Yad HaShmona
| Yad HaShmona | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Yad HaShmona | |
| Coordinates: 31°48′37.08″N 35°5′20.39″E / 31.8103000°N 35.0889972°ECoordinates: 31°48′37.08″N 35°5′20.39″E / 31.8103000°N 35.0889972°E | |
| District | Jerusalem |
| Council | Mateh Yehuda |
| Affiliation | Agricultural Union |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Founded by | Finnish pioneers |
| Population (2015)[1] | 131 |
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 2015 it had a population of 131.
History
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.
Lawsuit on sexual harassment and discrimination
In 2008, a lesbian couple married in the UK, wanted to host a wedding party for their families and friends in Israel, and contracted to hold the event at the banquet hall in Yad HaShmona. After Yad HaShmona learned the couple was not a straight couple, the venue cancelled the reservation, referring to homosexuality as an "abomination". The couple filed a lawsuit on discrimination and humiliation 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 HaShoma 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) to be paid by Yad HaShmona to the couple on discrimination and sexual harassment based on sexual orientation.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ "List of localities, in Alphabetical order" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ↑ The Name Yad Hashmona
- ↑ The Biblical Village Yad HaShmona
- ↑ "Lesbian couple awarded damages in landmark sexual harassment ruling". timesofisrael.com. September 20, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
- ↑ "Israeli lesbian couple awarded NIS 60,000 after being turned away from wedding hall". Haaretz.com. June 24, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014.