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Kiryat Malakhi

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Kiryat Malakhi
קריית מלאכי
City
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • ISO 259Qiryat Malˀaki
 • Also spelledKiryat Malachi (official)
Qiryat Mal'akhi (unofficial)
View of Kiryat Malakhi
View of Kiryat Malakhi
Official logo of Kiryat Malakhi
Coat of arms
Kiryat Malakhi is located in Ashkelon region of Israel
Kiryat Malakhi
Kiryat Malakhi
Location within Ashkelon region of Israel
Kiryat Malakhi is located in Israel
Kiryat Malakhi
Kiryat Malakhi
Location within Israel
Coordinates: 31°43′45″N 34°44′46″E / 31.72917°N 34.74611°E / 31.72917; 34.74611
Country Israel
DistrictSouthern
SubdistrictAshkelon
Founded1951
Government
 • MayorEliyahu "Lalu" Zohar
Area
 • Total
4,632 dunams (4.632 km2; 1.788 sq mi)
Population
 (2024)[1]
 • Total
27,959
 • Density6,036/km2 (15,630/sq mi)
Ethnicity
[1]
 • Jews and others99.6%
 • Arabs0.4%
Name meaningCity of Angels
Websitewww.k-m.org.il
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) memorial for fallen troops at Kiryat Malakhi
The Holocaust Memorial at a city park

Kiryat Malakhi (Hebrew: קריית מלאכי, lit. 'City of Angels') also spelled Kiryat Malahi, Kiryat Malachi, or Qiryat Mal'akhi, is a city in the Southern District of Israel, 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of Ashkelon. In 2024 it had a population of 27,959.[1] Its jurisdiction is 4,632 dunams (~4.6 km2).

History

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Qastina

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Before the establishment of Kiryat Malakhi, the Palestinian village of Qastina stood two kilometers to the west. Qastina's population in 1945 was 890, and its economy was largely agricultural. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, on July 9th, 1948, Qastina was assaulted by the Giv'ati Brigade and subsequently depopulated according to recommendations from command.[2]

Establishment of Kiryat Malakhi

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Kiryat Malakhi was established in 1951 as a ma'abara (lit. 'temporary residential'), to house the masses of Jewish immigrants who arrived during the early years of the newly established State of Israel, many of them part of the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries. The name was chosen to honor the Jewish community of Los Angeles, which contributed much of the funding for its establishment.[3]

Moshe Katsav, later Israel's 8th president, was elected mayor in 1969, at the age of 24. His younger brother Lior Katsav has also been a mayor of Kiryat Malakhi; whilst Yosef Vanunu held the post from 1981 until the 1990s. The current mayor is Eliyahu "Lalu" Zohar.[4]

On 15 November 2012 missile attacks were launched by Palestinian militant groups from the Gaza Strip as a response to Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense. These attacks resulted in the deaths of three residents of the city.[5]

Demographics

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Historical population[6][7]
YearPop.±%
19729,200—    
198311,800+28.3%
199518,800+59.3%
200820,500+9.0%
202226,362+28.6%
202427,957+6.1%
The historical founders' Pomborovski House (a.k.a. Beit HaRishonim)

The arrival of new immigrants from the former Soviet Union as well as from Ethiopia in a few previous decades, has increased the population of Kiryat Malakhi by 40 percent. Some 22,000 people now reside in the city.[8] In January 2012, Israeli television publicized a case of a seller in the municipality creating a restrictive covenant barring the sale or lease of property to Ethiopian Jews. The case led to public outcry and demonstrations of hundreds of people, and caused the Association for Civil Rights in Israel to call on the Registrar of Real Estate to revoke the licence of real estate agents who practice such discrimination.[9] At the south end of the city, a Chabad neighborhood, Nachalat Har Chabad, is home to 2800 residents. Next to it, a new neighborhood called Karmei HaNadiv is developing, with many high-rises being built to accommodate young families and professionals. Karmei Hanadiv is centered around Sderot Rothschild a high-end commercial promenade.

Sports

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There is a 1,000-seat football (soccer) stadium named Teddy Arena, being held as the home-grounds for the local association club of Maccabi Kiryat Malakhi.

Transportation

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South entrance to Kiryat Malakhi

The city's main transportation hub is the Malakhi Junction (also known as Qastina).

Education

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According to CBS, there are 15 schools and 4,909 students in the city. They are spread out as 10 elementary schools and 2,867 elementary school students, and 2 high schools and 2,042 high school students.[citation needed]

Voting Patterns

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In the 2022 election, 88 percent of voters in Kiryat Malakhi voted for the parties of the right-wing coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu, while 10 percent voted for the parties of the center-left coalition led by Yair Lapid and 0.1 percent voted for the Arab parties.[10]

Twin towns – sister cities

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Kiryat Malakhi is twinned with:

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  2. ↑ Morris, Benny (15 January 2004). Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-0521009676.
  3. ↑ Derfner, Larry (19 October 2006). "The Boy Next Door". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  4. ↑ "KKL-JNF Celebrates World Environment Day". Jewish National Fund. Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  5. ↑ "3 Israeli Civilians Killed in Gaza Rocket Attack on Kiryat Malachi, Baby Critically Injured (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)".
  6. ↑ "Regional Statistics". www.cbs.gov.il. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Additional files - census 2008". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 15 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ "Overseas Supplemental Giving/IEF". United Jewish Communities. Archived from the original on 21 May 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  9. ↑ Fein, Leonard (29 January 2012). "Echoes of U.S. Racism in Israel". Forward.
  10. ↑ "The true results of the elections for the 25th Knesset". Israel: Central Elections Committee. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Orașe Înfrățite" (in Romanian). Piatra Neamț. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  12. ↑ "Piatra Neamţ - Twin Towns". © 2007-2008 piatra-neamt.net. Archived from the original on 16 November 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  13. ↑ "Villes jumelles". villederueil.fr (in French). Rueil-Malmaison. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  14. ↑ "Kiryat-Malakhi (Israël)".
  15. ↑ 格尔木市戮力打造丝路开放新高地. Haixi Prefecture Science and Technology Bureau. 11 April 2017. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
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