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Meitar
Type of community and size: Small town, 1,750 families (7,000 people). Adding another 600 families in a current expansion project.
Location: Located 15 minutes northeast of Beer Sheva, near Tsomet Shoket.
Religious life: 20% religious, Orthodox and conservative shuls
Age range: All ages
Number of English-speaking Olim: Quite a few, all ages, from US, Canada, Britain, South Africa, and Australia
Accessibility to places of employment: Very accessible; train is nearby and Beer Sheva is a 15-20 minute drive away. Highway 6 is planned to extend down to Meitar.
Medical care: Two Kupot Cholim are available, some with Anglo Saxon doctors.
Commercial establishments: Basic items are available in Meitar
Climate: Dry, not humid.
Housing availability: All private villas. Rentals, new properties, and second hand properties are available.
Contacts: Leah Wolf bobbyleah@gmail.com
Moetza Meitar: shayak@metar.muni.il
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CONTENTS
Meitar was established in 1984 by a mixed group of secular and religious Jews, and the feeling of openness and acceptance are a trademark of Meitar until this day. This southern gem of a town is a friendly community where everyone makes an effort to speak in Hebrew. It should be specially noted that Meitar won an award for its excellent schools in 2007.
Commerce and Health Services
Two Kupot Cholim are represented in Meitar.
All basic household shopping can be done in Meitar. There is more extensive shopping available within a 15 – 20 minute drive to Beer Sheva.
Education
Meitar won the National Education Award in 2007 for its wonderful educational institutes.
The public secular elementary school goes up to 9th grade, and the religious school goes through 8th. Most of the religious children study in Ulpanot and Yeshivot after 8th grade but remain involved in the community and in the local Bnei Akiva. The secular students generally attend local high schools.
Employment
Many residents work throughout the Negev while others travel to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Ben Gurion University and Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva are major employers in the area.
There is a growth of hi-tech companies in the area and many of these companies are seeking employees.
Absorption Programs
None in particular, but given the close knit nature of this community, the recent oleh is well looked after.
Community Services & Institutions
Several youth groups, both secular and religious, offer programs.
The Community Center offers a wide variety of programs for both adults and kids, and an emphasis is now being placed on care for the aging populations.
There is an English speaker's book club.
Religious Life
The relationships that exist between the secular and religious populations are solid and genuine.
There are 8 Orthodox and one Conservative Beit Knesset.
Daily Minyanim; several every morning and evening; Daf Yomi both morning and evening; separate swimming hours every day at the pool. There's daily learning for men plus a Beit Midrash for women with Shiurim; daily Tehilim for women.
There's a weekly women's Chumash class in English taught by Rabbi Elisha Citroen.
Transportation
The train to Tel Aviv takes 75 minutes (from Beer Sheva).
There are regular buses to Beer Sheva and Kiryat Arba.
It is 1.5 hours by car to both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
It is a half hour drive to Arad.
A car would be necessary as the buses don't run that often.
Real Estate
Houses are in the $250,000 range. There are no apartment buildings, though some residents have built apartment units as part of their homes which they rent out.
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