Charish
Charish is located on green hills close to the Iron interchange on Highway 6, at a height of 110 meters above sea level. The city is a driving distance of 10 minutes from Pardes Hanna-Karkur, 15 minutes from Caesarea, 40 minutes from Haifa, 40 minutes from Bnei Brak, 50 minutes from Tel Aviv, and 1 hour 15 minutes to Yerushalayim.
Charish is a new city with the vast majority of buildings built within the past 10 years. The infrastructure of the city was designed with modern urban planning with full WiFi coverage and its own fiber optic cables, LED streetlights with sensors, camera-equipped lampposts, and smart trash cans that signal trucks through the Internet when they need to be emptied. The city was planned to ensure efficient and full use of the area, and includes a large number of greenery, and a fully-developed public transport infrastructure. Most of the city is within walkable distance of large green forests. Residents enjoy the nearby opportunities for hiking and nature.
Charish contains 5 neighborhoods which are very walkable with finished sidewalks and pathways. The city can be walked from one side to the other in about 40 minutes. Each neighborhood has a name and the street names in each neighborhood correspond to the name of the neighborhood. For example, the street Sapir is in the neighborhood of Avnei Chen and the street Narkis (daffodil) is in the neighborhood HaPrachim.
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Population
During 2022, the number of citizens living in Charish reached 35,000. Within the next 2-3 years, at least 50,000 residents are expected to live in Charish, and the population is expected to number about 100,000 residents in the next decade. The city's population is mixed with residents across the religious spectrum. In 2022, 21.2% of the students in the education system in Charish were Chareidi, 36% were National-Religious, and 42.7% were secular/traditional. Walking around Charish today the general population tends to be traditional, and national religious with a growing Chareidi presence. It is estimated that the Chareidi population will continue to grow and in the years to come comprise a significant portion of the city’s population.
Newcomers to the community mention the warmth of the residents and the excitement that is felt in the air of being part of building a new city in Israel. Olim Chadashim say that since the community is new and a vast majority of residents have been there only a couple years this creates an environment where everyone is looking to meet new friends and connect. Community programs, shiurim, and activities can be found in all different subsections of the city.
The anglo residents do not have their own shul but English-speakers can be found throughout the different shuls in the city.
There are currently approximately 2,000 Chareidi families throughout the city. 1,000 of those families arrived in Charish in the past year alone.
There are a variety of Chareidi communities in Charish in addition to the numerous national-religious communities throughout the city. There are estimated to be about 15 shul buildings and an additional 100 minyanim which take place in other rented spaces.
Communities
Ashkenazi-Litvish Community
There is a Ashkenazi Litvish Bnei Torah community of about 300 young families. Rav Reisner, the Rosh Kollel of Yeshiva HaRan is the Mara D’Atra of this community. Many of these families are Kollel families and a number of the avreichim learn in the Sorotzkin Yeshiva in the Ahavas Torah shul. The Sorotzkin Kollel in Charish opened a year and a half ago and now includes over 70 avreichim. This community is very young with most of the children not yet in elementary school. The community has their own gan and is looking into opening up First grade for the coming school year. The few families in this community with older children send their children to the Sephardi Chazon Shimon Talmud Torah and Beis Yaakov in Charish or to schools in neighboring cities such as Chadera. The Ashkenazi Litvish community is centered in the B’Savta neighborhood but there are also families living in other neighborhoods throughout the city who associate with this community.
Sephardi Communities
In the Avnei Chen neighborhood, there is a Sephardi shul and kollel called L’Ovdecha B’Ames under the leadership of Rav Zigdon. The community is comprised of many Baalei Teshuva. The community is concentrated in the Avnei Chen neighborhood and many of the children attend the Chazon Shimon Talmud Torah and Beis Yaakov in the neighborhood.
In the Ma’Ouf neighborhood, there are a few dozen sephardi Ben Torah families centered around Rav Shlomi Efrach’s Kollel.
In the Choresh neighborhood, there are also two Sephardi shuls which house kollels, Ahavat Chayim and Sephardi Merkazi.
Chasidic Communties
There is a Klal Chasidic community of about 50 families which has their own minyan and yiddish schools.
There are also about 20 Toldos Aharon Chasidic families who recently moved to the community.
There is also a Chabad shul and small Breslov community.
Neighborhoods
- Choresh
Choresh is the largest neighborhood in Charish. There are many charedi families spread out throughout this neighborhood. Two of the main shuls in Choresh are the Ahavas Chayim shul which houses the Chasdei Avos Kollel of 27 avreichim and the Sephardi Mercazi Beit Knesset which houses another kollel with about 20 avreichim. There is also a Litvish minyan on Shabbat in this community. As opposed to the minyan in B’Savta which is mostly avreichim, the litvish minyan in Choresh is composed of Baalei Batim as well as a number of avreichim.
Many of the Breslov community daven in this neighborhood in “Chanichei HaYeshivos - Mercaz Choresh”.
Mayaan 2000, the large Chareidi supermarket, recently opened a new store in the Choresh neighborhood.
On the main faraway between the neighborhoods Choresh and Avnei Chen there is a shul with many French Olim.
- Avnei Chen
A section of Avnei Chen has the largest concentration of Chareidim in one area. The main shul in this neighborhood is L’Ovdecha B’Emet under the leadership of Rav Zigdon. The shul is Sephardi and includes many Baalei Teshuva. The Talmud Torah Chazon Shimon and Beis Yaakov are both located in Avnei Chen. Near the shul and schools is the large supermarket Mayaan 2000 which caters to the Chareidi population.
- B’Savta:
B’Savta is a smaller neighborhood which hosts the Ahavas Torah shul. The Sorotozkin Kollol, Ataras Shlomo, of over 70 avreichim is located in the Ahavas Torah shul. The majority of Litvish avreichim that live in Charish live in the B’Savta neighborhood. The Toldos Aharon and Klal Chasidic communities are also concentrated in this neighborhood. The B’Savta neighborhood currently houses 1500 families, the majority of whom are dati and Chariedi.
- HaPrachim:
HaPrachim neighborhood is another smaller neighborhood adjacent to B’Savta and within a short walking distance. A main shul in the HaPrachim neighborhood is Ahavas Yisrael where Rav Reisner, the Mara D’Atra of the Litvish community, leads the Yeshivas HaRan kollel. The Kollel includes about 20 avreichim. HaPrachim is a more secular neighborhood but a number of Chareidim live there due to it’s close proximity to the community in B’Savta.
- Ma’Ouf
The Ma’Ouf neighborhood is still in the process of being built and is not yet fully populated. There is a Sephardi Kollel under the leadership of Rav Shlomi Efrach, a talmid of Rav Zafrani, in the neighborhood. The community around Rav Efrach’s kollel is mostly Sephardi Ben-Torahs.
Approximately 100 Chareidi families are currently living in this neighborhood.
Chinuch
The largest Chareidi school in Charish is the mainly Sephardi Chazon Shimon Talmud Torah and Beis Yaakov. There is also a Mamlachti Chareidi school system. There are also options for schooling in nearby cities, specifically Hadera. Since many of the Chareidi families are young, more schools are planning to open in the near future.
Housing
All housing in Charish is built in mid-rise apartment buildings. The apartments are new and tend to be spacious and while there are apartments available at affordable prices, the prices are rising every year. New building projects are underway continuously in the city. A number of the apartment buildings that are being built now are designated for the Charedi population while others will be open to the general market and will host a more mixed population.
The neighborhoods B’Savta and HaPrachim tend to be slightly more expensive while the neighborhood of Choresh and Avnei Chen tend to be slightly more affordable.
General Pricing in Charish (as of November 2022):
Buying
4 rooms (3 bedrooms) ≈ 1.5 million shekels
5 rooms (4 bedrooms) ≈ 1.8 million shekels
Renting
4 rooms (3 bedrooms) ≈ 3,000 shekels
5 rooms (4 bedrooms) ≈ 3,300 shekels
Transportation
Some residents find the public transportation in the area to be convenient and do not feel a car to be a necessity in Charish. Other residents expressed that a car can make a significant difference if living in the city.
There is a bus line that runs every hour to Chadera which is a 20 minutes bus ride and from Chadera there are buses to all areas throughout the country.
In the last few months a bus line began running connecting Charish and Bnei Brak which runs multiple times a day including Fridays and Motzai Shabbat. The bus ride is currently an hour but there is work being done on shortening the commute by creating an express line directly to Bnei Brak. A direct line to Yerushalayim is also in the works.
The community has organized their own minibus that transports passengers to and from Yerushalayim 3 times a day from a designated pick up point.
Those working in Tel Aviv often take an express bus to Binyamina which takes 25 minutes and from there a train to Tel Aviv.
Shopping
Mayaan 2000, a Chareidi supermarket chain recently opened their second store branch in Charish, located in the neighborhood of Choresh. Their first store branch in the city is located in the neighborhood of Avnei Chen.
There is also Mishnas Yosef initiative in the community. Once a week families can put in an order from a large selection of groceries and a delivery arrives at a central location on a designated day of the week and families come and pick up their order.
The city’s main faraway, Derech Eretz, is lined with retail stores and restaurants.
Employment
A new industrial park set to host a number of companies is under construction in the city. The majority of the residents find their employment in nearby cities such as Ceasarea, Netanya, Pardes Hanna Yokneam, and Hadera. A direct bus line runs to the industrial park in Caesarea 20 minutes away and many residents have been able to find employment there.
Approximately 1,000 Chareidi families moved to Charish in the past year and according to leading members of the community those looking for employment have been successful at finding jobs in nearby cities. Many ganim and schools are looking for teaching staff to fill open positions and English teachers are in high demand in Charish as well.
Contacts
R' Levin - Young Avreich in Ahavas Chaim Kollel: (054)-848-9339
Eliyahu Zer - Real estate agent for Chareidim interested in Charish: (050)-418-4104
