Kiryat Yam (Hebrew: קִרְיַת יָם, lit. Sea Town) is a city in the Haifa Bay district of Israel, 12 km (7 mi) north of Haifa. One of a group of Haifa suburbs known as the Krayot, it is located on the Mediterranean coast, between Kiryat Haim and the Tzur Shalom industrial area, east of Kiryat Motzkin. In 2022 it had a population of 41,095.[1]
History
Kiryat Yam, 1949
The area was acquired by the Jewish community as part of the Sursock Purchase, in which a large tract of land on the Haifa Bay was purchased from the Sursock family of Beirut by the American Zion Commonwealth in 1925.[2] In 1928, the Bayside Land Corporation, a joint venture of the Palestine Economic Corporation and the Jewish National Fund, acquired 2,400 dunams of residential land in a deal related to the building of the IPC oil pipeline.[3] Development of a residential area began in 1939,[4] and the first houses were completed in 1940.[3]
Demographics
Psagot Yam neighborhood
Kiryat Yam has a population of 38,945.[5] The northern area of the city is home to many immigrants from the former Soviet Union, North Africa and Ethiopia in which the municipality and its mayor Shmuel Sisso worked to build dozens of centers and homes to help the immigrants settle. The city is ranked medium on the socio-economic scale.[6]
Schools
Kiryat Yam has 15 preschools, eight elementary schools and 3 high schools (Rabin, Rodman & Levinson) with a student population of 10,000. In 2015 Rodman High School was merged with Rabin high school. The merging caused overcrowding at Rabin High School, resulting in overload and malfunction of public facilities and adjustment struggles of adolescents. Most of elementary schools and junior highs are included in public transport roots. Rabin high school was detached in circa 2015 from a particular bus line. The line has not been returned in spite of requests sent to the local municipality about the overcrowding and malfunction of public facilities.
Israeli-Arab conflict
During the 2006 Lebanon War, Kiryat Yam was hit by Hezbollah rockets and suffered casualties and property damage.[7]
Urban development
Urban development plans aimed at upgrading the old Gimmel neighborhood were blocked by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, whose main weapons development plant borders Kiryat Yam.[8] In 2009, the Haifa district planning committee approved high-rise construction for the neighborhood, overruling Rafael's objections.[9]
Israel
Haifa
