Caesarea ( ;
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: قيساريّة, , ), also transliterated as Keisarya or Qaysaria,
is an affluent resort town in north-central
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, which was named after the ancient city of
Caesarea Maritima
Caesarea () also Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis, was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Judaea (Roman province), ...
situated to the south
in the adjacent Caesarea National Park.
Located midway between Tel Aviv and
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, 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 metropolitan area i ...
on the
coastal plain
A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area.
Formation
Coastal plains can f ...
near the city of
Hadera
Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...
, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. With a population of , it is the only Israeli locality managed by a private organization, the
Caesarea Development Corporation, and also one of the most populous localities not recognized as a
local council.
History
Caesarea Maritima

The modern town is named after the nearby ancient city of Caesarea Maritima, built by
Herod the Great
Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...
about 25–13 BCE as a major port. It served as an administrative center of the province of Syria and Palestine which came under the Roman Empire rule, and later as the capital of the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
province of Palaestina Prima. During the Muslim rule of the Levant in the 7th century, the city degraded to a small village after the provincial capital was moved to
Ramla
Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs.
The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph S ...
and had an Arab majority until Crusader conquest. Under the Crusaders it became once again a major port and a fortified city. It was diminished after the
Mamluk
Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
rule.
In 1884,
Herzegovinian Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
immigrants who left
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
were settled there by the Ottoman authorities. At the time, Caesarea was a semi-demolished archaeological site. Seferović writes that the Herzegovinian Muslims were completely assimilated into Arab culture. In 1940, kibbutz
Sdot Yam was established next to the village. In February 1948, the village was taken by a
Palmach
The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Phalanges/Companies") was the elite combined strike forces and sayeret unit of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of th ...
unit commanded by
Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...
, following an earlier attack on a bus by
Lehi militants.
[: "As we have seen, Haganah policy until the end of March was non-expulsive. But there were one or two local, unauthorised initiatives ... And there was one authorised expulsion. The inhabitants of Qisarya, south of Haifa, lived and cultivated Jewish ( PICA) and Greek Orthodox church lands. One leading family evacuated the village on 10 January. Most of the population left – apparently for neighbouring Tantura – immediately after the 31 January LHI ambush of a bus that had just pulled out of Qisarya in which two Arabs died and eight were injured (one of the dead and several injured were from the village). The Haganah decided to occupy the site because the land was PICA-owned. But after moving in, the ]Haganah
Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
feared that the British might eject them. The commanders asked headquarters for permission to level the village. Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...
, the Palmah's head of operations, opposed the destruction – but he was overruled. On 19–20 February, the Palmah's Fourth Battalion demolished the houses. The 20-odd inhabitants who were found at the site were forced to leave, and some of the troops looted the abandoned homes. A month later, the Arabs were still complaining to local Jewish mukhtars that their stolen money and valuables had not been returned. The Qisarya Arabs, according to Aharon Cohen, had 'done all in their power to keep the peace . . . The villagers had supplied agricultural produce to Jewish Haifa and Hadera . . . The attack was perceived in Qisarya – and not only there – as an attempt by the Jews to force them (the Arabs) living in the Jewish area, to leave . . ."
Rothschild Caesarea Foundation and Development Corporation
After the establishment of the State of Israel, the
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...
agreed to transfer most of its land holdings to the new state. A different arrangement was reached for the 35,000 dunams of land the family owned in and around modern Caesarea: after turning over the land to the state, it was leased back (for a period of 200 years) to a new charitable foundation. In his will,
Edmond James de Rothschild
Baron Abraham Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild (; 19 August 1845 – 2 November 1934) was a French member of the Rothschild banking family. A strong supporter of Jewish settlement in Palestine, his large donations lent significant support to ...
stipulated that this foundation would further education, arts and culture, and welfare in Israel. The Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Foundation was formed and run based on the funds generated by the sale of Caesarea land which the Foundation is responsible for maintaining. The Foundation is owned half by the Rothschild family, and half by the State of Israel and enjoys a special tax-exempt status.
The Rothschild Caesarea Foundation established the
Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Development Corporation Ltd. (CDC; Hebrew: החברה לפיתוח קיסריה אדמונד בנימין דה רוטשילד) in 1952 to act as its operations arm. The company transfers all profits from the development of Caesarea to the Foundation, which in turn contributes to organizations that advance higher education and culture across Israel. The goal of the CDC is to establish a unique community that combines quality of life and safeguarding the environment with advanced industry and tourism.
Today, the Chairman of the Rothschild Caesarea Foundation and the CDC is
Ariane de Rothschild, widow of Benjamin de Rothschild, the great-grandson of Baron Edmond de Rothschild.
As well as carrying out municipal services, the CDC markets plots for real-estate development, manages the nearby industrial park, and runs the
Caesarea's golf course and country club, Israel's only 18-hole golf course.
Modern Caesarea, or Kesariya, remains today the only locality in Israel managed by a private organization rather than a municipal government. It is one of Israel's most upscale residential communities. The Baron de Rothschild still maintains a home in Caesarea, as do many business tycoons from Israel and abroad.
Location and structure

Caesarea is located on the Israeli coastal plain, approximately halfway between the major modern cities of Tel Aviv ( to the south) and Haifa ( to the north), and north of ancient
Caesarea Maritima
Caesarea () also Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis, was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Judaea (Roman province), ...
. It is situated approximately northwest of the city of Hadera, and is bordered to the east by the Caesarea Industrial Zone and the city of
Or Akiva. Directly to the north is the town of
Jisr az-Zarqa.
Caesarea is divided into a number of residential zones, known as clusters. The most recent of these to be constructed is Cluster 13, which, like all the clusters, is given a name: in this case, "The Golf Cluster", due to its close proximity to the Caesarea Golf Course. These neighborhoods are affluent, although they vary significantly in terms of average plot size.
Economy
Caesarea is a suburban community with a number of residents commuting to work in Tel Aviv or Haifa.
The Caesarea Business Park is on the fringe of the city. About 170 companies are in the park; they employ about 5,500 people. Industry in the park includes distribution and high-technology services.
The residential neighborhoods have a shopping concourse with a newsagent, supermarket, optician, and bank. A number of restaurants and cafes are scattered across the town, with a number within the ancient port.
Infrastructure
Roads
*

Beyond the eastern boundary of the residential area of Caesarea is
Highway 2, Israel's main highway linking Tel Aviv to Haifa. Caesarea is linked to the road by the Caesarea Interchange in the south, and Or Akiva Interchange in the center.
*

Slightly further to the east lies
Highway 4, providing more local links to Hadera, Binyamina,
Zichron Yaakov, and the moshavim and kibbutzim of
Emek Hefer.
*
Highway 65 starts at the Caesarea Interchange and runs westwards into the
Galilee
Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ).
''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
and the cities of Pardes Hanna-Karkur,
Umm al-Fahm
Umm al-Fahm ( , ''Umm al-Faḥm''; ''Um el-Faḥem'') is a city located northwest of Jenin in the Haifa District of Israel. In its population was , nearly all of whom are Palestinian citizens of Israel. The city is situated on the Umm al-Fahm ...
, and
Afula
Afula () 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 tell (settlement mound) suggests habit ...
.
Rail
Caesarea shares
a railway station with nearby Pardes Hanna-Karkur, which is situated in the Caesarea Industrial Zone and is served by the suburban line between
Binyamina and
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, with two trains per hour. The
Binyamina Railway Station, a major regional transfer station, is also located nearby.
Culture
The
Roman theatre located at
Caesarea Maritima
Caesarea () also Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis, was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Judaea (Roman province), ...
often hosts concerts by major Israeli and international artists, such as
Shlomo Artzi,
Yehudit Ravitz,
Mashina,
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
,
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
,
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...
,
Idan Raichel and his project, as well as the Caesarea Jazz Festival. The Ralli Museum in Caesarea houses a large collection of South American art and several
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...
originals.
Sports

Caesarea has the country's only full-sized
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...
. The idea for the Caesarea Golf and Country Club originated after James de Rothschild was reminded by the dunes surrounding Caesarea of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
's sandy links golf courses. Upon his death, the James de Rothschild Foundation established the course. In 1958, a Golf Club Committee was established, and a course was built. American professional golfer
Herman Barron, the first Jewish golfer to win a
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
event, helped develop the course. It was officially opened in 1961 by
Abba Eban
Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was a History of the Jews in South Africa, South African-born Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages.
D ...
. The Caesarea Golf Club has hosted international golf competitions every four years in the
Maccabiah Games
The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...
. The course was redesigned and rebuilt by golf course designer
Pete Dye
Paul Dye Jr. (December 29, 1925 – January 9, 2020), commonly referred to as Pete Dye, was an American golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye.
Earl ...
in 2007–2009.
Notable residents
*
Keren Ann (born 1974), pop singer-songwriter
*
Laetitia Beck (born 1992), Belgian-born Israeli LPGA and Olympic golfer
*
Yoav Cohen (born 1999), Israeli Olympic windsurfer
*
Noga Erez (born 1989), singer
*
Amit Farkash
Amit Farkas-Yonas (; born ) is a Canadian-born Israeli actress and singer. She is best known as the protagonist of the Israeli television series ''Split (TV series), Split''.
Biography
Melissa Amit Farkas was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to ...
(born 1989), Canadian-born Israeli actress and singer
*
Arcadi Gaydamak (born 1952), Russian-Israeli businessman
*
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
(born 1949), politician and ninth
Prime Minister of Israel
The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel.
Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...
*
Avraham Yosef Schapira (1921-2000), businessman and politician
*
Dan Shilon (born 1940), television host, director, and producer
*
Ezer Weizman
Ezer Weizman (, ; 15 June 1924 – 24 April 2005) was an Israeli major general and politician who served as the president of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air ...
(1924–2005), politician and seventh
President of Israel
The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Israel, pr ...
*
Stef Wertheimer
Stef Wertheimer (; 16 July 1926 – 26 March 2025) was an Israeli billionaire industrialist, investor, philanthropist and politician. He was a member of the Knesset, and was known for founding industrial parks in Israel and neighboring countries ...
(born 1926), industrialist and politician
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Places To Visit in Caesarea(English)
Qisarya Zochrot
* Survey of Western Palestine Map 7
IAAWikimedia commonsCaesarea Development Corporation* Jacques Neguer
Byzantine villa:Conservation of the "gold table" and preparation for its displayIsrael Antiquities Authority SiteConservation Department
{{Authority control
Planned communities in Israel
Populated places established in 1952
District of Haifa
Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Populated places in Haifa District
1952 establishments in Israel