Bnei Ayish

Bnei Ayish (Hebrew: בְּנֵי עַיִ"שׁ) is a town and local council in the Central District of Israel. Located around ten kilometers from Ashdod and adjacent to Gedera, it had a population of 6,881 in 2022.^[1]

Bnei Ayish בְּנֵי עַיִ"שׁ‎ بني عايش
Local council (from 1981)
Hebrew transcription(s)
• ISO 259	Bnei ʕayš
• Also spelled	Bene Ayish (official)
Bnei Ayish
Coordinates: 31°47′18.94″N 34°45′39.29″E
District	Central
Founded	7 October 1957
Government
• Head of Municipality	Aryeh Garela
Area
• Total	836 dunams (83.6 ha or 207 acres)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	6,881
• Density	8,200/km2 (21,000/sq mi)
Name meaning	Sons of Akiva Yosef Schlezinger

History

The town was founded in 1957. Before 1948, the area had served as a military base for British Army troops during the Mandate era. It was named after Rabbi Akiva Yosef Schlezinger, whose name is abbreviated to Ayish.

Bnei Ayish originally served as a transit camp for immigrants from Yemen in the early 1950s. Today its population is almost entirely made up of Jews of Yemenite descent and immigrants from the former Soviet Union ^{[citation needed]}.