Ashdod

(ăsh`dŏd, ăshdōd`) [Heb.,=stronghold], city (1994 pop. 120,100), SW Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is Israel's leading port after Haifa. Construction is Ashdod's main industry; its manufactures include synthetic fibers, woolen yarn, and knitted goods. Nearby is the site of ancient Ashdod, which was settled as early as the Bronze Age. Conquered by the PhilistinesPhilistines
, inhabitants of Philistia, a non-Semitic people who came to Palestine from a region in the Mediterranean in the 12th cent. B.C. Genetic studies in the 21st cent.
..... Click the link for more information. in the 12th cent. B.C., it became an important city of the Philistine Pentapolis and a center for the worship of DagonDagon
, god of fertility, widely worshiped in the Middle East, particularly in Canaan. In the Bible he is mentioned as one of the chief deities of the Philistines.
..... Click the link for more information. . The city was later ruled by Judah, Egypt, and Assyria. The Jews of Ashdod had been considered idolatrous by other Jews since the time of the return to Jerusalem (6th cent. B.C.), but they were cleansed by Judas Maccabeus in 163 B.C. Jonathan, the brother of Judas Maccabeus, took the city in 148 B.C. and destroyed the temple of Dagon. Ashdod was revived by the Romans and was an early Christian center. The first modern Israeli settlement in Ashdod was made in 1955, and in 1965 the deepwater port was completed.

Ashdod

a town in central Israel, on the Mediterranean coast: an important city in the Philistine Empire, with its artificial harbour (1961) it is now a major port. Pop.: 192 000 (2003 est.)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

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Hours earlier, air raid sirens rang out in Ashdod and the surrounding area and a rocket was intercepted over the city, about40 kilometers from the Strip.There have beenno reports of damage from the rocket or the interception.

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During the past few weeks, ultra-Orthodox activists have been waging a war on the new Ashdod shopping mall, and the rabbis took advantage of the rocket fire from Gaza to express their opinion on the matter.

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Privatisation Moves Forward: In July we wrote that the threat of downside risk to our container throughput forecasts for the ports of Haifa and Ashdod appeared to have abated, with the Histadrut labour federation, which is present in both facilities and is against the planned privatisation of these ports' container terminals, unlikely to call a strike against the planned privatisation, as such a move would be reportedly be opposed by 83% of Israelis.

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The Israeli Army said it had contacted the boat five times before and urged its passengers to divert to Ashdod, but the activists had repeatedly refused.

Israeli Navy takes control of aid vessel 'Rachel Corrie' off Gaza coast

<![CDATA[ Police tell public to stay away from southern beaches after a barrels with explosives washed up at Ashkelon and Ashdod.]]>

Public Warned to Stay Away from Beaches, Explosive Barrels Found

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated during the Ashdod Immigration and Absorption conference on Monday that he will bring a million new Israeli immigrants to Israel, the Lebanese daily AN NAHAR reported on Monday.

Netanyahu aims to bring 1 mn more Jews to Israel

In the southern Israeli port of Ashdod where the ship was towed and docked, hundreds of rockets and piles of boxes of grenades were stacked on the shore as the cargo was unloaded.

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Hamas rockets again hit the major Israeli cities of Beersheba, Ashdod and Ashkelon.

HAMAS CHIEF KILLED IN GAZA ONSLAUGHT; Israeli rocket wipes out his home

And with a firefighters' strike looming last week the club feared its clash with FC Ashdod would have to be cancelled.

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Solbar Industries Ltd., Ashdod, Israel, has made several new additions to its marketing team.

Solbar Industries Ltd

The Royal Australian Air Force recently selected Elta (Ashdod, Israel) as preferred tenderer to provide the EL/L-8222 jamming pod for the service's F-111 aircraft.

Israeli Firms Receive Wave of Asian Orders

Ayyash said the four fishermen were taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod after the confiscation of three handboats while one of the boats was kept in the middle of a sea.