Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut
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Location within Israel | ||
Coordinates: 31°54′27.55″N 35°0′27.41″E / 31.9076528°N 35.0076139°ECoordinates: 31°54′27.55″N 35°0′27.41″E / 31.9076528°N 35.0076139°E | ||
District | Central | |
Founded | 2003 (merger) 1993 (Modi'in) 1985 (Maccabim) 1987 (Re'ut) |
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Government | ||
• Type | City (from 2003) | |
• Mayor | Haim Bibas | |
Area | ||
• Total | 50,176 dunams (50.176 km2 or 19.373 sq mi) | |
Population (2015) | ||
• Total | 88,749 | |
Website | http://www.modiin.muni.il |
Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut (Hebrew: מוֹדִיעִין-מַכַּבִּים-רֵעוּת) is an Israeli city located in central Israel, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv and 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Highway 443. In 2015 the population was 88,749.
A small part of the city is not recognized by the European Union as being in Israel, as it lies in what the 1949 Armistice Agreement with Jordan left as a no man's land, and occupied in 1967 by Israel together with the West Bank proper.
The name "Modi'in" (Hebrew: מודיעין) derives from the village "Modi'im" of the high priest Mattathias and his five sons, which was located in the same area as the modern city. The name "Maccabim" is Hebrew for the Maccabees and is a common nickname given to Mattathias and his five sons.
In Ancient Israel, a town named Modi'in existed in the general area the modern city is located in. It was the place of origin of the Jewish Hasmonean dynasty that ruled Judea in the 1st and 2nd centuries BCE, and it is where the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Greeks started. Ancient Jewish artifacts believed to date to the Hasmonean and First Temple periods have been found in the area.