Yavne Attractions
The town of Yavne, founded in 1946 on the site of an abandoned Arab village, lies 30km/19mi south of Tel Aviv on the road to Ashqelon. It is best known for its nuclear research center, with Israel's first atomic reactor.
History
First recorded in early Canaanite times (3000 B.C.), Yavne (Jabneel or Jabneh) was captured by Joshua in the 13th century B.C. and by the Philistines in the 12th century, and thereafter became part of the kingdom of Judah. In Persian times Phoenicians and Greeks settled here, calling the town Jamnia. The Maccabees destroyed the town, but in 147 B.C. rebuilt it, together with its port, and populated it with Jews. After the future Emperor Vespasian captured the town in A.D. 68 he gave Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai permission to establish a Jewish school, in which the foundations of the Mishnah (completed about 200 in Tiberias) were laid.
After the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 Yavne became the seat of the Sanhedrin. Rabbis Gamaliel II and Ben Akiba taught in the school along with Yohanan. In 135 the Romans crushed the Bar Kochba rebellion and destroyed the school at Yavne, which had supported Bar Kochba. The Sanhedrin then moved to Usha (1km/0.75mi east of Qiryat Ata on the Bay of Haifa, now the site of a kibbutz) and later to Tiberias.
History
First recorded in early Canaanite times (3000 B.C.), Yavne (Jabneel or Jabneh) was captured by Joshua in the 13th century B.C. and by the Philistines in the 12th century, and thereafter became part of the kingdom of Judah. In Persian times Phoenicians and Greeks settled here, calling the town Jamnia. The Maccabees destroyed the town, but in 147 B.C. rebuilt it, together with its port, and populated it with Jews. After the future Emperor Vespasian captured the town in A.D. 68 he gave Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai permission to establish a Jewish school, in which the foundations of the Mishnah (completed about 200 in Tiberias) were laid.
After the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 Yavne became the seat of the Sanhedrin. Rabbis Gamaliel II and Ben Akiba taught in the school along with Yohanan. In 135 the Romans crushed the Bar Kochba rebellion and destroyed the school at Yavne, which had supported Bar Kochba. The Sanhedrin then moved to Usha (1km/0.75mi east of Qiryat Ata on the Bay of Haifa, now the site of a kibbutz) and later to Tiberias.
Crusader Church
On a hill to the east of the main road in Yavne is a Crusader church (12th century) which was later converted into a mosque.
Tomb
To the west of the main road in Yavne is a tomb which is believed by the Jews to be that of Rabbi Gamaliel and the Muslims to be that of Hureira, a friend of Mohammed.
Yavne Yam
7km/4.5mi northwest of Yavne, immediately south of the kibbutz of Palmahim, is the old port of Yavne Yam, where remains of a fortress built of stone and brick were found.
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