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Startup Village, Yokneam

Yokneam Illit
  • יָקְנְעָם עילית
  • يوكنعام عيليت
City (from 2006)
From left to right: View from the West, view from the South, Tel Yokneam, Green Day, Yokneam City Park, Yokneam High-Tech Park at night, Metri Park, Nahal Shofet
From left to right: View from the West, view from the South, Tel Yokneam, Green Day, Yokneam City Park, Yokneam High-Tech Park at night, Metri Park, Nahal Shofet
Flag of Yokneam Illit
Flag
Official seal of Yokneam Illit
Seal
Nickname(s): Startup Village
Yokneam Illit is located in Israel
Yokneam Illit
Yokneam Illit
Coordinates: 32°39′34″N 35°06′36″E / 32.65944°N 35.11000°E / 32.65944; 35.11000
Country Israel
District North
Became a city on December 18, 2006
Modern settlement 1950
Ancient city Bronze Age
Government
 • Type Mayor-council
 • Body Yokneam Illit municipality
 • Mayor Simon Alfasi
Area
 • Total 7.39 km2 (2.85 sq mi)
Elevation 166 m (545 ft)
Population (2015) 21,383
 • Rank 69th in Israel
 • Density 2,478.3/km2 (6,419/sq mi)
 • Density rank 57th in Israel
Demonym(s) Yokneami
Time zone IST (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) IDT (UTC+3)
Postal code 20692
Area code +972 (Israel) 4 (City)
Website www.yoqneam.org.il

Yokneam Illit (Hebrew: יָקְנְעָם עילית‎), also Yoqne'am Illit and Jokneam Illit, is a city in northern Israel. It is located in a hilly region of the lower Galilee at the base of the Carmel Mountains and overlooks the Jezreel Valley, 21 kilometres (13 miles) from Haifa and 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Tel Aviv. Yokneam is known as Israel's "Startup Village" because its high-tech hub is surrounded by forest and small communities.

Yokneam Illit was founded in 1950 and became a local authority in 1967, and a city in 2007. The city is located alongside the country’s major highways – Highway 70 and Highway 6. In 2015 it had a population of 21,383.

Starting in 1989 when a new mayor, Simon Alfassi, was elected, the economic structure of Yokneam Illit changed from a centralized dependence on two large factories to a dispersed base of many small high-tech companies. As the number and size of the companies grew, Yokneam and the small communities around it began to attract young entrepreneurs and developers who were looking for a less urban alternative to the Tel Aviv area. It now has over 100 high-tech companies and exports of approximately 5 billion US dollars annually.

The policy of the municipality is to build low-density, spacious homes to preserve the landscape and views from every home. Although real estate prices are low relative to the Tel-Aviv area, its high rate of growth in recent years has pushed prices up faster than in similar sized cities.

Yokneam appears in the list of 119 conquered cities by Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III after the victory in the battle of Megiddo (1468 BC).

Yokneam or Jokneam is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a city of Levites within the territory of the Israelite tribe of Zebulun (Joshua 12:1, 12:22, 19:10-11, 21:34). It is located near Megiddo (Armageddon). The Crusaders called Yokneam "Cain Mons", or "Mountain of Cain" in keeping with the tradition that Cain, son of Adam (Genesis 4: 23-24), was murdered at this site. Yokneam was populated throughout the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman/Byzantine, Arab, Crusaders, Mameluk, and Ottoman periods.


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