Beit Hashmonay is a communal settlement

Communal settlement (Israel)

A community settlement is a type of town in Israel. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the town's residents, who are organized in a cooperative, can veto a sale of a house or a business to an undesirable buyer....

 in central Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, five kilometers southeast of Ramla

Ramla

Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...

. Beit Hashmonay is under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council

Gezer Regional Council

Gezer Regional Council is a regional council in the Center District of Israel. Established in 1949, it had a population of 20,700 in 2006.-List of settlements:The council covers five kibbutzim, 15 moshavim and five communal settlementsKibbutzim...

. In 2009, it had a population of 850.

Beit Hashmonay was established in 1970 by the Jewish Agency

Jewish Agency for Israel

The Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...

. It is named for Simon Maccabaeus

Simon Maccabaeus

Simon Thassi was the second son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family. The name "Thassi" has an uncertain meaning...

, a member of the Hasmonean

Hasmonean

The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...

 family who captured the ancient city of Gezer

Gezer

Gezer was a Canaanite city-state and biblical town in ancient Israel. Tel Gezer , an archaeological site midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, is now an Israeli national park....

, located nearby. In 1987 it became a communal settlement and a village centre for the regional council.