Rosh HaAyin

Rosh HaAyin (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הָעָיִן Hebrew pronunciation: [ˌroʃ häˈʔä.in], lit. Fountainhead; Arabic: روش هاعين‎) is a city in the Center District of Israel. To the west of Rosh HaAyin is the fortress of Antipatris and the source of the Yarkon River. To the southeast is the fortress of Migdal Afek (Migdal Tzedek).As of 2009, the population of Rosh HaAyin was 38,500.

History

Rosh HaAyin was founded in the 1950s near the site of ancient Antipatris and the depopulated Arab village of Majdal Yaba (in the 19th century also known as Majdal Sadek). Many of the early residents were Yemenite Jews airlifted to Israel in 1949 and 1950 in Operation Magic Carpet. In the 1990s new neighborhoods were built although the town still has a large Yemenite population.

Rosh HaAyin is named after its location at the source of the Yarkon River (rosh = head, ayin = fountain, spring).

Demographics

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8% Jewish, with a predominant number of young people below the age of 19. The population growth rate was 2.5%.