Bet She'an
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Template:Audio (Hebrew: Template:HbrbbetTemplate:HbrzeremTemplate:Hbrtav Template:HbrshinTemplate:HbrshindotְאָTemplate:Hbrnunsofit Bet Šəʼan; unofficially also spelled Beit Shean, Beth Shean; official Israeli Arabic بيت شان Bayt Šān; Arabic بيسان Template:Audio) is a city in the North District in Israel. The new Bet She'an was founded in 1949, a short time after the establishment of the State of Israel. The town has been called other names in the past, the most recent being Bissan which is where the name Bet She'an comes from. Bet She'an lies about 120 meters below sea level in the Jordan River Valley, about 60 km south of Tiberias.
Bet She'an was the site of an Egyptian administrative center during the XVIII and XIX dynasties. In Hellenistic times it was a Scythian city from circa 625 to 300 B.C., and the biblical city Beth-shean. In 64 BC it was taken by the Romans, rebuilt, and made the center of the Decapolis, the "Ten Cities" of Samaria that were centers of Greco-Roman culture. The city contains the best preserved Roman theater of ancient Samaria.
During the 6th century Byzantine period, Bet She'an housed a Christian monastery named the Monastery of Lady Mary which has a Zodiac mosaic that is still preserved today.
The University of Pennsylvania carried out excavations of ancient Bet She'an in 1921–1933. They discovered many interesting relics from the Egyptian period, most of which are preserved in the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem and some in the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia, USA. Excavations at the cite are ongoing at the site and reveal no less than 18 successive ancient towns. Ancient Bet She'an is one of the most impressive Roman and Byzantine sites in Israel, but attracts relatively few tourists due to its location slightly away from the main tourist routes.
Before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Bet She'an was one of the largest cities in the British Mandate of Palestine. After the war, it became much smaller. At the end of 2001 the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), reported the city had a total population of 15,700. The city lies in the middle of the territory of the Beit Shean Valley Regional Council, but is an independent municipality by itself.
Demographics
According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.6% Jewish and other non-Arab, with no significant Arab population. There were 35 immigrants living in the city. See Population groups in Israel.
According to CBS, in 2001 there were 7,900 males and 7,800 females. The population of the city was spread out with 40.5% 19 years of age or younger, 16.6% between 20 and 29, 19.4% between 30 and 44, 14.2% from 45 to 59, 2.6% from 60 to 64, and 6.6% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was -0.2%.
Income
According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 4,980 salaried workers and 301 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 4,200, a real change of 3.3% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 5,314 (a real change of 5.1%) versus ILS 2,998 for females (a real change of -1.0%). The mean income for the self-employed is 6,106. There are 470 people who receive unemployment benefits and 1,409 people who receive an income guarantee.
Education
According to CBS, there are 16 schools and 3,809 students in the city. They are spread out as 10 elementary schools and 2,008 elementary school students, and 10 high schools and 1,801 high school students. 56.2% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.de:Bet Sche'an he:בית שאן pl:Bet Szean pt:Bet Shean ru:Бейт-Шеан