Shoham

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. It was again proposed in the 1970s. However, residents of nearby moshavim wanted to build a rural community for the adult children of farmers in cooperative communities.

In the early 1990s, Israeli Housing Minister Ariel Sharon 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.

Education

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

Culture

Shoham is an upper-middle-class town, and residency there is considered a status symbol 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, 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 dunams, 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.

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:

• HUN Szolnok, Hungary
• USA Memphis, Tennessee, United States
• UK Elstree & Borehamwood, United Kingdom

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

References

1. Bitan, Hanna: ''1948-1998: Fifty Years of 'Hityashvut': Atlas of Names of Settlements in Israel'', Jerusalem 1999, Carta, p. 66, {{ISBN. 965-220-423-4 (Hebrew)
2. "Local Authorities in Israel 2005, Publication #1295 - Municipality Profiles - Shoham". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics.
3. Doketz. T.. (August 25, 1965). Herut]]. link
4. Bousso, Nimrod. (April 22, 2016). "As It Grows, Shoham is at Risk of Losing Its Small-town Flavor". [[Haaretz]].
5. (24 June 2010). link
6. "Oops, Something is wrong".
7. Azoulay, Yuval. (January 7, 2010). "Shoham Residents Fight Shas Minister's Plan to Establish 'Superfluous' Religious Council". [[Haaretz]].
8. "מועצה מקומית שוהם".
9. ארי, מיכל בן. (2008-01-22). "שוהם: עיר עם יער". Ynet.
10. "Testvérvárosok - Twin Cities".
11. Rosenberg, Michelle. "We’re twins! Elstree and Borehamwood formalises ties with Israeli town of Shoham".