Ashdod

Ashdod (Hebrew אַשְׁדּוֹד , Arabic إسدود ʾIsdūd ) is the fifth plus big city and the second port of Israel (after Haïfa). Located on the plain of the littoral halfway between Tel Aviv and Gaza, in the Southern district of Israel, It is to 35 km of Tel Aviv, 5 km of Ashkelon and to 70 km of Jerusalem and Beer-Sheva. It is a very dynamic city and which had a very fast recent growth, in particular thanks to the contribution of new immigrants coming from France, of Ethiopia, Russia and Latin America.

History

The city is one of the five cities founded by the Philistins in the Antiquité and was the center of the worship of the god Dagon. According to the Bible, it is in Ashdod that the Philistines took along the Ark of the Covenant like a trophy in the honor of Dagon, after a victory with Aphek against the Hebrew around -1050. The account mentions great disasters with Ashdod due to the presence of the Arch which then will be transferred to Gath then returned to the tribes from Israel.

With Xe century before our era, Ashdod and the Philistine one were one moment a vassal province of the kingdom of David, but continued then their hostilities to the Kingdoms of Judaea and Israel after the schism until the conquest of the city in VIIIe century before our era. In -711, Ashdod was combined with the Judaea, the Egypt, Moab and Edom in a rebellion against the Assyrie until the crushing of the revolt by the troops of Sargon II which made of Ashdod an Assyrian province.

It seems that the Philistines had temporarily taken again the control of Ashdod when Judaea was dismantled into -587.

The city was renamed Azotos under the Greek (Latin Azotus) after the conquest of Alexandre Large the then the city passed under the control of the Ptolémées from -323 to -199. Lastly, lasting the revolt of the Stiffs in Judaea, the temple of Dagon was destroyed by Juda Macchabée before the city is not integrated into the new kingdom Juif then with the Roman Empire at the first century before our era.

In 1956, the modern city of Ashdod was built on the ruins of the old Philistine city and the village of Isdud, destroyed during the Guerre of independence of 1948. The majority of the Arab residents of the village became Palestinian Réfugiés. The city was inhabited before in 1945 by 4.620 Arabic and 290 Jews.

The modern history of Ashdod is related to that of the State of Israel since its creation.

In particular:

during the Israeli-Arab War of 1948, the kibbutzes of the area of Ashdod are attacked by the Egyptian army.
during the the Second Intifada, a Attack-suicide in the port of Ashdod makes 10 dead and the 16 wounded March 14th 2004. The Sheik Ahmed Yassin, leader spiritual of the Hamas which asserted the attack, is delighted that the counterpart of the Israeli army had been weak. A few days later, the March 22nd 2004, Yassin is killed at the exit of the prayer of the morning by a targeted attack of the Israeli helicopters.

The 21 June 2005, a collision enters a train and a truck close to Ashdod makes at least 8 dead and more than 191 wounded. The exact circumstances of the collision were not given.

The modern city

The town of Ashdod is especially known today for its harbor infrastructure which does one of the rare deep water ports of it on the sea the Mediterranean. It thus became an important center for Israeli and international navigation. A few 15 million tons of freight per annum spends each year by Ashdod.

The city itself is divided administratively into 17 districts. The growth of this city is most considerable of the country since the Années 1990 and the immigration of many Jews of Diaspora. The city counts in 2005 more than 200.000 inhabitants.

Photographs

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