Bet Shemesh (Israel)

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Iriyat Bet Shemesh, Municipality of Bet Shemesh

See also:

Municipal Flags (Israel)
Jerusalem Subdistrict (Jerusalem District, Israel)
Israel

Description

Bet Shemesh (meaning house of the sun after an ancient town with that name whose ruins are nearby) is situated on the border of Juda Mounts and Juda Plain, on a hill (314 m ASL), 5 km south to Shimshon cross and 32 km east to Jerusalem. Est. 1952, pop: 30,000. Unofficial flag is white with emblem, but I would not be surprised to see it also on other backgrounds. Currently, the desk flag is charged with a modified 50th anniversary emblem. The municipal emblem was published in the official gazette (Rashumot, Yalkut ha-Pirsumim), YP 1878, 23 November 1972, for the then Local Council Bet Shemesh. Sources: letter from Yehuda Gur-Arie, city spokesman, 20 September 2001; desk flag; this website.
Dov Gutterman, 5 October 2001

There is an old song about the Independence War. The name of the song is Hayu Zmanim [There were times..] and in it there is a verse saying Bimkom Mishlat Yoshevet Ir (=Instead of a dominating standpoint there is a town]. Not too many know that the said city is Bet Shemesh
The dominating standpoint is a famous battlefield named HaMishlat HaMeshutaf [The Joint dominating standpoint] which, in some point was held together by the Egyptian and Israeli Armies with stances only 50m. apart.
On the ground of this site, a transitional settlement (Har-Tuv) was built in 1950, and two years later it was converted to Bet Shemesh . Bet Shemesh is a municipality since 1991 with 65,000 inh. (2003).
The emblem include a brick wall with a "window" from which a gold sun (for its anciant name) and blue sky are seen. It also include an hammer (symbolizing industry), a spatula (symbolizing the first builders of thecity) and an olive branch (symbol of Iseal and peace).
According to a photo at <www.betshemesh.muni.il> is the national flag with the municipal emblem replacing the Magen David.
Sources: <www.index.co.il>, <betshemesh.muni.il>.
Dov Gutterman, 9 April 2005

The Emblem

image from wikipedia