Yokneam Illit ( he, יָקְנְעָם עילית), also ''Yoqne'am Illit'' and ''Jokneam Illit'', is a city in northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. It is located in a hilly region of the

lower Galilee The Lower Galilee (; ar, الجليل الأسفل, translit=Al Jalil Al Asfal) is a region within the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The Lower Galilee is bordered by the Jezreel Valley to the south; the Upper Galilee to t ...

at the base of the Carmel Mountains, and overlooks the

Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...

. It is from

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

and from

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. Yokneam is known as Israel's "

Startup Village Startup Village is a not-for-profit business incubator based in Kochi, Kerala, India, started in April 2012. The organisation aimed to launch 1,000 technology startups over the next ten years and start the search for the next billion-dollar Indi ...

," because its

high-tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

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 Route 6, or Highway 6, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * AH6 (highway), Asian Highway 6 * European route E6 * European route E006 Albania * :de:Nationalstraße 6 (Albanien), National Road SH6 Argentina * P ...

. In it had a population of . 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.

History

Yokneam appears in the list of 119 conquered cities by Egyptian Pharaoh

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 2 ...

after the victory in the battle of Megiddo (1468 BC). Yokneam or Jokneam is mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' city of Levites within the territory of the Israelite tribe of

Zebulun Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of Genesis and Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Zebulun. Som ...

(). It is located near Megiddo (Armageddon). The

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

called Yokneam "Cain Mons", or "Mountain of Cain" in keeping with the tradition that

Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He ...

, son of Adam (), was murdered at this site. Yokneam was populated throughout the Persian,

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, Arab, Crusaders,

Mameluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

, and Ottoman periods. Yokneam was built on the lands of a

Palestinian Arab Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

village named Qira, depopulated in the lead up to the

1948 Arab–Israeli war The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

. The Yokneam Moshava was established in 1935. In July 1950, a tent camp (Maabara) was set up to absorb 250 new immigrant families and remained part of Yokneam Moshava until 1967. By the start of 1952, another 400 families were housed in the tent camp. Toward the end of 1951, the first 285 families moved from the tent camp to permanent housing on the hill above the Yokneam Moshava. In 1952, Yokneam was considered unusual in that it had a single school for all regardless of whether they were religious or secular, or from the moshava or the tent camp. In 1964, Yokneam of 4,300 residents, with 160 of the families living in the moshava. In 1967, Yokneam was split into two local councils (Yokneam and Yokneam Illit). In the 1980s there were two factories in Yokneam, employing 90% of its residents. One collapsed and unemployment soared creating a challenging situation for residents. In the 1990s, Yokneam absorbed a large wave of immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. During that time, Yokneam's industrial parks became a magnet for high-tech firms. Yokneam Illit was formally declared a city in 2006. In 2009, Yokneam was linked to

and also received recognition as Israel's first "Green City" in the Cleantech competition. These two events significantly boosted Yokneam's attraction as a center for companies involved in medical, cleantech and product development. In 2011, some 16,000 workers entered the industrial parks every day. Of these, only 4,000 were local residents.

Demography

On Dec. 31, 2014, Yokneam had a population of 21,100 residents, with a population density of 2,576.5. The rate of unemployment is 5 percent, lower than the national average. The median age in the Yokneam region is 32. 76% of Yokneam Illit's residents are 40 years old or under. Eighty percent of high-school students in Yokneam graduate with a

bagrut Te'udat Bagrut (, ''lit.'' "maturity certificate", Arabic: شهادة بجروت) is a certificate that attests that a student has successfully passed Israel's high school matriculation examination. Bagrut is a prerequisite for higher education i ...

matriculation certificate, one of the highest rates in Israel. 40% of Yokneam's population are college graduates.

Social and economic ecosystem

Since the 1950s when Yokneam Moshava and Yokneam Illit shared a single school, social integration and coexistence has been an integral part of the local culture. The first wave of immigrants to settle in the Maabara (tent camp) had major contingents from at least 6 different Jewish communities (

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languag ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

), all of whom were absorbed by the Moshava which had been settled in 1935 by Jews from Germany and the Netherlands. The next wave of new immigrants came in the 1960s from North Africa, followed by immigrants from the Soviet Union in the 1970s. In the 1990s, Yokneam Illit absorbed large numbers of immigrants from Ethiopia and the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. Starting in the 1990s, the growth of high-tech companies in Yokneam Illit also brought an influx of Israeli-born residents along with an increasing number of immigrants from Western Europe, South Africa, North America and South America. During this period, the economic problems of the Kibbutz and Moshav movements led many of the young families in the Megiddo Regional Council to move to nearby Yokneam Illit. Yokneam Illit's accelerated demand for day care and Kindergartens led to a shortage of space in local day care and Kindergartens at the same time that there was a shortage of children at some of the Kibbutzim. In order to avoid sending their children to other small communities in the area, Kibbutz children's houses and Kindergartens began accepting children from nearby Yokneam Illit, and in some cases the number of children from Yokneam Illit outnumbered the Kibbutz children. This phenomenon later extended to the elementary and secondary schools until the building of new schools in Yokneam Illit was able to catch up with demand. Many of the children from Yokneam Illit and their families remained in the Megiddo school system, while families who moved from the Megiddo communities to Yokneam Illit were educating their children in the Yokneam Illit school system. The family ties and school friendships led to mixed Yokneam-Megiddo parents groups in both communities and nearly all sports activities and many other after-school activities being fully integrated. Today, it is extremely rare to find a local team representing only Yokneam Illit or only the Megiddo Regional Council. The Partnership2Gether program, which partnered Yokneam Illit and the Megiddo Regional Council on the Israeli side, with the Jewish communities of Atlanta, GA and St. Louis, MO on the US side, helped institutionalize cooperation between the Yokneam Illit municipality and the Megiddo Regional Council. The impact on joint community leadership not only affected Yokneam-Megiddo, but also created an ongoing relationship between the Jewish communities of Atlanta and St. Louis. This cross-pollination has led to an integrated economic ecosystem that help support the high-tech companies in Yokneam Illit. Examples of this cooperation can be seen in the activities of the Southeast chapter of the US-Israel Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta, and the success of companies lik
Given Imaging
. Given Imaging, which began as a small startup in Yokneam Illit, leveraged its special relationship with the Southeast chapter of the US-Israel Chamber of Commerce when it opened its Marketing headquarters in Atlanta, GA.

Economy

Yokneam's proximity to two major universities ( Technion and

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming ...

), location at the crossroads between northern Israel and the major urban areas of Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, tax benefits and investment grants associated with its status as a "National Priority Area A", and its small town surroundings and lower cost of housing all worked together to attract Israel's highest concentration of R&D companies outside of Tel-Aviv and give it the nickname of

. Under the

i Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investment, approved enterprises in Yokneam Illit enjoy the highest level of tax benefits and investment grants (currently up to 20% of the investment or 10 year tax exemption). In addition, companies relocating to the region can apply for concessions in local taxes over a three-year period from the Yokneam Illit Local Authority. StartupVillage-Yokneam 03

Yokneam's industrial parks are home to more than 100 high-tech companies with exports of approximately 5 billion US dollars annually. Companies specialize in a wide range of technologies, including semicondcutors, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. These include

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...

, Panasonic Avionics Corporation,

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...

Given Imaging Given Imaging (Hebrew: גיוון אימג'ינג) is an Israeli medical technology company that manufactures and markets diagnostic products for the visualization and detection of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Until March 2014, it was ...

Naiot Venture Accelerator Naiot Venture accelerator was a technological Incubator, engaged in early seed startup investments. It was based in Yokneam, Israel. Naiot is a full subsidiary of the Ofer Hi-Tech Group, the venture capital investment arm of the Ofer Brothers ...

Mellanox Technologies Mellanox Technologies Ltd. ( he, מלאנוקס טכנולוגיות בע"מ) was an Israeli-American multinational supplier of computer networking products based on InfiniBand and Ethernet technology. Mellanox offered adapters, switches, sof ...

Marvell Technology Group Marvell Technology, Inc. is an American company, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, which develops and produces semiconductors and related technology. Founded in 1995, the company had more than 6,000 employees as of 2021, with over 10,00 ...

, Biosense Webster and Lumenis. An additional high-tech park, Mevo Carmel Jewish-Arab Industrial Park, is already underway that will be a joint venture of Yokneam Illit,

Megiddo Regional Council The Megiddo Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מגידו, ''Mo'atza Azorit Megido'') is a regional council in northern Israel encompassing land on the Menashe Plateau, and partly in the Jezreel Valley. The council is bounded by the ci ...

and the

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

villages of Daliyat al-Karmel and Isfiya. The growth of the high-tech companies in Yokneam has attracted speakers and members of specialized professions, such as technical writers, to come from other parts of Israel to meet and exchange ideas. Mayor2

In addition to technology-based industry, Yokneam has a number of production facilities, including Osem, which established a plant in Yokneam in 1974; and a boutique winery, Morad Winery, known for its special wines made from Pomegranates, Passion Fruit, Red Grapefruits, Coffee, Coconuts, Carub and many other fruits. Initially, the plant produced mainly pasta products, but the scope of activities broadened over the years. In 1997, the facility doubled in size and three production lines were installed for baked goods such as crackers, biscuits, cookies and pretzels. Bamba, a popular Israeli snack food, is also produced in Yokneam. Many Yokneam residents are employed at the plant, which won awards from the Council for a Beautiful Israel for its attractive premises.

Companies with a significant R&D presence

Over a hundred

high technology High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

companies are headquartered in Yokneam or have R&D facilities there. These include:
Advanced Dicing Technologies (ADT)

Annapurna Labs

Arad Technologies
* Argo Medical Technologies * BATM Advanced Communications * Biosense Webster
BioDalia Microbiological Technologies
* Carestream Health
CMT Medical Technologies
* EZchip Semiconductor
Galil Medical
*

High Sec Labs
*

Kaminaro

Lumenis
*

* Microbot Medical * Mind CTI * MRV Communications *

Nvidia Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...

Norav Medical
*

On Track Innovations On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) founded in 1990, is a global company that develops contactless payment solutions. OTI uses NFC technologies among other things. OTI’s products include telemetry, payment readers and terminals for unattended & ...

* Panasonic Avionics Corporation * ReWalk
SkySapience

Solcon
* Surf Communication Solutions
Synel
* Syneron Medical *

Telco Systems BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (Baras Advanced Technologies Marom) is a technology company principally engaged in development, production and marketing of data and telecommunication products in the field of local and wide area networks, as well ...

Visuality Systems
*

Zadara Storage Zadara is a cloud computing company founded in 2011, with headquarters in Irvine, California. The company develops computer software that it markets as storage-as-a-service, which can be used for cloud or on-premises servers, a model sometimes ...

Startup exits

Major startup exits include BTG's recent $110 million acquisition of Galil Medical,

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

's acquisition of Annapurna Labs for a reported $350–375 million and

acquisition of EZchip Semiconductor for a reported $811 million, Covidien's 2014 acquisition of Given Imaging for a reported $860 million,

's acquisition of Oplus Technologies Inc in 2005 for nearly $50 million, and Marvell's acquisition of Galileo Technology Ltd. for $2.7 billion in stock in 2000. In addition to these exits, Lumenis recently merged with an affiliate of China's XIO group for a reported $510 million.

Technology incubators

As the number of hi-tech companies in Yokneam grow, technology incubators have begun opening in or moving to Yokneam, each specializing in different types of technology.

Parks and recreation

Yokneam is a very green city. Not just in terms of ecological activism, but also in terms of its physical surroundings. Roughly two-thirds of the land within Yokneam's city limits are green space (parks, archeological digs, gardens, playgrounds). It has five major public parks, and outdoor amphitheater and over 80 playgrounds distributed throughout the city. Tel Yokneam, which includes the ruins of a crusader church and its intricate water system, is used as an educational site where Yokneam's school children perform restoration work under the direction of the Antiquities Authority and the National Parks Authority. Nearly 13 kilometers of bicycle paths connect all of the parks and public spaces. The city is also surrounded by the Ramot Menashe Biosphere Reserve of the

, which is currently in the process of becoming recognized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

as a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. File:12 6 2008 .1597864 25 43 11 PROTOCOL 800 1 park.jpg, Yokneam City Park File:12 6 2008 .1099054 8 22 11 PROTOCOL 800 1 park7.jpg, Gandi Park File:19 6 2008 .5612146 58 24 10 PROTOCOL 800 1 nahal hashofet4.jpg, Nahal Shofet File:12 6 2008 .3611261 5 40 11 PROTOCOL 800 1 park28.jpg, Nahal Keret Park File:12 6 2008 .2571985 54 20 11 PROTOCOL 800 1 park5.jpg, Walking through Metri Park File:PikiWiki Israel 5666 park in yokneam.jpg, Nahal Keret Park File:Tel-Yokneam-347.jpg, Tel Yokneam File:Tel-Yokneam-286.jpg, Tel Yokneam File:Yok WalkCollage.jpg, 22nd Annual Yokneam Walk Each year thousands of Israelis participate in Yokneam's annual walking event which began in 1991. In 2013 there were 35,000 participants. The event takes place in the Spring, with a short route of 6 km and a longer route of 11 km through the hills and valleys that surround Yokneam. The 2014 walking event is scheduled for April 17, 2014.

Transportation

Yokneam sits at the intersections of Highway 70 and

, which connect all of Israel with both

Tel-Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. One of the main stations of the new railway line, being in operation from 2016, from the Jordanian border to the port of Haifa is located only 5 minutes from the Yokneam's high-tech parks. Yokneam is 20–25 minutes from

Haifa Airport Haifa Airport ( he, נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה חֵיפָה, ''Namal HaTe'ufa Haifa''; ar, مطار حيفا) , also known as U Michaeli Airport is a small international airport located in Haifa, Israel. It is located to the east of th ...

and 12 minutes from the

Ramat David airbase Ramat David Israeli Air Force Base (, he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִיר רָמַת דָּוִד ''Basis Kheil HaAvir Ramat David'') is one of three principal airbases of the Israeli Air Force, located southeast of Haifa, close to kibbu ...

, which is reported to be the most likely location for a new International airport to complement

Ben Gurion Airport Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is th ...

. The bus service in Yokneam is provided by 3 bus companies. Superbus provides the local service in Yokneam and intercity service to

and

Afula Afula ( he, עפולה Arabic: العفولة) is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient ...

. Superbus also runs

night lines ''Night Lines'' was a Canadian radio series, which aired on CBC Stereo from 1984 to 1997.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''. ECW Press. . The show, which aired on Fr ...

(including Friday nights) to Haifa, Kiryat Tivon and Ramat Ishai. All bus stops are handicapped-accessible. Egged and Nateev Express provide express intercity services to

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.7 ...

and

, as well as service with stops along the way. There is a taxi stand at the shopping mall at the eastern entrance to Yokneam Illit. The Yokneam Illit Municipality encourages the use of bicycles in the city. It currently has 13 km of bicycle paths that connect all of it public parks and buildings.

Education

Yokneam allocates 42% of its budget to education. With 75% of its students passing the national matriculation exams and a dropout rate of only 0.8%, Yokneam Illit was awarded the National Education Prize and the Regional Education Prize several times in recent years. Preschool from age 3 has been free in Yokneam Illit for 20 years. The municipality of Yokneam has developed a special relationship with the Jewish communities of Atlanta, GA and Saint Louis, MO, whereby all three communities work together to create programs for bridging the gaps between communities and cultures, and to provide all students with equal opportunities. The

Environmental Protection Ministry (Israel) The Ministry of Environmental Protection ( he, המשרד להגנת הסביבה, ''HaMisrad LeHaganat HaSviva''; ar, وزارة حماية البيئة) is a government ministry in Israel. It was formerly known as the Ministry of the Environme ...

awarded a number of Yokneam's kindergartens and elementary schools the “green label” because of the way they integrated study of the environment into the local curriculum. In grades three through six, elementary school students spend a full week during school at the city's Science Museum. גן מדע ומדיה

The IDF Head of Manpower Planning recently awarded the city a special excellence prize for achieving an 87% level of enlistment in the IDF and the eighth highest level of recruitment to elite units and officers courses in all of Israel. Construction of a "breakthrough" educational campus is nearly complete, with an educational infrastructure for study from kindergarten to high school that will eliminate the transitions that affect students’ lives. The campus will have sports halls, day care centers, kindergartens, elementary and high schools, and academic courses prior to IDF enlistment. In addition to Yokneam's proximity to Technion(23.8 km),

(22 km), and

Oranim Academic College Oranim ( he, אֳרָנִים or , ''lit.'' Pines) is a college of education in northern Israel. The college was founded in 1951 by the United Kibbutz Movement. It was named after the small forest of pine trees in the area. It offers BA degrees in ...

(7.5 km), Yokneam has a branch of the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

for bachelor's and master's degrees. The municipality is currently trying to expand on this by working with major universities to open branches in Yokneam.

Culture

Yokneam City Theater and the Dahari Sport Center

Residents of Yokneam Illit are avid theater goers and there are three local theaters, Yokneam City Theater (seats 475)
Tarbuta
(seats 200) and an amateur theater MixArt. Israel's best-known theater groups come to perform at The Yokneam City Theater operates 6 days a week. The subscription series with 8 different performances a year from Israel's best-known theater companies has grown from one day of the week to five in order to accommodate a total audience of over 2,000, or 10% of its population. The theater also runs two subscription series for children with a total of 600 subscribers, one for ages 3–6 and the other for ages 6–10. A separate "Fringe" series has 200 subscribers for one-man or small theater companies and nontraditional theater performances. Low cost and subsidized performances that are outside of the subscription series include performances in Yiddish by th
"Yiddish Shpiel" company
, events for the Ethiopian community, children's concerts, and animation theater. The Jewish Federation subsidizes children's theater subscriptions for members of the Ethiopian community to bring their cost of a child accompanied by one parent down to 100 ILS (approximately US$30) for the entire series. The local Artists' Guild makes use of the theater to display artwork from local and outside artists. A second theater house
Tarbuta
, seats 200. The Family Empowerment Center also runs a Drama-Therapy group for Ethiopian women that performs in Hebrew and Amharic. During the summer months, musicians from all over Israel perform in the open air Amphitheater. MixArt is an amateur studio established in 2017 under the patronage of Yokneam's Department of Absorption and performing plays i
Russian
and Hebrew. To date, this group does not have its own scene. There are also many dance performances held at Kibbutz Ein HaShofet, just outside Yokneam. One of Israel's largest movie houses
Yes Planet
is only 15 minutes away. Yokneam Illit does not have any bars or pubs. Young people looking for more than wine or beer at a restaurant or coffee shop go to nearby Ramat Ishai. File:Yokneam City Library Main Branch.jpg, Yokneam City Library

Religion

Yokneam is known for its religious tolerance, with many extended families consisting of a mixture of secular and religious Jews. Despite its small size, Yokneam Illit is an ethnically diverse city, with immigrants from all parts of the world and their descendants and many active synagogues, each with its own special character. File:SimchatTorah Yok Collage.jpg, Celebrating Simchat Torah in Yokneam File:מימונה 2012.jpg, Celebrating Mimouna in Yokneam Illit File:Independence Day Shofar.jpg, Blowing the Shofar on Israel Independence Day in Yokneam Illit

Sports

Yokneam has two indoor Basketball Courts (Dahari Sports Center and Hapoel Sports Center), a Tennis Association, a new Country Club including an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, an additional community swimming pool, and a Soccer field, which is run by the Hapoel sports association and is very active with the school age children. Local teams compete in league for Basketball, Soccer, Baseball, , an
Bicycle Racing
The Indoor basketball court at Hapoel seats 500. The outdoor soccer field seats 200. The Yokneam-Megiddo Region has two baseball teams that represent their Sister Cities (the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals). These teams have participated in many tournaments: Jr Macabbiah Games, European Tournaments and the Israeli Junior Olympics where they received the bronze medal. One of the local Kibutz' has donated the land necessary to build a new Baseball/Softball Stadium in conjunction with the Israel Softball Association and the Jewish National Fund. The Israel Softball Association is helping to start a Special Education Program for the families in the area. In 2012–2013, Yokneam had a player make the Junior National Team which traveled to Denmark that summer. Starting in 2012, 12 youngsters from Daliyat al-Karmel began taking part in a weekly co-existence program at the Israel Tennis Center as part of a tennis school financed by the Freddie Krivine Foundation.

Israel's first "Green City"

In 2009, the Cleantech Authority of the

awarded the city of Yokneam Illit a prize for its overall strategy of protecting and nurturing green spaces and encouraging environmental awareness and education. It was again awarded the "Green City" prize in 2014, where the parameters measured included: energy efficiency, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, recycling and waste separation, water and sewage, environment-friendly "green" construction, public gardens, environmental education, beauty of the city, environment-friendly "green" commerce and industry, care of urban public grounds and nature, and urban management. The city has its own environmental protection committee responsible for defining and implementing an overall strategy for improving the quality of life and protecting the environment. The strategy emphasizes: planned development, environmental management, educational programs for environmental protection, urban sanitation, cause and effect management, and conservation of energy and water. It actively promotes walking and use of bicycles for transportation, and all bus stops are handicapped-accessible. Yokneam Illit's 500 dunams of public parks and its 50 m²/person of open urban space is 5 times the minimum recommendation for urban planning. In addition to the annual "Yokneam Walk", which attracts thousands of participants, the works closely with the Israel National Fund (Keren Kayemet) to further promote nature preservation. Yokneam Illit is one of 31 municipalities that separates garbage at the source, as well as having waste separation centers distributed throughout the city. The drainage systems work well and stockpile water for reuse in city parks and gardens. The city also uses a computerized irrigation system to save water and achieve optimal results. Sewage is treated at the water treatment plants that are located in nearby Kiryat Tivon. As part of Yokneam's commitment to adopting green energy it will soon be one of the first two cities in northern Israel where electric buses will operate. The municipality invests both time and money to maintain the natural beauty of its green spaces. Its building codes have become stricter and greener as the demand for housing has increased. A "green" neighborhood is currently under construction which includes environment friendly lighting, irrigation and waste management. At the same time, the municipality has actively worked to make the older neighborhoods more attractive. The city runs environmental leadership workshops. Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia run a program to teach and preserve traditional farming methods. The education system is defined as “green”, with environmental studies built into the curriculum.

Municipal budget and fiscal management

Yokneam Municipality's policies stress savings and proper management. Over the years, it has won financial prizes for proper management, which have been invested in city employees and local improvement. The municipality has privatized a range of services including gardening, garbage collection, and rates collection, resulting in substantial savings for reinvestment. The city's annual budget of NIS 112 million is balanced and is collected from 95% of residents and 97% of businesses and industrial enterprises. The municipal budget for 2014 is 135,889,000.

Media

There is one radio station, Radio Kol Rega 96.fm, and five local (Hebrew) newspapers that regularly cover news about Yokneam Illit. * Ze Ma Yesh (That's What There Is) * Kol Yokneam (Voice of Yokneam) * Kochav Yizrael (Jezre'el

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane ...

Star) * Ha'Ir - Ratzui Ve'Matzui (The City - Wanted and Available) * Index Hadashot (Index News)

Climate

Yokneam averages 650 millimeters due to its proximity to Mount Carmel. The temperatures are the same as the other communities in the Jezre'el Valley. In winter, minimum temperatures typically range from . Temperatures can dip below when cold winds come from the north with clear skies. Morning fog is common in Yokneam and throughout the Jezre'el Valley. Summers in Yokneam are hot and dry, with maximum temperatures reaching . Since the introduction of weather station, the hottest recorded temperature was that was measured on August 7, 2010; and the lowest recorded temperature was on December 15, 2013. Up to 50 cm. of snow fell in Yokneam Illit in 1950, 1992, 1999 and 2000. Record rainfall in recent years: 2009-2010 552.9 mm (85% of average) 2010-2011 486.9 mm (75% of average) 2011-2012 575.8 mm (82% of average) 2012-2013 668.1 mm (103% of average)

Notable people

Usher Morgan Usher Morgan (born May 23, 1985) is an Israeli screenwriter, film director, producer, author and entrepreneur based in New York City. He is best known as the writer, director, and producer of films such as ''Prego'' and '' Pickings''. Biography ...

(born 1985), film director, producer, publishing executive, and entrepreneur

Twin towns – sister cities

Yokneam Illit is twinned with: *

La Garenne-Colombes La Garenne-Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from Notre Dame de Paris which is the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Name The city used to be p ...

, France *

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 98,025 in 2018, making it the fourth most populous city in Ga ...

, Italy *

Mianyang Mianyang (; formerly known as Mienchow) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Located in north-central Sichuan covering an area of consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, five counties, and thr ...

, China * Požega, Croatia *

San Pedro de Atacama San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km (60 mi) southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. ...

, Chile *

Wiehl Wiehl () is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 41 km east of Cologne. The neighbouring municipalities Reichshof, Waldbröl, Nümbrecht, Much, Germany, Much, Engelskirche ...

, Germany * St. Louis, USA *

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, USA *

Oskemen Oskemen ( kk, Өскемен, translit=Öskemen ), or Ust-Kamenogorsk (russian: Усть-Каменого́рск), is the administrative center of East Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan. Population: Name The city has two official names. In th ...

, Kazakhstan

References

External links

Partnership 2000 Yokneam-MegiddoRegional Development Unit for Yokneam-MegiddoPopulation figures from the Israel Central Bureau of StatisticsThe official Yokneam Illit municipality website

The news Yokneam Illit website

The football childrens yoqneam team website

Startup Village Yokneam siteThe professionals construction and services in yoqneam
* Arch. Eran Hamo
Tel Yoqne‘am: Adopt a TellIsrael Antiquities Site

Conservation Department
{{Largest Israeli cities Populated places established in the 1950s Development towns Archaeological sites in Israel Ancient sites in Israel Bronze Age sites in Israel Iron Age sites in Israel Levitical cities Cities in Northern District (Israel) High-technology business districts Economy of Israel Science and technology in Israel Ancient Jewish settlements of Galilee 1950 establishments in Israel Mount Carmel