yavne, who were working people with a creative spirit, planters of vineyards and orchards, and house builders, uplifted by the Zionist dream and love of Israel.
History
Gan Yavne was established in 1931 by the “Achuza Aleph” Company founded by several Jewish families from
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, who had settled temporarily in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The inspiration for its name “Gan Yavne”, comes from its proximity to the historical Yavne. In the late 70's it was known as "Tachshit Hashfela", or the "Low-Land Jewel".
In the 1950’s, Gan-Yavne absorbed
YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
ite immigrants from the “
Magic CarpetOperation Magic Carpet is a widely-known nickname for Operation On Wings of Eagles, an operation between June 1949 and September 1950 that brought 49,000 Yemenite Jews to the new state of Israel. British and American transport planes made some 380 flights from Aden, in a secret operation that was...
” operation, and in the 1960’s – immigrants from North Africa and
KurdistanKurdistan is an extensive plateau and mountainous area in the Middle East, inhabited mainly by Kurds...
. Over the years they were joined by thousands of residents from all over the country, among them new immigrants from
TunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. Tunisia is located southwest of the island of Sicily and south of Sardinia. Its size is almost 165,000 km² with an estimated population of just...
and the former
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
.
Gan Yavne today
Today, Gan Yavne is experiencing a building and development boom. Hundreds of housing units and pretty suburbs are being constructed. Alongside its rapid development, Gan Yavne preserves its unique village character. Today Gan-Yavne is the only township along Israel’s coastline that is based on private houses. Gan-Yavne’s uniqueness, good location, municipal services to young and old alike, as well as making education, culture and environmental cultivation its top priority, are what make Gan-Yavne so attractive to hundreds of young families, choosing to build their homes here.
In the 1990s and 2000s Gan Yavne more than doubled its population, and became a popular "sleeping town" for commuters. The development of
highway 4Highway 4 is an Israeli highway that runs along Israel's entire coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea, its route in the north runs from the Rosh HaNikra border crossing with Lebanon until the Erez Border Crossing with the Gaza Strip...
("the coastal road"), which is a freeway between
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
and Gan Yavne junction, and also the introduction of frequent rail service to the nearby
Ashdod stationAshdod Ad Halom Railway Station is a railway station in Ashdod, Israel. It is on the suburban line Binyamina/Netanya - Tel Aviv - Rehovot/Ashkelon. Ashdod Ad Halom Station was opened in June 1995 and was fully rebuilt in 2003.The station is located in Ad Halom area near the eastern entrance to the...
, allows commuters to travel to Tel Aviv in 30–45 minutes.
Educational facilities
- 23 kindergartens
- 3 state elementary schools – “Ben Gurion”, “Maccabim” and "Ilan Ramon"
- State religious elementary school – “Sinai”
- 2 junior highs/high schools – “Ort Itzhak Rabin” and "Naomi Shemer"
- Technological Secondary Yeshiva – “Achuzat Yaakov”
- “Beit Apel” Children’s Village
Community and youth facilities
- Community Culture Center and Library
- 3 Pais Community Center extensions
- Pais Community Center for the elderly
- "Beney Akiva" & "Ha'Noar Ha'Oved Ve Ha'Lomed" Youth movements