Kefar Sava
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Kefar Sava (כפר סבא; unofficially also spelled and pronounced Kfar Saba) is a city in the Sharon area, Center District of Israel in Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2001 the city had a total population of 76,600.
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Demographics
According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.9% Jewish and other non-Arabs, without significant Arab population. There are 523 immigrant settlers. See Population groups in Israel.
According to CBS, in 2001 there were 37,000 males and 39,600 females. The population of the city was spread out with 31.1% 19 years of age or younger, 16.3% between 20 and 29, 17.7% between 30 and 44, 20.2% from 45 to 59, 3.5% from 60 to 64, and 11.3% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 2.0%.
History
The land where the city of Kfar-Sava now is was bought in 1892 by a group of Jewish Zionist settlers, who then offered the lands for sale. The acquisition turned out to be unsuccessful, because the lands were located at a desolate, neglected area and was far from every Jewish settlement. After the failure they were finally bought in 1896 by the Baron Edmond James de Rothschild. In 1903, the Baron sold the lands to farmers of Petah-Tikva to be populated by the 2nd generation - the immediate descendants of the farmers. However, they in turn sold the lands to others, mostly to new immigrants. The Ottoman government refused to give building permits, therefore the first settlers were forced to live in huts made of clay and straw. They earned their living by growing vineyards of almonds, grapevines and olive trees. Only in 1912 the settlers moved to long term structures.
In World War I, Kfar-Sava was on the front line between the British army and the Ottoman army, and was ruined. At the same time came to live in it about a thousand residents of Tel-Aviv and Jaffa, who were deported from their homes by the Ottomans. However, the attempt to rehabilitate the refugees didn't bear fruit, because of the 1921 pogroms. In 1922 the residents came back and in 1924 other settlers joined them, and the orange agriculture developed. In 1937 Kfar-Sava was declared as a local council.
In the time of the Arab Revolt, in 1936-1939, as in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Kfar-Sava's population suffered from attacks by Arabs from the Arab Saba village and other villages in the area. A bit before the Israeli declaration of independence those villages were conquered in operation Medina. In 1962 Kfar-Sava was declared as a city. In the time of Six day war Kfar-Sava suffered attacks of her neighboring town Qalqilya, because of her closeness to the Green Line, (the 1949 armistice line) with Jordan.
Income
According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 31,528 salaried workers and 2,648 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 7,120, a real change of 10.1% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 9,343 (a real change of 9.9%) versus ILS 5,033 for females (a real change of 9.7%). The mean income for the self-employed is 8,980. There are 1,015 people who receive unemployment benefits and 1,682 people who receive an income guarantee.
In May of 2004, the exploration company Givot Olam said that the Meged-4 oil well, located offshore, has exceeded original predictions and contains an extremely valuable deposit of oil.
Education
According to CBS, there are 37 schools and 15,598 students in the city. They are spread out as 20 elementary schools and 6,684 elementary school students, and 21 high schools and 8,914 high school students. 72.2% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.