Kiryat Yam is a town in the Haifa Bay district of Israel, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

. One of a group of Haifa suburbs known as the Krayot, it is located on the Mediterranean coast, between Kiryat Haim

Kiryat Haim

Kiryat Haim is one of the five Krayot suburbs located north of Haifa, Israel. In 2003, Kiryat Haim had a population of 40,000. Kiryat Haim is within the municipal borders of the city of Haifa, and lies on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.-History:...

 and the Tzur Shalom industrial area, east of Kiryat Motzkin.

History

A large tract of land on the Haifa Bay was purchased from the Sursock family

Sursock family

Sursock is a Greek Orthodox, Lebanese family and one of Beirut's aristocratic families. The Sursock family made their money as traders. The Sursocks were also landowners and for many decades Lebanon's leading business family, joining forces with the Otis Elevator Company to manufacture elevators...

 of Beirut by the American Zion Commonwealth

American Zion Commonwealth

The American Zion Commonwealth was aZionist settlement corporation that played an important part in the Jewish settlement of Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel....

 in 1925. In 1928, the Bayside Land Corporation, a joint venture of the Palestine Economic Corporation and the Jewish National Fund

Jewish National Fund

The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...

, acquired 2,400 dunams of residential land in a deal related to the building of the IPC oil pipeline

Iraq Petroleum Company

The Iraq Petroleum Company , until 1929 called Turkish Petroleum Company , was an oil company jointly owned by some of the world's largest oil companies, which had virtual monopoly on all oil exploration and production in Iraq from 1925 to 1961...

. Development of a residential area began in 1939, and the first houses were completed in 1940.

Demographics

Kiryat Yam has a population of 45,000 residents. The northern area of the town is home to many immigrants from the former Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, North Africa and Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 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.

Schools

Kiryat Yam has 15 preschools, eight elementary schools and 3 high schools (Rabin,Rodman & Levinson ) with a student population of 10,000.

Israeli-Arab conflict

During the 2006 Lebanon War, Kiryat Yam was hit by Hezbollah rockets and suffered casualties and property damage.

In February 2008, a Google Earth

Google Earth

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...

 user added an erroneous note that Kiryat Yam had been built on the ruins of Arab Ghawarina, an abandoned Arab village. The town filed a complaint with the police against Google

Google

Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

 for libel.

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. In 2009, the Haifa district

Haifa District

Haifa District is an administrative district surrounding the city of Haifa, Israel. The district is one of six administrative districts of Israel, and its capital is Haifa...

 planning committee approved high-rise construction for the neighborhood, overruling Rafael's objections.

Neighbourhoods

• Kiryat Yam (Dalet) - including Almogim
• Kiryat Yam (Gimmel) - built in the 1950s
• Kiryat Yam (Bet)
• Kiryat Yam (Alef)
• Savyoney Yam
• Psagot Yam & Bne Beitkha

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kiryat Yam is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with: Créteil

Créteil

-Health:As of 1 January 2006, 27 pharmacies, about 60 dentists, about 60 general practitioners, 10 pediatricians, and a half-dozen ophthalmologists and dermatologists constitute the general medical staff of the city.Health facilities include:...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is the second borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former East Berlin borough of Friedrichshain and the former West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Kislovodsk

Kislovodsk

Kislovodsk is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, which lies in the North Caucasian region of the country, between the Black and Caspian Seas. The closest airport is located in the city of Mineralnye Vody. Population:...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 Makó

Makó

Makó is a town in Csongrád County in southeastern Hungary. It lies on the Maros River, near the Romanian border. The area of the town is of which is arable land. The climate is very warm with hot and dry summers. Makó and the surrounding region get the most sunshine in Hungary, about 85-90...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...