Beit Shemesh is a city located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy,Beit Shemesh has a population of 170,683 as of 2024.
Yair Golan is an Israeli politician and leader of the Democrats party and a senior military officer. He served as the Deputy Minister of Economy in the Thirty-sixth Israeli government,and served as a Member of the Knesset representing Meretz from 2019–2022. He is a reserve major general (Aluf) in the Israel Defense Forces. During his military service he served,among other roles,as the IDF Deputy Chief of Staff,Commander of the Home Front Command and Commander of the Northern Command. In May 2024,Golan was elected leader of the Israeli Labor Party on a platform of merging the party with the rival left-wing party,Meretz. On 30 June 2024,the two parties announced an agreement to form a new party,The Democrats. The agreement,which designates Golan leader of the new party,was approved by both parties' congresses on 12 July 2024.
The "Haredi burqa sect" is a community of Haredi Jews that ordains the full covering of a woman's entire body and face,including her eyes,for the preservation of modesty in public. In effect,the community asserts that a Jewish woman must not expose her bare skin to anyone but her husband and immediate family. The garment in question,known as a shal,is also referred to as a frumka—a portmanteau of the Yiddish-language word frum and the Arabic-language word burqa. The Haredi burqa sect,with an estimated population of several hundred people as of 2011,is primarily concentrated in Israel,and particularly in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. These Haredim rarely leave their homes;the married women who do come out in public are accompanied by their daughters,who also don long robes.
The Sikrikim is a Haredi Jewish organization based in the Israeli Haredi neighbourhoods Meah Shearim in Jerusalem and in Ramat Beit Shemesh. The anti-Zionist group is thought to have roughly 100 activist members. The Sikrikim gained international attention for acts of violence they committed against Orthodox Jewish institutions and individuals who would not comply with their demands.
Religious relations in Israel are relations between Haredim,non-Haredi Orthodox,Karaite,Ethiopian,Reform,Conservative,and secular Jews,as well as relations between different religions represented in Israel. The religious status quo,agreed to by David Ben-Gurion with the Orthodox parties at the time of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948,is an agreement on the role that Judaism would play in Israel's government and the judicial system. Tensions exist between religious and secular groups in Israel.
Hapoel Beit Shemesh Football Club was an Israeli football club based at Beit Shemesh. In its prime the club played in the second tier of the Israeli football league system. The club was dissolved in 1994 due to financial difficulties. A successor club,Ironi Beit Shemesh,plays in Liga Bet.
Sagit Zluf Namir is an Israeli photographer and educator.
Asra Kadisha is an international organization for the preservation of Jewish cemeteries and gravesites.
Tali Shemesh is an Israeli documentary filmmaker.
The Cemetery Club is a 2006 Israeli documentary film directed by Tali Shemesh.
Moshe Abutbul is an Israeli politician. He serves as the Deputy minister of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,and has been elected to the Knesset since 2019. From 2008 until 2018,he served as the mayor of Beit Shemesh.
Chaim Zev Malinowitz was a Haredi community rabbi,dayan,and Talmudic scholar. Fluent in all areas of the Talmud,halakha,and hashkafa,he was the general editor of the 73-volume Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud published by ArtScroll. After immigrating to Israel,he became the rabbi of Beis Tefillah Yonah Avraham,an English-speaking congregation for Anglophone Israeli immigrants in Ramat Beit Shemesh,which he led for 17 years.
Shalva BaMidbar,also known as Beit HaShanti BaMidbar is a village in southern Israel. Located near Sde Boker,it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 30.
In the run up to the 2022 Israeli legislative election,various organisations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Israel during the term of the 24th Knesset. This article lists the results of such polls.
The 2024 Jerusalem municipal election was held on 27 February 2024,to elect the mayor and members of the City Council.
Tel Beit Shemesh is a small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city of Beit Shemesh.
Dan Eliyahu Ya'akov Illouz is a Canadian-born Israeli politician currently serving as a member of the Knesset for the Likud party since January 2023. He was previously a city councillor in Jerusalem.
Municipal elections in Israel took place on 27 February 2024 amidst the ongoing Israel–Hamas war. In accordance with changes made in 2018,election day will be a paid day off work. All municipalities,local councils and regional councils will be up for election,as will their leaders. Top-two runoffs will be held in all localities where no leadership candidate won 40% or more of the vote in the first round.
The conscription of yeshiva students to the Israeli Defense Forces has been a highly contentious issue in Israel and outside it for decades now,at least since 1977.
Shmuel "Shmulik" Greenberg is the mayor of Beit Shemesh. He was previously the director of the Haredi Education Department in the Jerusalem Municipality,acting and deputy mayor of Beit Shemesh on behalf of the Degel HaTorah party.
