Sederot (שדרות; unofficially also spelled Sderot) is a city in the Southern District of Israel in Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2004 the city had a total population of 19,900. The Southern District, or South District, of Israel includes the following towns and cities: Arad ערד Ashdod אשדוד Ashqelon אשקלון Beer Sheva (Beersheba) באר שבע Dimona דימונה Elat אילת Netivot נתיבות Ofaqim אופקים Qiryat Gat קריית גת Qiryat Malakhi קריית מלאכי Rahat Sederot שדרות Yerucham See also List... Israel Central Bureau of Statistics is a state organization for the creation and maintenance of numeric data related to populations vis a vis the ethnic makeup of Israel and its cities. ... 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Demographics

According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8% Jewish and other non-Arabs, without significant Arab population. In 2001 there were 132 immigrant settlers. See Population groups in Israel. The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of these attributes. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa. ... Population groups in Israel are the major ethnic groups of Jews and Arabs. ...

According to CBS, in 2001 there were 9,500 males and 9,700 females. The population of the city was spread out with 36.5% 19 years of age or younger, 16.2% between 20 and 29, 19.6% between 30 and 44, 14.3% from 45 to 59, 3.8% from 60 to 64, and 9.5% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2004 was 0.7%.

Income

According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 6,301 salaried workers and 367 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 3,845, a real change of 9.0% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 4,911 (a real change of 11.3%) versus ILS 2,665 for females (a real change of 2.4%). The mean income for the self-employed is 5,378. There are 603 people who receive unemployment benefits and 3,183 people who receive an income guarantee. 1 sheqel coin (1994–5). ...

Education

According to CBS, there are 14 schools and 3,578 students in the city. They are spread out as 11 elementary schools and 2,099 elementary school students, and 6 high schools and 1,479 high school students. 56.5% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.

City under attack

Sederot lies a kilometer from the Gaza Strip, and is sometimes shelled by Hamas militants using mortar bombs, in retalliation for Israeli attacks upon Palestinian settlements within the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government has installed a "Red Dawn" alarm system in an attempt to alert Israelis to possible shellings, though there are doubts concerning its effectiveness. The Hamas emblem shows two crossed swords, the Dome of the Rock, and a map of the land they claim as Palestine (roughly, present-day Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip). ... US soldier firing an M224 60-mm mortar. ... The Palestinians are a mainly Arabic-speaking people with family origins in Palestine. ...