Ben Shemen Youth Village
Ben Shemen Youth Village (Hebrew: כפר הנוער בן שמן, Kfar HaNo'ar Ben Shemen) is a youth village and agricultural boarding school in central Israel. Located near Ben Shemen and Ginaton, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 620.[1]
Ben Shemen Youth Village כפר הנוער בן שמן | |
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  Ben Shemen Youth Village | |
| Coordinates: 31°57′32.47″N 34°55′40.19″E | |
| Country | Israel |
| District | Central |
| Council | Hevel Modi'in |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Founded by | Siegfried Lehmann |
| Population (2019)[1] | 620 |
| Website | www.ben-shemen.org.il |
History
The village was established in 1927 on the land of the Hadid factory by Siegfried Lehman. Its aim was to endow children with a Zionist ethic, teach them to work the land, and install an appreciation of responsibility. The school's first students were from Kaunas in Lithuania.
In 1947, it had a population of roughly 1,000.[2] During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the isolated village was under siege by the Arab Legion; eleven youths were killed in one attempt to bring in supplies.[2]
Notable graduates include Shimon Peres, Shulamit Aloni, Moshe Katsav, Dan Ben Amotz, Ze'ev Gur-Arie (Wolfgang Lotz), Micha Tomkiewicz, Amitai Etzioni, and Haim Saban. Today, it has around 1,000 students, of which 400 live in the village.
References
- "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- Jewish National Fund (1949). Jewish Villages in Israel. Jerusalem: Hamadpis Liphshitz Press. p. 16.