Type of Community: Yishuv

Region: North

Religious Percent: 25

English Speaking Percent: 15

It seems that nearly all who come to visit Zichron Yaakov as tourists fall in love with the town, and it is easy to see why. Zichron has a world-famous winery, a quaint, brick-paved downtown district, and a stunning view of the Mediterranean coast. The town’s residents know that it has much more to offer, including beautiful homes, lovely neighborhoods, good schools, and proximity to places of employment. Zichron is also one of the oldest towns in the modern history of Israel.

It was founded as an agricultural settlement in the late 19th century by members of the Eastern-European Hovevei Tzion movement. When the community began to struggle, it was assisted by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, and was eventually named in honor of his father Jacob.

Today Zichron continues as a vibrant community with a wonderful mix of Jews of every stripe. Olim feel connected and a part of the community almost immediatly, and reap the benefits of having more seasoned English speakers to help guide them.

Education / Youth
Zichron has no fewer than 11 ganim, which generally serve the particular neighborhood in which they are located. A gan for children with special needs is also available to the community, as is a private English-speaking gan. There are two government-sponsored ganim for the religious population.

Religious elementary school aged children in Zichron generally attend the Yavetz school which services children from all over Zichron. Some children travel to the Noam school in Hadera. The mamlachti schools – Nili, Hahita and Horesh – each cater to specific neighborhoods. The Nili school offers a wide range of after school activities for a fee. A small number of religious and non-religious children attend a new democratic school called Keshet.

For high school, students in junior high school can attend the Pelech girls’s school or the new Yeshiva Tichonit Zichron Yaakov. There are also high schools within commuting distance in Hadera,Sdei Yaakov, Kfar Pines, and Haifa.

The city is highly vested in improving the educational options and facilities of the educational institutions in the city. A brand new, state-of-the-art mamlachti high school was recently built. In addition, there are plans to build a religious educational center in Zichron which will house Yaavetz, Pelech and the Yeshiva Tichonit.

Transportation
The vast majority of Zichron’s residents have at least one car. The town is by no means isolated: it is 10 minutes from the Binyamina train station, which can bring the commuter to work in Haifa or Tel Aviv within 40 minutes. Zichron Yaakov is a 15 minute drive away from Caesaria. There is bus service available to Haifa.

Bus service is available to each of these destinations, as well as to Jerusalem.

Zichron is now quite spread out, and growing rapidly, so navigating the town can be difficult without a car. There is no bus service available to transport residents within Zichron Yaakov.

Olim Services
Zichron Yaakov’s English-speaking community has always taken care of its own and welcomed new residents. Zichron does not have an absorption center or formal absorption program, but services generally needed by new Olim can be found reasonably nearby.

When not available in Zichron itself, Ulpanim are located in Haifa and Pardes Hanah. Government offices, including the Ministry of Absorption, are in Hadera.

Olim who had a good command of Hebrew, familiarity with Israeli institutions, and employment find the move to this community easier.

There is an adult ulpan as the need exists, and a children’s ulpan is housed in the Yaavetz school, after school hours.

Amenities / Services
Zichron has a lovely historic downtown area, with a wide selection of shops, restaurants, and various professional services. In a newer section of town, there are supermarkets and malls. Residents can get most everything they need in Zichron, but it is comforting for them to know that the commercial center of Or Akiva is only about 15 minutes away.

Zichron has a private country club with outstanding athletic facilities.

Each of the Kupot Holim (health-care providers) has an office in Zichron. There are also several dentists, optometrists, and alternative health practitioners. Nearby hospitals are located in Netanya and Haifa.

Community and Religious Life
Zichron has an active community center with sports, music, and various other after-school activities for youth. It also offers a wide selection of courses for adults, including lectures through its college for adults. The town is currently building a new library to serve the community’s needs.

Zichron has synagogues large and small. A number have been around since the early days of the old Yishuv. There are also kollels that offer a wide range of learning options.

A number of years ago a garin of young Torani families moved from the Hesder yeshiva in Maalot to Zichron Yaakov with the intention of establishing a branch of the yeshiva. The branch has since disbanded, but several of the families have remained in Zichron and strengthened its Torah institutions.

The active Conservative synagogue, V’Ahavta has a special welcome committee for Conservative Jews moving into the area.

Zichron’s Reform synagogue runs many programs including childrens camps and bar/ bat mitzvah programs, as well as Kabbalat Shabbat with communities outside of Zichron

Source: Nefesh B’Nefesh

This entry was posted on July 18, 2010 at 1:29 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Northern Israel by admin No Comments Yet