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| Yokneam | |
 viewed from the north |
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| Hebrew | יָקְנְעָם |
| (Standard) | Yoqneam |
| Government | City (from December 18, 2006) |
| District | North |
| Population | 18,500 (2006) |
| Jurisdiction | 7,390 dunams (7.39 km2/2.85 sq mi) |
| Website | http://www.yoqneam.org.il/ |
Yokneam (Hebrew: יָקְנְעָם, also transliterated Yoqne'am) is a small city council southeast of Haifa in northern Israel. Before 2006 it had been called Yokneam Illit (יָקְנְעָם עִלִּית). It is located in a hilly region of northern Israel's lower Galilee, bordered by Highway 70 and Mount Carmel, and had a population of 18,200 at the end of 2005. The town has developed as a centre for high tech businesses, due to its proximity to the Technion in eastern Haifa.
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Location
Yokneam is at the base of the Carmel Mountains and overlooks the Jezreel Valley, 21 kilometres (13 mi) (13 miles) from Haifa and 80 kilometres (50 mi) (50 miles) from Tel Aviv. It is adjacent to the village of Yokneam.
History
Yokneam was founded as a development town in the 1950s on the site of the ruins of ancient Yokneam, which was also the site of a Palestinian village named Qira, depopulated in the lead up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Declared a local council in 1967, it achieved city council on 18 December 2006.
The Crusaders named Yokneam "Cain Mons", or "The Mountain of Cain", since according to the tradition, Cain, son of Adam (Genesis 4: 23-24), was killed in this site.
Yokenam's Jewish past is mentioned in the Bible several times, as town of Levites and Zebulun Israelite Tribes and it is located close to the fields of Megiddo (Armageddon).
(a) Joshua 12: 1, 22 (b) Joshua 19: 10-11 (c) Joshua 21: 34
It is speculated that the Canaanite name was "Anaknam", and appears in the list of 119 conquered cities by Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III after the victory in the Megiddo battle (1468BC).
Yoqneam was populated throughout the Persian and Hellenistic periods, Roman/Byzantine, Arab and Crusaders, Mamluks and Ottomans and finally returned to its Jewish roots with the formation of the State of Israel.
The returning settlers, many of whom were Jewish emigrants from North Africa, restored ancient olive orchards on the Carmel Mountains and planted new olive trees in the Jezreel Valley.
Business center
The town of Yokneam has the status of "National Priority Area A" as specified by the Israeli Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investment, which enables "Approved Enterprises" locating in Yokneam Illit to enjoy the highest level of tax benefits or investment grants afforded by the Law.
In addition, companies choosing to locate in the region can apply for concessions in local taxes over a three year period from the Yokneam Local Authority.
Security threats
Yokneam has suffered from security threats related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In December, 2003, the Israel Defense Forces thwarted a planned suicide attack by two Palestinian terrorists that had planned to attack the ORT Alon Junior High School in Yokneam.
Sister cities
See also
- Qira (village), a destroyed Palestinian village that was located at present-day Yokneam
External links
- Partnership 2000 Yokneam-Megiddo
- Regional Development Unit for Yokneam-Megiddo
- Population figures from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
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