Gan-Yavne (Hebrew: גַּן-יַבְנֶה) is a town in central Israel, located adjacent to the city of Ashdod. Gan Yavne was founded in 1931 and achieved local council status in 1950. It later expanded to incorporate the ruins of the depopulated Palestinian town of Barqa, today an archaeological area containing ancient tombs and a Byzantine mosaic.[2]
It lies east of the Tel Aviv–Ashkelon highway, and is bordered to the west by Ashdod, to the north by Gederot Regional Council, and to the east and south by Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 24,574.[1] The population in Gan-Yavne is nearly entirely Jewish.[3]
The houses in Gan Yavne are either villas or cottages, and it has a modern village-esque ambience.
Gan Yavne was established in 1931 by the "Achuza Aleph" Company founded by several Jewish families from Russia and Poland, who had immigrated to the United States.[4] The inspiration for its name "Gan Yavne", comes from its proximity to the historical city of Yavne. In 1930 land was purchased and plans were drawn up to plant 400 dunams of orange groves. After negotiations with the Mandatory government between 1936 and 1938, a road was paved to Gan Yavne. The village was designed as a garden city.[5]
As of 2017, the town has over 23,000 residents, who are almost exclusively Jewish.
Gan Yavne was the site of the Gan Yavne stabbing attack on 31 March 2024 in which 1 person was killed.[6]
In the 1990s and 2000s Gan Yavne more than doubled its population, becoming a commuter town. The development of Highway 4, which is a freeway between Tel Aviv and Gan Yavne junction, and also the introduction of frequent rail service to the nearby Ashdod railway station, allows commuters to travel to Tel Aviv in 30–45 minutes.
Gan Yavne has 38 kindergartens, 5 state elementary schools (Ben-Gurion, Maccabim, Ilan Ramon, Ehud Manor, and Nofey Moledet), a state religious elementary school (Sinai), and 2 junior highs/high schools (Ort Itzhak Rabin and Ort Naomi Shemer). Beit Apple youth village is also located in Gan Yavne.
The town has a community center and library, a community center for the elderly, gyms and sports fields, and a country club.
It also has had a number of youth movements (Hebrew Scouts, HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed, Bnei Akiva, Rotary Interact, HaNoar HaLeumi, and several others).
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Gan Yavne is twinned with:
Puteaux, France (since 1973)[7].svg/1280px-Flag_of_Canada_(Pantone).svg.png){kind=small}
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (since 1984)
The site is located along the southern fringes of Gan Yavne, in an area where the Arab village of Barqa had previously existed. V. Guérin and the survey of the Palestine Exploration Fund documented a village with a sacred tomb. Walls and mosaic pavements, as well as fragments of pottery vessels and roof tiles from the Persian, Roman, Late Byzantine, Early Islamic and Ottoman periods were documented in other surveys.