Ma'ale Adummim
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| Hebrew | מעלה אדומים |
| Name meaning | Red Hills |
| Founded in | 1976 |
| Government | City (from 1991) |
| Unofficially also spelled | Maale Adumim |
| District | Judea and Samaria (West Bank) |
| Population | 29,800 (CBS end of 2005) |
| Jurisdiction | 50,000 dunams (50 km²) |
The city of Ma'ale Adummim (Hebrew: מעלה אדומים; unofficially also spelled Maale Adumim) is a city and Israeli settlement in the Judea region of the West Bank, east of Jerusalem. Founded in 1976, it is now sometimes considered to be a suburb of Jerusalem, mainly because most of its population works in Jerusalem. Prior to the city's establishment on barren hilltops outside Jerusalem, the land upon which the city was built was unoccupied land declared "State Land" by both the Ottoman Empire and then the Kingdom of Jordan. It was annexed to Israel during the Six Days War. Once the city was established on "State Land", it was declared a city in 1991. The municipal borders are about 50 square kilometres (19 square miles) in size. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), in 2005 the city had a total population of 29,800 (28,700 in 2004 - ¹).
Ma'ale Adummim is one of the largest Jewish communities in the West Bank. The city's planning scheme, which was finalized in 1983, sets Ma'ale Adummim borders to an area of approximately 35 square kilometers. Of these, only 3.7 square kilometers have been built so far, representing the settlements of Ma'ale Adummim, Mishor Adumim, Kfar Adumim, and Allon.[1] Ma'ale Adumim is governed by an elected mayor and city council. The current mayor is Benny Cashriel, recently elected to a third term by a large majority of the population.
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[edit] Demographics
As of 2005, the estimated population of Ma'ale Adummim is 32,000.
According to the CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8% Jewish. See Population groups in Israel.
According to the CBS, in 2001 there were 12,700 males and 13,000 females. The population of the city was spread out with 44.1% 19 years of age or younger, 14.2% between 20 and 29, 23.1% between 30 and 44, 12.6% from 45 to 59, 2.1% from 60 to 64, and 3.9% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 3.3%. With the opening of a new neighborhood (07), which will add approximately 15,000 more residents, the population is anticipated to reach 45,000 in the next few years.
[edit] Income
According to the CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 9,965 salaried workers and 660 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is NIS 6,337, a real change of 8.9% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of NIS 8,153 (a real change of 9.0%) versus NIS 4,615 for females (a real change of 6.3%). The mean income for the self-employed is 7,098. There are 396 people who receive unemployment benefits and 388 people who receive an income guarantee.
[edit] Education
According to the CBS, there are 14 schools and 5,793 students in the city, although several more have been added in the last few years. They are spread out as 10 elementary schools and 3,524 elementary school students, and 7 high schools and 2,269 high school students. 66.9% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
[edit] Controversies
The area known as Ma'ale Adummim was originally state owned land, under the Turks during the Ottoman Empire rule and then under Jordan prior to the 1967 war. When Israel conquered the area, Israel took over the land between Jerusalem and the Jordan River, including the land on which Ma'ale Adummim was built. This land was then declared "State Land" by the Israeli government, as it had been under the Jordanians and the Turks. Despite claims of ownership by the Palestinian residents of refugee camp Abu-Dies, both the Jordanians and the Israelis dismissed these accusations as false and continued to recognize the land as state-owned. Starting from 1982, the Jahalin Bedouin who had been living on the outskirts of the city were ordered and sometimes physically transferred to another site.
[edit] Importance
Ma'ale Adummim is seen by Palestinians as a threat to the territorial continuity of any future Palestinian state, given its strategic situation between the northern and southern areas of the West Bank. In March 2005, a report by John Dugard, a Special Rapporteur for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, stated that "the three major settlement blocs - Gush Etzion, Ma’ale Adummim and Ariel - will effectively divide Palestinian territory into cantons or Bantustans." [2] However, the mayor of the city and others have claimed that this would not be the case, by prominently displaying a carefully planned by-pass road, similar to the ones that hundreds of Israelis use daily to avoid injury should they pass near or through Arab areas. There is widespread expectation among Israelis that Ma'ale Adummim will be kept within Israel as part of future agreements with the Palestinian Authority.
The project, recently supported by Ariel Sharon, and many others, to link Ma'ale Adummim to Jerusalem has been criticized by the Palestinian Authority and several other parties, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US President George W. Bush.[3] However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has recently again verified his intention to follow plans long established by previous governments.
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Expansion of Ma'ale Adumim. Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ) website. Retrieved on February 10, 2006.
- ^ * Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine, Report to the Commission on Human Rights, John Dugard, 3 March 2005, accessed June 27 2006.
- ^ "Rice slams Israel's settlements plans", Ynetnews, March 25, 2005.
[edit] External links
- "Israel's Proposed Annexation of Ma'ale Adummim", IRmep
- Unofficial city website
- Hebrew-language map of Maʻale Adummim
- "Sharon pledges settlement growth", BBC
- Bush warns Israel over West Bank, BBC
- Israel plan for new settler homes, BBC
- History of Ma'aleh Adummim
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| Cities | Ariel · Betar Illit · Ma'ale Adummim |  |
| Regional committees | Hebron | |
| Local councils | Alfei Menashe · Beit Arieh · Bet El · Efrat · Elkana · Giv'at Ze'ev · Har Adar · Immanuel · Karnei Shomron · Kedumim · Kiryat Arba · Ma'ale Efraim · Modi'in Illit · Oranit | |
| Regional councils | Gush Etzion · Har Hebron · Matte Binyamin · Megilot Dead Sea · Shomron · Southern Jordan Valley (Biq'at Hayarden) | |
