Yad HaShmona

Yad HaShmona (Hebrew: יַד הַשְּׁמוֹנָה‎, lit. Memorial of the Eight) is a small moshav shitufi in central Israel. Located in the Judean Mountains near Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 299.[1]

Yad HaShmona

יד השמונה‎
ياد هاشمونا
Yad HaShmona
Yad HaShmona
Coordinates: 31°48′37″N 35°5′20″E
CountryIsrael
DistrictJerusalem
CouncilMateh Yehuda
AffiliationAgricultural Union
Founded1971
Founded byFinnish pioneers
Population
 (2019)[1]
299
Name meaning'Memorial of the Eight'

History
Wooden cabin, Yad HaShmona guesthouse

Yad HaShmona was founded in 1971 by a small group of Finnish Christians and was named for eight Jewish refugees from Austria who escaped to Finland in 1938. The Finnish government, collaborating with the Nazis, handed the refugees over to the Gestapo in 1942. Seven of them died in Auschwitz; the only survivor, Dr. Kolman, who lost his family in extermination camps, later immigrated to Israel.[2]

Economy

The community runs a guesthouse, convention center and banquet hall. In 2000, a biblical village was inaugurated with the assistance of the Swiss Beth Shalom society and the Israel Antiquities Authority.[3] A Biblical garden planted on the hillside replicates agriculture in ancient times. Apart from tourism, the economy is based on carpentry.

Controversy

In 2008, a lesbian couple married in the UK wanted to host a wedding party in Israel at the banquet hall in Yad HaShmona. After Yad HaShmona learned the couple was not a straight couple, the venue cancelled the reservation. The couple filed a lawsuit on grounds of discrimination based on sexual orientation. The lower court judge ruled in favour of the couple based on a year 2000 law forbidding discrimination in public places.[4]In June 2014, the appeal by Yad HaShmona was denied by the Jerusalem District Court, which upheld the lower court's ruling on the case with a compensation 80,000 ₪ (around €20,000).[5]

See also

References
  1. "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. The Name Yad Hashmona
  3. The Biblical Village Yad HaShmona
  4. Shaviv, Miriam (September 20, 2012). "Lesbian couple awarded damages in landmark sexual harassment ruling". The Times of Israel. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  5. Lior, Ilan (June 24, 2014). "Israeli lesbian couple awarded NIS 60,000 after being turned away from wedding hall". Haaretz.com. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
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