Kokhav Ya'ir-Tzur Yigal is a town (local council

Local council (Israel)

Local councils are one of the three types of local government found in Israel, with the other two being cities and regional councils. As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel, these being settlements which pass a minimum threshold enough to justify their operations as independent...

) in the Center District

Center District (Israel)

The Central District of Israel is one of six administrative districts, including most of the Sharon region. The district capital is Ramla. It is further divided into 4 sub-districts: Petah Tikva, Ramla, Sharon and Rehovot. The district's largest city is Rishon LeZion. Its population as of 2008 was...

 of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Kokhav Ya'ir and the neighboring town of Tzur Yigal merged in November 2003. Together, the population in 2008 was 11,050.

History

Kochav Ya'ir was established in 1981 by 15 families living in temporary quarters. Two years later, work began on infrastructure for a permanent town. In 1986, 550 families moved into permanent housing and the town was officially founded. Tzur Yigal was founded in 1991, with the first families moving into permanent homes in the summer of 1994.

Etymology

Kokhav Ya'ir (literally "Ya'ir's star") was named for Abraham Stern, who went by the alias Ya'ir

Jair

Jair died and was buried in Kamon.-External links:* *...

, the founder and leader of the Lehi

Lehi (group)

Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...

 group, a militant Jewish underground active during the British Mandate of Palestine. Stern is also German for "star." Tzur Yigal (literally "Yigal's rock") was named for Israeli Knesset

Knesset

The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

 member Yigal Cohen

Yigal Cohen

Yigal Cohen was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1974 and 1988.-Biography:Born in Tel Adashim during the Mandate era, during his youth Cohen co-ordinated the Youth Committee of the Moshavim Movement, and was a member of both the HaNoar HaOved and Mapai...

.

Demography

Kokhav Ya'ir is predominantly Jewish, with a high income level. Kokhav Yair is a secular community with a religious minority. Religious tensions are virtually non-existent. Residents from English speaking countries

Anglosphere

Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...

 comprise approximately 20% of the population.

Geography

Kochav Ya'ir is located at lat. 32° 00' N, long. 35° 00' E, approximately 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north-north-east of the city of Kefar Sava. Neighboring the municipality on its south-west border is Kibbutz Eyal

Eyal

Eyal is a kibbutz in the Centre District of Israel close to the Green line. It is under the jurisdiction of the Drom HaSharon Regional Council-Geography:...

, approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north-west is the Israeli Arab city of Tira and approximately 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) south is the Palestinian city of Qalqilyah

Qalqilyah

-Bibliography: p. -External links:**...

. Kochav Yair is located in central Israel within the Green Line

Green Line (Israel)

Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...

 in the southern Sharon region. Kochav Ya'ir is 95 meters above sea level

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

.
The Sapir Lookout in Kokhav Ya'ir attracts bird watchers

Birdwatching

Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...

 who come to observe the semi-annual migration of many species of birds.

Education and sports

Kokhav Ya'ir currently has four schools, two secular elementary schools

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

 ('Keshet' and 'Nof Tzurim'), one religious elementary school ('Dekel') and one middle school

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

 ('Ramon', named after the Astronaut

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

 Ilan Ramon

Ilan Ramon

Ilan Ramon was a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, and later the first Israeli astronaut....

). After finishing middle school students are usually directed to highschools in Raanana, Kfar Sava and Herzliya

Herzliya

Herzliya is a city in the central coast of Israel, at the western part of the Tel Aviv District. It has a population of 87,000 residents. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya covers an area of 26 km²...

.
Kokhav Ya'ir's local basketball team, Elitzur Kokhav Ya'ir, has been a member of the Israel National Basketball League since 2008.

Notable residents

• Ehud Barak
  Ehud Barak
  Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
  
  
• Shaul Mofaz
  Shaul Mofaz
  Lt. General Shaul Mofaz is an Israeli politician who serves as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs And Defense Committee at the Knesset...
  
  
• Michael Eitan
  Michael Eitan
  Michael Eitan is an Israeli politician, Minister of Improvement of Government Services and member of the Knesset for Likud. He served as Minister of Science & Technology between July 1997 and July 1998. Alongside Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Eitan is the joint longest-serving MK, and as such was...
  
  
• Dani Yatom
• Gideon Ezra
  Gideon Ezra
  Gideon Ezra is an Israeli politician, member of the Knesset for Kadima and a former Minister of Environmental Protection.-Biography:Ezra was born in Jerusalem and served in the Israeli Defense Force between 1955 and 1958 in the Nahal...
  
  
• Michael Ratzon
  Michael Ratzon
  Michael Ratzon is a former Israeli politician who briefly served as a member of the Knesset for Likud in 1996 and again from 2003 until 2006.-Biography:...
  
  
• Uzi Dayan
  Uzi Dayan
  Uzi Dayan is an Aluf in the Israel Defense Forces and an Israeli politician. He is the nephew of General Moshe Dayan.-Early life and career:...
  
  
• Dov Elbaum

External links

• Kochav Ya'ir's municipality site (in Hebrew)
• Kochav Yair's synagogue web site(in Hebrew)