Shoham () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the Central District of

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 ...

. The name relates to one of the 12 stones on the

Hoshen The priestly breastplate or breastpiece of judgment ( ''ḥōšen'') was a sacred breastplate worn by the High Priest of the Israelites, according to the Book of Exodus. In the biblical account, the breastplate is termed the ''breastplate of jud ...

, the sacred breastplate worn by a Jewish high priest (Exodus 28:20), similar to other nearby towns: Nofekh, Bareket, Leshem and Ahlama (the former name of Beit Arif). As of , Shoham had a population of . Its jurisdiction is 5,889

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s (~5.9 km²).

History

A plan to establish a town in the area that is now Shoham was first proposed in the 1960s, as an idea to establish a town for immigrants from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. It was again proposed in the 1970s. However, residents of nearby

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

im wanted to build a rural community for the adult children of farmers in cooperative communities. In the early 1990s, Israeli Housing Minister

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

put forward a new plan to create a town in the area. Construction began in 1993, when the first 300 homes were built. From then on, the town grew rapidly. By 1995, it had 3,100 residents, and by 2014, had reached a population of 20,000.

Culture

Shoham is an upper-middle-class town, and residency there is considered a

status symbol A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of Wealth, economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a Sociology, sociological term – as part ...

in Israel. In terms of average wages and the rate of high school students who complete their matriculation, Shoham residents rank well above the national average. Its residential areas primarily have single-family homes with yards and duplexes, although there are a few apartment complexes. According to ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'', it has a small-town, community-oriented feel, but offers most of the services found in bedroom communities, including shopping centers, a high school, and a middle school. The environment is considered a top priority in Shoham, and each neighborhood has municipal gardens and green spaces. The town's parks and gardens cover over 400

s, and are dotted with sculptures. The town has a performing arts center, sports facilities, a public library, and a retiree center and activity club. East of the town is Shoham Forest Park.

Education

In the 2009–2010 school year, Shoham ranked top in the country in percentage of high school students passing the

Bagrut Te'udat Bagrut (, ''lit.'' "graduation 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 ...

matriculation exams. In the 2014–2015 school year, 88.1% of high school students matriculated. In the 2020–2021 school year, 98% of high school students matriculated. About half of the municipal budget is dedicated to education.

Local government

Council heads

* Dov Shayish (1993–1998) * Shachar Ben Ami (1998–2003) * Gil Livneh (2003–2018) * Eitan Patigro (2018–2024) * Dafna Rabinovitch (2024–)

Twin towns – sister cities

Shoham is twinned with: *

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

* Elstree & Borehamwood,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Notable people

* Matan Baltaxa (born 1995), footballer * Ziv Bar-Joseph (born 1971), computational biologist and professor * Haim Katz (born 1947), politician * Ella-Lee Lahav (born 2003), singer and actress * Moshe Mizrahi (1950–2022), politician * Tamir Saban (born 1999), American-Israeli basketball player * Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (born 1988), Kenyan-born Israeli Olympic marathon runner * Mia Schem (born 2002), Israeli-French former hostage taken captive on October 7th, 2023 * David Stav (born 1960), chief rabbi and chairman of Tzohar

References

External links

* {{Authority control Local councils in Central District (Israel) Populated places established in 1993 1993 establishments in Israel