Binyamina

Binyamina was founded in 1922. At first, the proposed name for the Moshava was "Tel Binyamin", but as the nearby British railway station was called Binyamina railway station, which itself was named after the Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild, the inhabitants chose to call it Binyamina.^[2] According to the Jewish National Fund, Binyamina was founded on PICA land by members of the Third Aliyah and people from the neighboring Zikhron Ya'akov. According to a census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Binyamina had a population of 153 inhabitants, consisting of 137 Jews, 13 Muslims and 3 Christians.^[3] In 1946 the Betar Tower and Stockade settlement (which was relocated multiple times) "Nahalat Jabotinsky", named after Ze'ev Jabotinsky became, municipally, a part of Binyamina.^[4][5][6] The original economy of the village was citrus-based. In 1947, Binyamina had a population of 2000.^[7]

• Binyamina 1928
• Binyamina 1934
• Binyamina 1942 1:20,000
• Giv'at Ada 1942 1:20,000 (bottom left)
• Binyamina & Giv'at Ada 1945 1:250,000

Giv'at Ada

Giv'at Ada, 'Ada Heights', named for Baron Edmond James de Rothschild's wife Adelaid (Ada), was established in 1903 by eight families from Zikhron Ya'akov.^[8] Giv'at Ada was established as an agricultural settlement. The main farming branches were field crops and vegetables, and later grapes.^[8]

Merger

The two local councils, Binyamina and Givat Ada, were merged into one authority as part of an initiative by the Ministry of the Interior regarding the unification of local authorities in Israel. The unification was done in 2003 as part of the plan for the revival of the Israeli economy. From the beginning, there was an intention to unite the three settlements into one authority: Zichron Ya'akov, Binyamina, and Givat Ada.^[9] Finally it was decided in the Knesset on July 31, 2003, to unify Binyamina and Givat Ada only.^[10]