Ashkelon: A Snapshot

Ashkelon is a coastal city with almost 8 miles of beautiful beaches, on the Mediterranean Sea, 44 miles from Jerusalem and 32 miles from Tel Aviv. It is also a green garden city, with many parks and gardens. Ashkelon is rich with archaeological sites, you can see archaeological remains in the Ashkelon National park, in Afridar Center courtyard, and at numerous sites all over the city.

Ashkelon has a number of hotels, a marina with restaurants and nightlife hotspots, and a scenic clifftop promenade overlooking the sea. Ashkelon also has the Ashkeluna water amusement park, two country clubs, a concert amphitheater, a tennis center, cinemas, a bowling alley, fishing spots. The old city of Migdal (Majdal) has a pedestrian mall and is one of the many shopping and commercial areas in Ashkelon. The weekly Thursday "shouk" (market) in Migdal draws many visitors and shoppers. Ashkelon also has a number of modern shopping malls.

Ashkelon Marina has a 600-vessel docking capacity. The Ashkelon Marina is located between two beaches: "Delilah" and "Bar-Kochba," on the golden sands of Ashkelon, situated at the base of an impressive seaside cliff, at one end of the promenade, in the heart of the tourist area. Enjoy breakfast or a meal at one of the Marina restaurants, and hang out in the evening at the lively Marina pubs.

Population: 128,000 residents

Immigrants:40 percent of residents are immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, France and Latin America.

Ashkelon has many programs to help new immigrants acclimate to the area:

• Six ulpanim (Hebrew language immersion classes)
• 20 volunteer associations
• Information and counseling center
• Oleh performance group
• ESOA – English Speakers Of Ashkelon Association
• Cicla – Association of South Americans
• Six local Russian newspapers

Children and Youth: 25 percent or 32,021 residents are under the age of 18.

The majority of Ashkelon children over the age of three, 25,000, participate in formal education programs. Ashkelon has the following education facilities:

• 141 kindergartens
• 32 elementary schools
• Three special elementary schools: arts, sciences and exceptional students
• 13 junior and senior high schools
• Regional Academic College with 6,000 pupils
• Special education programs for youth-at-risk

Seniors: About 15 percent, 19,000 individuals, are over the age of 60 in Ashkelon. Roughly 8,000 of these people are receiving services through the municipality.

Senior services include:

• Three daycare centers
• 14 social clubs
• Four geriatric centers, as well as several sheltered housing facilities
• One retirement community

Employment and Industry:

Ashkelon has three dominant fields: tourism, industry and services.

Among its featured attractions are:

• Small Business Development Center, which has established 560 enterprises since 1995, resulting in 1,300 jobs
• Barzilai Hospital, which serves the entire region, including the northern Gaza Strip.
• Ashkelon National Park
• Six hotels including two international hotels
• A water park.
• 17-court Tennis Center
• 600-boat public Marina
• 10 Community Centers
• Ashkelon Academic College, branch of Bar Ilan University
• Sports Centers
• Center for Excellence
• Cultural Center
• Boating and seamanship school at the Marina
• 158 synagogues, including a Conservative synagogue