Ashkelon#Majdal

The name Ashkelon is probably western Semitic, and might be connected to the triliteral root {{Transliteration|sem|š-q-l}} ('to weigh', from a Semitic root {{Transliteration|sem|ṯ-q-l}}, akin to Hebrew {{Transliteration|he|šāqal}} ({{lang|he|שָקַל}}) or Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|ṯiql|lang=ar}} ({{lang|ar|ثِقْل}}), 'weight', perhaps attesting to its importance as a center for mercantile activities. Its name appeared in Phoenician and Punic as {{Transliteration|phn|{{sc|šqln}}|italics=no}} ({{lang|phn|𐤔𐤒𐤋𐤍}}) and {{Transliteration|phn|{{sc|ʾšqln}}|italics=no}} ({{lang|phn|𐤀𐤔𐤒𐤋𐤍}}).{{sfnp|Huss|1985|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NvEK7kc3qnQC&pg=PA560 560]}} Majdal (Arabic) and Migdal (Hebrew) mean 'tower'.

{{main|Ascalon}}

{{see also|Gaza wine|Gaza Jar}}

The archaeological site of Ascalon, today known as Tel Ashkelon, was the oldest and largest seaport in Canaan, part of Philistia, the pentapolis (a grouping of five cities) of the Philistines, north of Gaza City and south of Jaffa.

The site was an important city during Roman, Byzantine and pre-Crusades Muslim rule, and particularly during the period of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, due to its location near the coast and between the Crusader states and Egypt. The Battle of Ascalon was the last action of the First Crusade. In 1270, the Mamluk sultan Baybars ordered the fortifications and harbour at the site to be destroyed. As a result, the city was abandoned by its inhabitants and fell into disuse.

File:Church of St. Stephen, mosaic depicting the city of Askalon (Ashkelon), Um er-Rasas, Jordan.jpg , 8th century CE]]

The Palestinian village of Al-Jura (El-Jurah) stood northeast of and immediately adjacent to Tel Ashkelon and is documented in Ottoman tax registers. El-Jurah was depopulated during the 1948 war.

The Arab village of Majdal was mentioned by historians and tourists at the end of the 15th century.{{cite book | author = Orna Cohen | title = "Transferred to Gaza of Their Own Accord" The Arabs of Majdal in Ashkelon and their Evacuation to the Gaza Strip in 1950 | publisher = The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem | year = 2007}} In 1596, Ottoman records showed Majdal to be a large village of 559 Muslim households, making it the 7th-most-populous locality in Palestine after Safad, Jerusalem, Gaza, Nablus, Hebron and Kafr Kanna.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 144Petersen, Andrew (2005). The Towns of Palestine under Muslim Rule AD 600–1600. BAR International Series 1381. p. 133.

An official Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Medschdel had a total of 420 houses and a population of 1175, though the population count included men only.Socin, 1879, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde01deut#page/157/mode/1up 157]Hartmann, 1883, p. [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_BZobAQAAIAAJ#page/n939/mode/1up 131], noted 655 houses

File:Ashkelon1870s.jpg , Al-Jura, Al-Khisas and Ni'ilya. The ruins of Ascalon are also shown on the left hand side. Images from the 1871–77 PEF Survey of Palestine.]]

In the 1922 census of Palestine, Majdal had a population of 5,064; 33 Christians and 5,031 Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n10/mode/1up 8] increasing in the 1931 census to 6,226 (6,166 Muslims and 41 Christians) with 172 in the suburbs (167 Muslims, 4 Christians, and one Jew).Palestine Office of Statistics, Vital Statistical Tables 1922–1945, Table A8.

In the 1945 statistics Majdal had a population of 9,910; ninety Christians and 9,820 Muslims,Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p32.jpg 32] with a total (urban and rural) of 43,680 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. 2,050 dunams were public land; all the rest was owned by Arabs.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Gaza/Page-046.jpg 46] of the dunams, 2,337 were used for citrus and bananas, 2,886 were plantations and irrigable land, 35,442 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Gaza/Page-087.jpg 87] while 1,346 were built-up land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Gaza/Page-137.jpg 137]

Majdal was known for the majdalawi weaving industry.[https://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=13668&mag_id=121 Ashqelon, Eli Cohen Street] The town had around 500 looms in 1909. In 1920 a British Government report estimated that there were 550 cotton looms in the town with an annual output worth 30–40 million francs.{{cite news |title=H.M. Stationery Office (1920) Syria and Palestine — Viewer — World Digital Library |url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/11774/view/1/1/#q=Israel |newspaper=The Library of Congress |language=en}} But the industry suffered from imports from Europe and by 1927 only 119 weaving establishments remained. The three major fabrics produced were "malak" (silk), 'ikhdari' (bands of red and green) and 'jiljileh' (dark red bands). These were used for festival dresses throughout Southern Palestine. Many other fabrics were produced, some with poetic names such as ji'nneh u nar ("heaven and hell"), nasheq rohoh ("breath of the soul") and abu mitayn ("father of two hundred").Shelagh Weir, "Palestinian Costume". British Museum Publications, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0-7141-1597-9}}. pages 27–32. Other fabrics produced include Shash (white muslin for veils), Burk/Bayt al-shem (plain cotton for underdresses), Karnaish (white cotton with stripes), "Bazayl" (flannelette), Durzi (blue cotton) and Dendeki (red cotton).

In addition to agriculture, residents practiced animal husbandry which formed was an important source of income for the town. In 1943, they owned 354 heads of cattle, 168 sheep over a year old, 170 goats over a year old, 65 camels, 17 horses, 39 mules, 447 donkeys, 2966 fowls, and 808 pigeons.{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |last2=Taxel |first2=Itamar |date=2024-10-10 |title=Hamama: The Palestinian Countryside in Bloom (1750–1948) |url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JIA/article/view/26586 |journal=Journal of Islamic Archaeology |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=93 |doi=10.1558/jia.26586 |issn=2051-9729|url-access=subscription }}

El Majdal-Survey-of-Palestine-3-4-5-6-combined.jpg|1931-2 map of central El Majdal. Nearly all Palestinians who lived here and survived the 1947-8 Nakba were at first confined to a ghetto, then later expelled

Majdal11.png|Weavers in Majdal, 1934–39

File:Ashkelon region in the 1950s.jpg. The built up area labeled אשקלון (Ashkelon) is the area previously known as Majdal. To the left is Afridar. The ruins of Hamama, Al-Jura, Ni'ilya and Al-Khisas are also shown.]]

Majdal was occupied by the Egyptian army in the early stages of the 1948 war, along with the rest of the Gaza region that had been allocated to the Arab State in the United Nations plan. Over the next few months, the town was subjected to Israeli air-raids and shelling. All but about 1,000 of the town's residents were forced to leave by the time it was captured by Israeli forces as a sequel to Operation Yoav on 4 November 1948. General Yigal Allon ordered the expulsion of the remaining Palestinians but the local commanders did not do so and the Arab population soon recovered to more than 2,500 due mostly to refugees slipping back and also due to the transfer of Palestinians from nearby villages. Most of them were elderly, women, or children. During the next year or so, the Palestinians were held in a confined area surrounded by barbed wire, which became commonly known as the "ghetto".{{cite journal | doi=10.1080/714003467 | author=Golan, Arnon | title=Jewish Settlement of Former Arab Towns and their Incorporation into the Israeli Urban System (1948–1950) | journal=Israel Affairs | year=2003 | volume=9 | issue=1–2 | pages=149–164 | s2cid=144137499 | issn=1353-7121}}Morris, 2004, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA528 528] −529. Moshe Dayan and Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion were in favor of expulsion, while Mapam and the Israeli labor union Histadrut objected. The government offered the Palestinians positive inducements to leave, including a favorable currency exchange, but also caused panic through night-time raids. The first group was deported to the Gaza Strip by truck on 17 August 1950 after an expulsion order had been served.S. Jiryis, The Arabs in Israel (1968), p.57 The deportation was approved by Ben-Gurion and Dayan over the objections of Pinhas Lavon, secretary-general of the Histadrut, who envisioned the town as a productive example of equal opportunity.{{cite journal | doi=10.1017/S0020743800066216 | author=Kafkafi, Eyal | title=Segregation or integration of the Israeli Arabs – two concepts in Mapai | journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies | year=1998 | volume=30 | issue=3 | pages=347–367 | s2cid=161862941 }} By October 1950, twenty Palestinian families remained, most of whom later moved to Lydda or Gaza. According to Israeli records, in total 2,333 Palestinians were transferred to the Gaza Strip, 60 to Jordan, 302 to other towns in Israel, and a small number remained in Ashkelon. Lavon argued that this operation dissipated "the last shred of trust the Arabs had in Israel, the sincerity of the State's declarations on democracy and civil equality, and the last remnant of confidence the Arab workers had in the Histadrut." Acting on an Egyptian complaint, the Egyptian-Israel Mixed Armistice Commission ruled that the Palestinians transferred from Majdal should be returned to Israel, but this was not done.{{cite journal | year = 1952 | title = Security Council | journal = International Organization | volume = 6 | issue = 1| pages = 76–88 | doi=10.1017/s0020818300016209| s2cid = 249414466 }}

Majdal was granted to Israel in the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Re-population of the recently vacated Arab dwellings by Jews had been official policy since at least December 1948, but the process began slowly. The Israeli national plan of June 1949 designated al-Majdal as the site for a regional urban center of 20,000 people. From July 1949, new immigrants and demobilized soldiers moved to the new town, increasing the Jewish population to 2,500 within six months. These early immigrants were mostly from Yemen, North Africa, and Europe.{{cite web |script-title=he:מגדל־גד בהתפתחותה,בחירות ב־26 בפברואר – דבר |url=http://jpress.org.il/Olive/APA/NLI_Heb/SharedView.Article.aspx?parm=o9Sbi1WIsHdoejWFtHsh3QLn0DMAzo4d0FWipSdDt34n%2BE0l6hHZL8hFphABg7HQYw%3D%3D&mode=image&href=DAV%2f1950%2f02%2f10&page=9&rtl=true |website=jpress.org.il |language=he}}

In 1949, the town was renamed Migdal Gaza, and then Migdal Gad. Soon afterwards it became Migdal Ashkelon. The city began to expand as the population grew. In 1951, the neighborhood of Afridar was established for Jewish immigrants from South Africa,{{cite web |last1=Benzaquen |first1=John |title=Neighborhood Watch: Ashkelon's 'Anglo quarter' |url=https://www.jpost.com/Local-Israel/Around-Israel/Neighborhood-Watch-Ashkelons-Anglo-quarter |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|date=19 November 2010 }} and in 1953 it was incorporated into the city. The current name Ashkelon was adopted and the town was granted local council status in 1953.

In 1955, Ashkelon had more than 16,000 residents. By 1961, Ashkelon ranked 18th among Israeli urban centers with a population of 24,000. This grew to 43,000 in 1972 and 53,000 in 1983. In 2005, the population was more than 106,000.

In 1949 and 1950, three immigrant transit camps (ma'abarot) were established alongside Majdal (renamed Migdal) for Jewish refugees from Arab countries, Romania and Poland. Northwest of Migdal and the immigrant camps, on the lands of the depopulated Palestinian village al-Jura,{{sfn|Khalidi|1992|p=117}} entrepreneur Zvi Segal, one of the signatories of Israel's Declaration of Independence, established the upscale Barnea neighborhood.{{cite news|last=Margalit |first=Talia |url=http://www.haaretz.com/general/periphery-without-a-center-1.107172 |title=Periphery without a center|work=Haaretz |access-date=2011-08-10}}

A large tract of land south of Barnea was handed over to the trusteeship of the South African Zionist Federation, which established the neighborhood of Afridar. Plans for the city were drawn up in South Africa according to the garden city model. Migdal was surrounded by a broad ring of orchards. Barnea developed slowly, but Afridar grew rapidly. The first homes, built in 1951, were inhabited by new Jewish immigrants from South Africa and South America, with some native-born Israelis. The first public housing project for residents of the transit camps, the Southern Hills Project (Hageva'ot Hadromiyot) or Zion Hill (Givat Zion), was built in 1952.

Under a plan signed in October 2015, seven new neighborhoods comprising 32,000 housing units, a new stretch of highway, and three new highway interchanges will be built, turning Ashkelon into the sixth-largest city in Israel.{{cite web |title=With 32,000 New Housing Units Ashkelon to Become Israel's 6th Largest City |url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/with-32000-new-housing-units-ashkelon-to-become-israels-6th-largest-city/2015/10/30/ |website=jewishpress.com|date=30 October 2015 }}{{update inline|date=June 2023}}

The area around Isdud and Majdal in the UN Palestine Partition Versions 1947 (cropped).jpg|The area around Majdal had been allocated to the Arab state in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine.

Ashqelon.jpg | High-rise residential development along the beach (2007)

Harlington Hotel, Ashkelon, 2004.jpg | Harlington Hotel and 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Awad

The ancient site of Ascalon is now administered as the Ashkelon National Park. The walls that encircled the city are still visible, as well as Canaanite earth ramparts. The park contains mainly Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader ruins.{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Ashkelon.html#Ashkelon |title=Ashkelon National Park |publisher=Jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=2011-08-10| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110717104733/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource//vie/Ashkelon.html| archive-date= 17 July 2011 | url-status= live}} The largest dog cemetery in the ancient world was discovered in Ashkelon.{{cite web|last=Stager |first=Lawrence |url=http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/dogs-buried-at-ashkelon.asp |title=Why were dogs buried at Ashkelon |publisher=Bib-arch.org |access-date=2011-08-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907092241/http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/dogs-buried-at-ashkelon.asp |archive-date=7 September 2011 }}

A Roman burial tomb two kilometres north of Ashkelon National Park was discovered in 1937. There are two burial tombs, a painted Hellenistic cave and a Roman cave. The Hellenistic cave is decorated with paintings of nymphs, water scenes, mythological figures and animals.

In 1986 ruins of 4th- to 6th-century baths were found in Ashkelon. The bathhouses are believed to have been used for prostitution. The remains of nearly 100 mostly male infants were found in a sewer under the bathhouse, leading to conjectures that prostitutes had discarded their unwanted newborns there.{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/25528291|title=Brothels, Baths and Babes: Prostitution in the Byzantine Holy Land|author=Claudine M. Dauphin|year=1996|journal=Classics Ireland|volume=3|pages= 47–72|url=http://www.ucd.ie/cai/classics-ireland/1996/Dauphin96.html|jstor=25528291|url-access=subscription}}

The remains of a 4th-century Byzantine church with marble slab flooring and glass mosaic walls can be seen in the Barnea Quarter. Remains of a synagogue from this period have also been found.{{cite book|author=Cecil Roth|title=Encyclopaedia Judaica |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ua4KAQAAIAAJ|year=1972|publisher=Encyclopaedia Judaica|page=714}}

An 11th-century mosque, Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn, a site of pilgrimage for both Sunni and Shia Muslims,{{rp|185–186}}{{Cite news|title=Prophet's grandson, Hussein, honored on the grounds of an Israeli hospital|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-israel-shi-ite/prophets-grandson-hussein-honored-on-grounds-of-israeli-hospital-idUSKBN0LD17720150209|access-date=12 May 2020|date=9 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512092013/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-israel-shi-ite/prophets-grandson-hussein-honored-on-grounds-of-israeli-hospital-idUSKBN0LD17720150209|archive-date=12 May 2020|author=Rami Amichay}}{{Cite news|title=أتباع البهرة الشيعية يذرفون الدمع على قبر للحسين في عسقلان |newspaper=Al-ʻArab |url=https://alarab.co.uk/%D8%A3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%B0%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531130930/https://alarab.co.uk/%D8%A3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%B0%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86 |archive-date=31 May 2020 |access-date=31 May 2020 |date=11 February 2015 |trans-title=Shi'a Bohra followers shed tears at Hussein's grave in Ashkelon |language=ar |issn=0140-010X |issue=9825 |page=20 |via=alarab.co.uk}} which had been built by the Fatimid Caliphate by Badr al-Jamali and where tradition held that the head of Mohammad's grandson Hussein ibn Ali was buried, was blown up by the Israel Defense Forces under instructions from Moshe Dayan as part of a broader programme to destroy mosques in July 1950.Brief History of Transfer of the Sacred Head of Hussain ibn Ali, From Damascus to Ashkelon to Qahera By: Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany PhD (USA), NDI, Shahadat al A'alamiyyah (Najaf, Iraq), M.A., LLM (Shariah) Member, Ulama Council of Pakistan. Published in Daily News, Karachi, Pakistan on 3 January 2009 [http://www.durrenajaf.com/upload/51310a3ca52c8.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214142006/http://www.durrenajaf.com/upload/51310a3ca52c8.pdf|date=14 December 2017}}.Meron Rapoport, [http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/history-erased-1.224899 'History Erased,'] Haaretz, 5 July 2007.{{Cite web|url=https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2014/03/husseins-head-and-importance-of-cultural-heritage/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517142125/https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2014/03/husseins-head-and-importance-of-cultural-heritage/|archive-date=17 May 2020|title=Hussein's Head and Importance of Cultural Heritage|work=American School of Oriental Research|author=Michael Press|date=March 2014|access-date=17 May 2020}} The area was subsequently redeveloped for a local Israeli hospital, Barzilai. After the site was re-identified on the hospital grounds, funds from Mohammed Burhanuddin, leader of a Shi'a Ismaili sect based in India, were used to construct a small marble prayer platform, which is visited by Shi'ite pilgrims from India and Pakistan.{{Cite journal|first1=Daniella|last1=Talmon-Heller|first2=Benjamin|last2=Kedar|first3=Yitzhak|last3=Reiter|date=Jan 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512010853/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniella_Talmon-Heller/publication/301537484_Vicissitudes_of_a_Holy_Place_Construction_Destruction_and_Commemoration_of_Mashhad_Husayn_in_Ascalon/links/5cddc4d492851c4eaba685d8/Vicissitudes-of-a-Holy-Place-Construction-Destruction-and-Commemoration-of-Mashhad-Husayn-in-Ascalon.pdf|archive-date=12 May 2020|title=Vicissitudes of a Holy Place: Construction, Destruction and Commemoration of Mashhad Ḥusayn in Ascalon|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301537484|journal=Der Islam|volume=93|doi=10.1515/islam-2016-0008|pages=11–13, 28–34}}{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/05/israel--surpris.html |title=Shiites in Ashkelon? |work=Los Angeles Times |date=20 May 2008 |access-date=2011-08-10}}

A domed structure housing the 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Awad sits atop a hill overlooking Ashkelon's northern beaches.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JXoY2vCZ5AEC&q=sheikh+awad+ashkelon&pg=PA117 |title=Israel and the Palestinian territories: The rough guide, Daniel Jacobs, Shirley Eber, Francesca Silvani |access-date=2011-08-10|isbn=978-1-85828-248-0 |last1=Jacobs |first1=Daniel |last2=Eber |first2=Shirley |last3=Silvani |first3=Francesca |year=1998 |publisher=Rough Guides }}

Ashkelon Khan and Museum contains archaeological finds, among them a replica of Ashkelon's Canaanite silver calf, whose discovery was reported on the front page of The New York Times.{{cite web|url=http://www.israel-a-la-carte.com/israelcity_view.asp?id=7 |title=Places to see in Ashkelon |publisher=Israel-a-la-carte.com |access-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713063744/http://www.israel-a-la-carte.com/israelcity_view.asp?id=7 |archive-date=13 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}

The Outdoor Museum near the municipal cultural center displays two Roman burial coffins made of marble depicting battle and hunting scenes, and famous mythological scenes.

The Ashkelon Marina, located between Delila and Bar Kochba beaches, offers a shipyard and repair services. Ashkeluna is a water-slide park on Ashkelon beach.

71-7100-100 - תל אשקלון - שרידי כנסיית סנטה מריה וירידיס - לריסה סקלאר גילר (3).jpg | Ashkelon National Park

מרינה אשקלון.PNG | Ashkelon Marina

Muslim Celebrations at Wady Nemil and Al Husayn Shrine in Ashkelon.jpg | Palestinian Muslims at Mejdal, in Mandatory Palestine in April 1943, with Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn in the background.

{{further | List of towns and villages depopulated during the 1947–1949 Palestine war |Towns and villages in Mandatory Palestine }}

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Most of the founding members of Hamas were born in Mandatory Palestine, outside of the Gaza strip, or have parents who were. Many of them were from villages that were in the vicinity of present-day Ashkelon, including most of the party's leaders:

• Founding leader Ahmed Yassin was born in Al-Jura.{{cite book | last=Kabahā | first=Muṣṭafá | title= The Palestinian People: Seeking Sovereignty and State | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QyTCNAEACAAJ | year=2014 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers, Incorporated | isbn=978-1-58826-882-2 | access-date=28 October 2020 | archive-date= 19 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219083406/https://books.google.com/books?id=QyTCNAEACAAJ | url-status=live | page=323 }}
• Yassin's successor Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi was born in Yibna.{{cite book| title= Gaza: A History | publisher= Oxford University Press | page=97 | author-link= Jean-Pierre Filiu | first= Jean-Pierre |last=Filiu}}
• The father of Faiq and Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh was from Bayt Tima.{{cite news| title= Fayeq Al-Mabhouh...a police general in Gaza who was assassinated by Israel | url = https://aja.ws/7ff59c | access-date=30 April 2024 | work=Encyclopedia | agency=Al Jazeera | date=19 March 2024 }}
• Ismail Haniyeh's parents migrated from Al-Jura to Gaza in 1948.{{cite news|title=Profile: Hamas PM Ismail Haniya |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4655146.stm |newspaper=BBC |date=14 December 2006|access-date=25 June 2024|archive-date=18 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218062008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4655146.stm |url-status=live}}
• Yahya Sinwar was born in the Khan Yunis in Egyptian-occupied Gaza in 1962 to a family who left Ashkelon (then called Al-Majdal) during the 1948 Palestine War.{{Cite web | date= 2024-01-28 | title= Yahya Sinwar {{!}} Hamas Leader, Biography, & Facts {{!}} Britannica | url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yahya-Sunwar |access-date=2024-02-01 | website= www.britannica.com | language=en | archive-date=28 January 2024 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240128125507/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yahya-Sunwar | url-status=live }}
• One of few exceptions is Khaled Mashal, who was born in Silwad, in the Jordanian ruled West Bank.{{cite journal | title = Khalid Mishal: The Making of a Palestinian Islamic Leader Interviewed by Mouin Rabbani | date = 2008 | volume = 37 | issue = 1 | last = Rabbani | first = Mouin | author-link = Mouin Rabbani | url = https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/42013 | journal = Journal of Palestine Studies | publisher = Institute for Palestine Studies | pages = 61 }}

File:Rocketpopmap.jpeg rocket range. ]]

On 1–2 March 2008, rockets fired by Hamas from the Gaza Strip (some of them Grad rockets) hit Ashkelon, wounding seven, and causing property damage. Mayor Roni Mahatzri stated that "This is a state of war, I know no other definition for it. If it lasts a week or two, we can handle that, but we have no intention of allowing this to become part of our daily routine."{{cite news|title=Israeli City Shocked As Rockets Hit|agency=Associated Press|date=3 March 2008}} In March 2008, 230 buildings and 30 cars were damaged by rocket fire on Ashkelon.{{cite web|last=Bassok |first=Moti |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/ashkelon-sderot-residents-file-1-000-damage-claims-over-recent-rocket-attacks-1.240800 |title=Ashkelon, Sderot residents file 1,000 damage claims over recent rocket attacks |work=Haaretz |date=16 May 2007 |access-date=2011-08-10}}

On 12 May 2008, a rocket fired from the northern Gazan city of Beit Lahiya hit a shopping mall in southern Ashkelon, causing significant structural damage. According to The Jerusalem Post, four people were seriously injured and 87 were treated for shock. Fifteen people suffered minor to moderate injuries as a result of the collapsed structure. Southern District Police chief Uri Bar-Lev believed the Grad-model Katyusha rocket was manufactured in Iran.{{cite web|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668639052&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |work=Jeruselum Post|title=Iranian made rocket strikes Ashkelon – Ashkelon |access-date=2008-05-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511145843/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668639052&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=11 May 2011 }}

In March 2009, a Qassam rocket hit a school, destroying classrooms and injuring two people.{{cite web|url=http://jta.org/news/article/2009/03/01/1003355/kassam-slams-into-ashkelon-school |title='Improved' Kassam slams into Ashkelon school |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=1 March 2009 |access-date=2011-08-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727053047/http://www.jta.org/news/article/2009/03/01/1003355/kassam-slams-into-ashkelon-school |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}

In November 2014, the mayor, Itamar Shimoni, began a policy of discrimination against Arab workers, refusing to allow them to work on city projects to build bomb shelters for children. His discriminatory actions brought criticism from others, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat who likened the discrimination to the anti-Semitism experienced by Jews in Europe 70 years earlier.{{cite web |title=Jerusalem Mayor: We cannot discriminate against Arabs |url=https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Jerusalem-Mayor-We-cannot-discriminate-against-Arabs-382504 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|date=22 November 2014 }}{{cite web |last1=Ho |first1=Spencer |title=PM, senior ministers pan Ashkelon mayor for barring Arab workers |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/rights-group-to-sue-ashkelon-mayor-for-barring-arab-workers/ |website=The Times of Israel}}

On May 11, 2021, Hamas fired 137 rockets on Ashkelon{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-rocket-fire-israeli-air-strikes-gaza-2021-05-11/|title=Hamas and Israel trade blows as Jerusalem unrest ignites Gaza|work=Reuters|access-date=2021-05-11|date=2021-05-11|last1=Al-Mughrabi|first1=Nidal|last2=Farrell|first2=Stephen|last3=Heller|first3=Jeffrey}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-palestine-jerusalem-gaza-airstrikes-rockets-middle-east-news-2021-05-11/|title=Israel hammers Gaza with deadly airstrikes in retaliation for volley of rockets as Mideast crisis escalates|publisher=CBS News|access-date=2021-05-11|date=2021-05-11}} killing 2 and injuring many others.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/four-people-injured-after-rocket-strikes-house-in-ashkelon-667825|title=Two dead, over 70 Israelis injured after rockets strike Ashkelon, Ashdod|access-date=2021-05-11|date=2021-05-11}}

On October 10, 2023, during the Gaza war, Abu Obaida, spokesperson for Hamas, warned all citizens of Ashkelon to evacuate before 5:00 P.M. local time via a post to his Telegram channel. Once the deadline hit, Hamas launched a barrage of missiles towards Ashkelon.{{Cite web |last=Hughes |first=Clyde |date=2023-10-10 |title=Hamas warns residents of coastal Israeli city to evacuate before rocket attack |url=https://news.yahoo.com/idf-says-regained-control-gaza-120017085.html |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}

{{Historical populations

|title=Historical population

|type = Israel

|footnote =

|1955|16600

|1961|24300

|1972|43000

|1983|52900

|1995|83100

|2008|110600

|2010|114500

|2011|117400

|source =

• {{cite web|url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_15&CYear=2012 |title=Statistical Abstract of Israel 2012 – No. 63 Subject 2 – Table No. 15 |publisher=.cbs.gov.il |access-date=2013-08-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020040546/http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_15&CYear=2012 |archive-date=20 October 2013 }} }}

In the early years, the city was primarily inhabited by Mizrahi Jews, who fled to Israel after being expelled from Muslim lands. Today, Mizrahi Jews still constitute the majority of the population. In the early 1950s, many South African Jews settled in Ashkelon, establishing the Afridar neighbourhood. They were followed by an influx of immigrants from the United Kingdom.{{cite web |url=http://www.nbn.org.il/communities/template/community/152 |title=Nefesh b'Nefesh community guide |publisher=Nbn.org.il |date=27 March 2006 |access-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718153013/http://www.nbn.org.il/communities/template/community/152 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=dead }} During the 1990s, the city received additional arrivals of Ethiopian Jews and Russian Jews.

Ashkelon is the northern terminus for the Trans-Israel pipeline, which brings petroleum products from Eilat to an oil terminal at the port. The Ashkelon seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant is the largest in the world.[http://www.israel21c.org/briefs/israel-is-no-5-on-top-10-cleantech-list Israel is No. 5 on Top 10 Cleantech List] in [http://www.israel21c.org/technology/archive Israel 21c A Focus Beyond] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016013525/http://www.israel21c.org/technology/archive |date=16 October 2010 }} Retrieved 2009-12-21{{Cite web|url=https://www.water-technology.net/projects/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713125053/http://www.water-technology.net/projects/israel/Ashkelon |title=Projects Archive |archive-date=13 July 2015|website=Water Technology}} The project was developed as a BOT (build–operate–transfer) by a consortium of three international companies: Veolia water, IDE Technologies and Elran.{{cite journal|title=Ashkelon desalination plant – A successful challenge | doi = 10.1016/j.desal.2006.03.525 | volume=203 | journal=Desalination | pages=75–81| year = 2007 | last1 = Sauvet-Goichon | first1 = Bruno | issue = 1–3 | bibcode = 2007Desal.203...75S }} In March 2006, it was voted "Desalination Plant of the Year" in the Global Water Awards.{{cite web|url=http://www.water-technology.net/projects/israel/ |title=Ashkelon Seawater Reverse Osmosis |publisher=Water-technology.net |access-date=2011-08-10| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110724181500/http://www.water-technology.net/projects/israel/| archive-date= 24 July 2011 | url-status= live}}

Since 1992, Israel Beer Breweries has been operating in Ashkelon, brewing Carlsberg and Tuborg beer for the Israeli market.{{Cite journal | title= The Central Bottling Company Group – Company Profile | url= http://www.duns100.com/ts.cgi?tsscript=comp_eng&duns=600057582 | journal= Dun & Bradstreet Israel – Dun's 100 Israel's Largest Enterprises 2009 | access-date= 2009-11-22 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120301080555/http://www.duns100.com/ts.cgi?tsscript=comp_eng&duns=600057582 | archive-date= 1 March 2012 }}

The Ashkelon Sports Arena opened in 1999. The "Jewish Eye" is a Jewish world film festival that takes place annually in Ashkelon. The festival marked its seventh year in 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.jewisheye.org.il/en/about |title=Jewish Eye world film festival |publisher=Jewisheye.org.il |date=18 October 2010 |access-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721150812/http://www.jewisheye.org.il/en/about |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead }} The Breeza Music Festival has been held yearly in and around Ashkelon's amphitheatre since 1992. Most of the musical performances are free. Israel Lacrosse operates substantial youth lacrosse programs in the city and recently hosted the Turkey men's national team in Israel's first home international in 2013.{{cite web |url=http://laxallstars.com/an-israel-lacrosse-experience-rob-berkenblit/ |title=An Israel Lacrosse experience |publisher=laxallstars.com |date=19 August 2013 |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819162625/http://laxallstars.com/an-israel-lacrosse-experience-rob-berkenblit/ |archive-date=19 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}

{{see also|Healthcare in Israel}}

Ashkelon and environs is served by the Barzilai Medical Center, established in 1961. It was built in place of Hussein ibn Ali's 11th-century mosque, a center of Muslim pilgrimages, destroyed by the Israeli army in 1950.{{cite web|last=Rapoport|first=Meron|title=History Erased|website=Haaretz|date=2014-10-05|url=http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/history-erased-1.224899|access-date=2014-10-04}} Situated {{convert|6|mi|km|0|order=flip|spell=in}} from Gaza, the hospital has been the target of numerous Qassam rocket attacks, sometimes as many as 140 over one weekend. The hospital plays a vital role in treating wounded soldiers and terror victims.{{cite web |url=http://njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/041008/sxSteadyRain.html |title=Steady rain of missiles strains Israeli hospital |publisher=Njjewishnews.com |date=8 April 2008 |access-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722031630/http://njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/041008/sxSteadyRain.html |archive-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead}} A rocket and missile-proof emergency room opened in February 2018.[https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2018/Pages/PM-Netanyahu's-remarks-at-Barzilai-Medical-Center-20-February-2018.aspx PM Netanyahu's remarks at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon]

File:Barzilai03.JPG . ]]

The city has 19 elementary schools, and nine junior high and high schools. The Ashkelon Academic College opened in 1998, and now hosts thousands of students. Harvard University operates an archaeological summer school program in Ashkelon.{{Cite web|url=http://www.summer.harvard.edu/programs/abroad/ashkelon/Harvard|title=summer school program in Ashkelon}}

File:Ashkelon Academic College.jpg . ]]

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Israel}}

Ashkelon is twinned with:

{{Div col}}

• {{flagicon|CAN}} Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec, Canada
• {{flagicon|BLR}} Grodno, Belarus
• {{flagicon|PRC}} Xinyang, China
• {{flagicon|CHI}} Iquique, Chile
• {{flagicon|FRA}} Aix-en-Provence, France{{cite web|url=http://www.aix-jumelages.com/ |title=Association of twinnings and international relations of Aix-en-Provence |publisher=Aix-jumelages.com |access-date=2011-08-10| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110707100515/http://www.aix-jumelages.com/| archive-date= 7 July 2011 | url-status= live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.mairie-aixenprovence.fr/article.php3?id_article=2981|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113162049/http://www.mairie-aixenprovence.fr/article.php3?id_article=2981 |title=Les jumelages existants |website=Mairie d'Aix-en-Provence |archive-date=13 January 2009 |language=fr}}
• {{flagicon|GEO}} Vani, Georgia{{Cite web |url=http://vani.org.ge/files/upload-file/pdf/sisters.pdf |title=Vani.org.ge – Twinned Cities |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820015312/http://vani.org.ge/files/upload-file/pdf/sisters.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}
• {{flagicon|GEO}} Kutaisi, Georgia
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Aviano, Italy
• {{flagicon|GER}} Berlin-Pankow, Germany
• {{flagicon|POL}} Sopot, Poland
• {{flagicon|UGA}} Entebbe, Uganda
• {{flagicon|USA}} Portland, Oregon, United States
• {{flagicon|USA}} Baltimore, Maryland, United States{{cite web|url=http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/intl/sistercities.php |title=Baltimore City Mayor's Office of International and Immigrant Affairs – Sister Cities Program |access-date=2009-07-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807173931/http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/intl/sistercities.php |archive-date=7 August 2008 }}
• {{flagicon|USA}} Sacramento, California, United States

{{colend}}

• Ahmed Yasin (born before 1948), Palestinian, the first leader of Hamas.
• Yitzhak Cohen (born 1951), Israeli politician, from the Shas faction.
• Avi Dichter (born 1952), Israeli politician, from the Likud faction.
• Eva Erben (born 1930), Czech-Israeli writer and Holocaust survivor
• Boris Polak (born 1954), world champion and Olympic sport shooter.
• Shlomo Glickstein (born 1958), professional tennis player.
• Yael Abecassis (born 1967), actress and model.
• Topaz Luk (born 1992), political advisor.

• Scallion and shallot, types of onion known from and named after ancient Ascalon – Ascalōnia caepa or Ascalonian onion[https://www.balashon.com/2006/07/scallion_05.html?m=1 "scallion"], at Balashon – Hebrew Language Detective, 5 July 2006. Retrieved 28 Feb 2024.

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin|40em}}

• {{cite book | editor =Barron, J.B. | title = Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922|url=https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 | publisher = Government of Palestine | year = 1923}}
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• {{cite journal | last1 = Garfinkel | first1 = Y. | last2 = Dag | first2 = D. | last3 = Hesse | first3 = B. | last4 = Wapnish | first4 = P. | last5 = Rookis | first5 = D. | last6 = Hartman | first6 = G. | last7 = Bar-Yosef | first7 = D.E. | last8 = Lernau | first8 = O. | year = 2005 | title = Neolithic Ashkelon: Meat Processing and Early Pastoralism on the Mediterranean Coast | journal = Eurasian Prehistory | volume = 3 | pages = 43–72 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Garfinkel |first1=Y. |last2=Dag |first2=D. |year=2008 |title=Neolithic Ashkelon |series=Qedem 47 |location=Jerusalem |publisher=Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University |oclc=494272503}}
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• {{EI2 |article=Askalan |last1=Hartmann |first1=R. |last2=Lewis |first2=B. |author-link2=Bernard Lewis |volume=1 |pages=710–711}}
• {{citation |last=Huss |first=Werner |title=Geschichte der Karthager |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NvEK7kc3qnQC |publisher=C.H. Beck |location=Munich |year=1985 |isbn=978-3-406-30654-9 }}. {{in lang|de}}
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• {{cite journal |author=Kafkafi, Eyal |title=Segregation or Integration of the Israeli Arabs: Two Concepts in Mapai |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |year=1998 |volume= 30 |issue=3 |pages=347–367 |doi= 10.1017/S0020743800066216 |s2cid=161862941 }}
• {{cite book|title=All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_By7AAAAIAAJ |first=W.|last=Khalidi|author-link=Walid Khalidi|year=1992|location=Washington D.C.|publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies|isbn=978-0-88728-224-9}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Lecker |first1=Michael |title=The Estates of 'Amr b. al-'Āṣ in Palestine: Notes on a New Negev Arabic Inscription |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |year=1989 |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=24–37 |jstor=617911 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00023041 |s2cid=163092638 }}
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• {{cite book |author=Townsend, Christopher |title=God's War: A New History of the Crusades |publisher=Penguin Books ltd |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7139-9220-5}}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Ashkelon}}

{{wikivoyage|Ashkelon}}

• [https://www.livescience.com/ancient-fish-hook-suggests-sharks-were-hunted-off-israels-coast-6000-years-ago Ancient fish hook suggests sharks were hunted off Israel's coast 6,000 years ago – LiveScience – 31 March 2023]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060827141931/http://www.ashkelon.muni.il/openning_eng.asp Ashkelon City Council]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20010611165001/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0101/feature4/ "Ashkelon, ancient city of the sea"], National Geographic, January 2001
• [http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/ash/ Ancient Ashkelon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424034046/http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/ash/ |date=24 April 2008 }}—University of Chicago
• [https://ashkelon123.com/ English information on Ashkelon]—Ashkelon Volunteers
• [https://www.palestineremembered.com/Gaza/al-Majdal-Asqalan/index.html Welcome To The City of al-Majdal Asqalan] Information and images about the historical Palestinian city of Mijdal and what remains of it today, as Ashkelon's Migdal neighbourhood

{{South District (Israel)}}

{{Largest Israeli cities}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashkelon}}

Category:Populated coastal places in Israel

Category:Cities in Southern District (Israel)

Category:Holy cities