Ashkelon

Ashkelon or Ashqelon (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; Template:Langx, Template:IPA; Template:Langx) is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, Template:Convert south of Tel Aviv, and Template:Convert north of the border with the Gaza Strip.

The modern city is named after the ancient seaport of Ascalon, which was destroyed in 1270 and whose remains are on the southwestern edge of the modern metropolis. The Israeli city, first known as Migdal, was founded in 1949 approximately 4 km inland from ancient Ascalon at the Palestinian town of al-Majdal (Template:Langx. Its inhabitants had been exclusively Muslims and Christians, and the area had been allocated to the Palestine in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine; on the eve of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War the inhabitants numbered 10,000 and in October 1948, the city accommodated thousands more Palestinian refugees from nearby villages.<ref name="Masalha">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The town was conquered by Israeli forces on 5 November 1948, by which time much of the Arab population had fled,<ref name="1948After">B. Morris, The transfer of Al Majdal's remaining Palestinians to Gaza, 1950, in 1948 and After; Israel and the Palestinians.</ref> leaving some 2700 inhabitants, of whom Israeli soldiers deported 500 in December 1948<ref name="1948After"/> and most of the rest were deported by 1950.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Today, the city's population is almost entirely Israeli Jews.

Migdal, as it was called in Hebrew, was initially repopulated by Jewish immigrants and demobilized soldiers. It was subsequently renamed multiple times, first as Migdal Gaza, Migdal Gad and Migdal Ashkelon, until in 1953, the coastal neighbourhood of Afridar was incorporated, and the name Ashkelon was adopted for the combined town. By 1961, Ashkelon was ranked 18th among Israeli urban centers with a population of 24,000.<ref name="Golan"/> In Template:Israel populations the population of Ashkelon was Template:Israel populations, making it the third-largest city in Israel's Southern District.Template:Israel populations

Etymology

The name Ashkelon is probably western Semitic, and might be connected to the triliteral root Template:Transliteration ('to weigh', from a Semitic root Template:Transliteration, akin to Hebrew Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang) or Arabic Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang), 'weight', perhaps attesting to its importance as a center for mercantile activities. Its name appeared in Phoenician and Punic as Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang) and Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang).Template:SfnpTemplate:Better source needed

Majdal (Arabic) and Migdal (Hebrew) mean 'tower'.

History

Canaanites to Mamluks

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

Depiction of Askalon (Ashkelon) in the Umm ar-Rasas mosaics, 8th century CE

Ottoman period

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.<ref name="Orna">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Hutteroth>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 144</ref><ref name="Petersen">Petersen, Andrew (2005). The Towns of Palestine under Muslim Rule AD 600–1600. BAR International Series 1381. p. 133.</ref>

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.<ref>Socin, 1879, p. 157</ref><ref>Hartmann, 1883, p. 131, noted 655 houses</ref>

File:Ashkelon1870s.jpg

The area of modern Ashkelon cover the land of: Al Majdal, Hamama, 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.

British Mandate

In the 1922 census of Palestine, Majdal had a population of 5,064; 33 Christians and 5,031 Muslims,<ref name=Census1922>Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. 8</ref> 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).<ref name=PalestineStats>Palestine Office of Statistics, Vital Statistical Tables 1922–1945, Table A8.</ref>

In the 1945 statistics Majdal had a population of 9,910; ninety Christians and 9,820 Muslims,<ref name=1945p30>Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 32</ref> 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.<ref name=Hadawi46>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 46</ref> of the dunams, 2,337 were used for citrus and bananas, 2,886 were plantations and irrigable land, 35,442 for cereals,<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 87</ref> while 1,346 were built-up land.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 137</ref>

Majdal was known for its weaving industry.<ref>Ashqelon, Eli Cohen Street</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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").<ref>Shelagh Weir, "Palestinian Costume". British Museum Publications, 1989. Template:ISBN. 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).</ref>

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.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>

• 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
  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
• Weavers in Majdal, 1934–39
  Weavers in Majdal, 1934–39

State of Israel

File:Ashkelon region in the 1950s.jpg

The beginnings of the modern city of Ashkelon shown in the 1950s Survey of Israel. 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.<ref name="1948After"/> 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.<ref name="1948After"/> 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.<ref name="1948After"/><ref name="Orna"/> Most of them were elderly, women, or children.<ref name="Orna"/> 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".<ref name="Golan">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Orna"/><ref name="MorrisBirth">Morris, 2004, pp. 528 −529.</ref> Moshe Dayan and Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion were in favor of expulsion, while Mapam and the Israeli labor union Histadrut objected.<ref name="1948After"/> The government offered the Palestinians positive inducements to leave, including a favorable currency exchange, but also caused panic through night-time raids.<ref name="1948After"/> The first group was deported to the Gaza Strip by truck on 17 August 1950 after an expulsion order had been served.<ref>S. Jiryis, The Arabs in Israel (1968), p.57</ref> 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.<ref name="Kafkafi">Template:Cite journal</ref> By October 1950, twenty Palestinian families remained, most of whom later moved to Lydda or Gaza.<ref name="1948After"/> 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.<ref name="Orna"/> 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."<ref name="Kafkafi"/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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.<ref name="Golan"/> The Israeli national plan of June 1949 designated al-Majdal as the site for a regional urban center of 20,000 people.<ref name="Golan"/> From July 1949, new immigrants and demobilized soldiers moved to the new town, increasing the Jewish population to 2,500 within six months.<ref name="Golan"/> These early immigrants were mostly from Yemen, North Africa, and Europe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="Golan"/> 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,Template:Sfn entrepreneur Zvi Segal, one of the signatories of Israel's Declaration of Independence, established the upscale Barnea neighborhood.<ref name="haaretz.com">Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="haaretz.com"/>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Update inline

• The area around Majdal had been allocated to the Arab state in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine.
  The area around Majdal had been allocated to the Arab state in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine.
• High-rise residential development along the beach (2007)
  High-rise residential development along the beach (2007)
• Harlington Hotel and 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Awad
  Harlington Hotel and 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Awad

Landmarks

Ashkelon National Park

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The largest dog cemetery in the ancient world was discovered in Ashkelon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon"/>

Bathhouses

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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Religious sites

The remains of a 4th-century Byzantine church with marble slab flooring and glass mosaic walls can be seen in the Barnea Quarter.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon"/> Remains of a synagogue from this period have also been found.<ref name="Roth1972">Template:Cite book</ref>

Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn

An 11th-century mosque, Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn, a site of pilgrimage for both Sunni and Shia Muslims,<ref name=thesis/>Template:Rp<ref name=reuthusmash>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=alarab>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="hist">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 [1] Template:Webarchive.</ref><ref name="haaretz1">Meron Rapoport, 'History Erased,' Haaretz, 5 July 2007.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=thesis>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=alarab/><ref name="haaretz1"/><ref name="Shiites in Ashkelon">Template:Cite web</ref>

A domed structure housing the 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Awad sits atop a hill overlooking Ashkelon's northern beaches.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Museums

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.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon">Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon"/>

Marina and water park

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.<ref name="Places to see in Ashkelon"/>

• Ashkelon National Park
  Ashkelon National Park
• Ashkelon Marina
  Ashkelon Marina
• Palestinian Muslims at Mejdal, in Mandatory Palestine in April 1943, with Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn in the background.
  Palestinian Muslims at Mejdal, in Mandatory Palestine in April 1943, with Maqam al-Imam al-Husayn in the background.

Palestinians and Ashkelon

Origins of Hamas

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.<ref name="Yassin Jura" >Template:Cite book</ref>
• Yassin's successor Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi was born in Yibna.<ref name="Aziz Gaza history" >Template:Cite book</ref>
• The father of Faiq and Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh was from Bayt Tima.<ref name="Mabhouh - AJ Ency" >Template:Cite news</ref>
• Ismail Haniyeh's parents migrated from Al-Jura to Gaza in 1948.<ref name=bbcprofile>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 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.<ref name="britannica_Yahya-Sunwar">Template:Cite web</ref>
• One of few exceptions is Khaled Mashal, who was born in Silwad, in the Jordanian ruled West Bank.<ref name="2008a" >Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Rocketpopmap.jpeg

Ashkelon is located in the 20–30 seconds' run to safety area due to BM-21 Grad rocket range.

Palestinian conflict with modern Ashkelon

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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In March 2008, 230 buildings and 30 cars were damaged by rocket fire on Ashkelon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="autogenerated7">Template:Cite web</ref>

In March 2009, a Qassam rocket hit a school, destroying classrooms and injuring two people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On May 11, 2021, Hamas fired 137 rockets on Ashkelon<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> killing 2 and injuring many others.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the 1990s, the city received additional arrivals of Ethiopian Jews and Russian Jews.

Ashkelon today

Economy

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.<ref>Israel is No. 5 on Top 10 Cleantech List in Israel 21c A Focus Beyond Template:Webarchive Retrieved 2009-12-21</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The project was developed as a BOT (build–operate–transfer) by a consortium of three international companies: Veolia water, IDE Technologies and Elran.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In March 2006, it was voted "Desalination Plant of the Year" in the Global Water Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Since 1992, Israel Beer Breweries has been operating in Ashkelon, brewing Carlsberg and Tuborg beer for the Israeli market.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Culture and sports

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Health care

Ashkelon and environs is served by the Barzilai Medical Center, established in 1961.<ref name="Shiites in Ashkelon"/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Situated Template:Convert 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A rocket and missile-proof emergency room opened in February 2018.<ref>PM Netanyahu's remarks at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon</ref>

File:Barzilai03.JPG

Barzilai Medical Center.

Education

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Ashkelon Academic College.jpg

Ashkelon Academic College.

Twin towns – sister cities

Template:See also Ashkelon is twinned with: Template:Div col

• Template:Flagicon Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec, Canada
• Template:Flagicon Grodno, Belarus
• Template:Flagicon Xinyang, China
• Template:Flagicon Iquique, Chile
• Template:Flagicon Aix-en-Provence, France<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Template:Flagicon Vani, Georgia<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Template:Flagicon Kutaisi, Georgia
• Template:Flagicon Aviano, Italy
• Template:Flagicon Berlin-Pankow, Germany
• Template:Flagicon Sopot, Poland
• Template:Flagicon Entebbe, Uganda
• Template:Flagicon Portland, Oregon, United States
• Template:Flagicon Baltimore, Maryland, United States<ref name="Baltimore">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Template:Flagicon Sacramento, California, United States

Notable people

• 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.
• 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.

See also

• Scallion and shallot, types of onion known from and named after ancient Ascalon – Ascalōnia caepa or Ascalonian onion<ref>"scallion", at Balashon – Hebrew Language Detective, 5 July 2006. Retrieved 28 Feb 2024.</ref>

Bibliography

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External links

• Ancient fish hook suggests sharks were hunted off Israel's coast 6,000 years ago – LiveScience – 31 March 2023
• Ashkelon City Council
• "Ashkelon, ancient city of the sea", National Geographic, January 2001
• Ancient Ashkelon Template:Webarchive—University of Chicago
• English information on Ashkelon—Ashkelon Volunteers
• 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