Sederot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sederot (Hebrew: שדרות ▶(?); unofficially also spelled Sderot) is a city in the Southern District of Israel in Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2004 the city had a total population of 19,900.
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Demographics
According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8% Jewish and other non-Arabs, without significant Arab population. In 2001 there were 132 immigrant settlers. See Population groups in Israel.
According to CBS, in 2001 there were 9,500 males and 9,700 females. The population of the city was spread out with 36.5% 19 years of age or younger, 16.2% between 20 and 29, 19.6% between 30 and 44, 14.3% from 45 to 59, 3.8% from 60 to 64, and 9.5% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2004 was 0.7%.
Income
According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 6,301 salaried workers and 367 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 3,845, a real change of 9.0% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 4,911 (a real change of 11.3%) versus ILS 2,665 for females (a real change of 2.4%). The mean income for the self-employed is 5,378. There are 603 people who receive unemployment benefits and 3,183 people who receive an income guarantee.
Education
According to CBS, there are 14 schools and 3,578 students in the city. They are spread out as 11 elementary schools and 2,099 elementary school students, and 6 high schools and 1,479 high school students. 56.5% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
City under attack
Sederot lies a kilometer from the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada in October 2000, the city has been occasionally shelled by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants using primitive mortar bombs known as "Qassam rockets". While very inaccurate, these attacks have resulted in several deaths and injuries, as well as in psychologic distress among the residents and in negative immigration from the city. The Israeli government has installed a "Red Dawn" alarm system in an attempt to alert Israelis to possible shellings, though there are doubts concerning its effectiveness. Dozens of mortar bombs hit the town in the days following Israel's disengagement from Gaza in September 2005.
