Beitar Illit
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Beitar Illit (Hebrew: ביתר עילית; officially also spelled Betar Illit - Illit is pronounced: Eeleet) is an Israeli settlement and city west of Gush Etzion in the northern Judea region of the West Bank. The settlement was established in 1985 on the land purchased from Nahaleen, Husan and Wadi Fukin Arab villages.[citation needed] It is located ten km from Jerusalem. As of September 2007, it had a total population of 34,427. However, by 2010 according to Pindrus, it will have a population near 100,000 [1] Beitar Illit was the first Haredi town to be established as such.[1] The city's ideology is based on the desire to have a solely Haredi environment.
DemographicsImage:Betarsefertorah.jpg
Hachnosas Sefer Torah to the central synagogue in Beitar
According to Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), in 2001, the ethnic makeup of the city was 100.0% Jewish, consisting of 8,900 males and 8,400 females. The predominantly Haredi population of the city was spread out with 62.9% 19 years of age or younger, 18.1% between 20 and 29, 14.6% between 30 and 44, 3.4% from 45 to 59, 0.4% from 60 to 64, and 0.7% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 9.6%. According to the statistics from the Ministry of Interior, the population figures for January 2007 there are 34,427 members listed on their computers and 29,404 citizens that are listed as active.[citation needed] IncomeAccording to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 2,172 salaried workers and 131 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 3,079, a real change of 3.6% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 4,475 (a real change of 7.2%) versus ILS 2,173 for females (a real change of -0.7%). The mean income for the self-employed is 4,438. There are 99 people who receive unemployment benefits and 671 people who receive an income guarantee. EducationAccording to CBS, there are 26 schools and yeshivas and 3,225 students in the city. They are spread out as 22 elementary schools and 3,019 elementary school students, and 4 high schools and 206 high school students. ..% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001. All education in the town is religious, as its population is exclusively Haredi.[2] AchievementsDespite having no industry and minimal commerce, as well as a population that is generally weak economically, Beitar Illit has been awarded the Israeli Interior Ministry's gold prize for a balanced budget seven years running. The municipal welfare department was awarded a prize and recognised by the national government as an "Outstanding department" for its work on preventing teen dropouts. It also received the 2005 national "Flag award" as well as five years of the Council for a Beautiful Israel's "Stars of Beaty" prizes for being one of the cleanest Israeli municipalities, and for community education programs emphasising recycling.[3] Municipal elections 2007
In a closely fought election on October 30, 2007, the incumbent Mayor Yitzchak Pindrus was surpisingly defeated by Meir Rubinstein. Rubinstein, the candidate of certain sections of the Hassidic community, was heavily backed by MK Meir Porush and his allies the Sephardic Shas party. Regarded as a test of the maturity of this ultra-Orthodox enclave, national election observers feel that the election of Rubinstein owes more to backroom deals and power politics than it does to a genuine desire to focus on the welfare of local residents. Rubinstein and Porush have steadfastly refused to make public their pre-election agreement with the Shas party. Rubinstein's campaign relied heavily on Beitar voters heeding the calls of the leaders of the sects allied to Porush, to vote for Rubinstein. The leader of the Shas Party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was particularly active in demanding that his followers all support Rubinstein.[4] See also
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