Bnei Ayish
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Hebrew transcription(s) | ||
• ISO 259 | Bnei ʕayš | |
• Also spelled | Bene Ayish (official) | |
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Coordinates: 31°47′18.94″N 34°45′39.29″E / 31.7885944°N 34.7609139°ECoordinates: 31°47′18.94″N 34°45′39.29″E / 31.7885944°N 34.7609139°E | ||
District | Central | |
Founded | 7 October 1957 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Local council (from 1981) | |
• Head of Municipality | Aryeh Garela | |
Area | ||
• Total | 836 dunams (83.6 ha or 207 acres) | |
Population (2016) | ||
• Total | 6,955 | |
Name meaning | Sons of Akiva Yosef Schlezinger |
Bnei Ayish (Hebrew: בְּנֵי עַיִ"שׁ) is a town and local council in the Central District of Israel. Located around ten kilometers from Ashdod and adjacent to Gedera, it had a population of 6,955 in 2016.
The town was founded in 1957 on land that had belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of Yasur. Before 1948, the area had served as a military base for British Army troops during the Mandate era. It was named after Rabbi Akiva Yosef Schlezinger, whose name is abbreviated to Ayish.
Bnei Ayish originally served as a transit camp for immigrants from Yemen in the early 1950s. Today its population is almost entirely made up of Jews of Yemenite descent and immigrants from the former Soviet Union.