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Caesarea קיסריה
Caesarea Location within Israel
Coordinates: 32°30′N 34°54′E / 32.5, 34.9
Country	Israel
District	Haifa
Founded	1884
Area
- Total	35 km² (13.5 sq mi)
Population (2005)
- Total	4,200
Time zone	IST (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	IDT (UTC+3)

Caesarea (Hebrew: קיסריה‎, Qesarya ) is a town in Israel which has grown out of the historical Caesarea Maritima city (which is today on the outskirts of the new coastal city). It is located mid-way between Tel Aviv (45km) and Haifa, on the Israeli Mediterranean coast near the city of Hadera. Modern Caesarea, with a population of 4,200 people, is the only Israeli locality managed by a private organization, the Caesarea Development Corporation; it is organised as a communal settlement, although not as a kibbutz or moshav.

The modern settlement of Caesarea began in 1884, when Muslims from Bosnia built a small fishing village on the ruins of the Crusader fortress on the coast.^[1] Some left before 1948, when a railway was built bypassing the port of Caesarea, and ruining their trade. Others stayed until the Palmach, led by Yizhak Rabin, took control of the area, in 1948.

The fishing village, populated by 1,120, was abandoned during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. With the establishment of a Jewish homeland, the Rothschild family transferred their vast land holdings to the new state. A different arrangement was made for the 35,000 dunams of land in and around modern Ceasarea: After turning over the land to the state, it was leased back (for a period of 200 years) to a new charitable foundation. In his will, Edmond James de Rothschild stipulated that this foundation would further education, arts and culture, and welfare in Israel. The Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Foundation was formed and run based on the funds generated by the sale of Caesarea land which the Foundation is responsible for maintaining. The Foundation is owned half by the Rothschild Family, and half by the State of Israel.

The Foundation established the Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Development Corporation Ltd. (CDC) in 1952 to act as its operations arm. The company transfers all profits from the development of Caesarea to the Foundation, which in turns contributes to organizations that advance higher education and culture across Israel.

Today, the Chairman of the Caesarea Foundation and the CDC is Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, the great grandson the Baron Edmond de Rothschild. The deputy chairman is Avraham Biger. In recent years, the Foundation has donated over 100 million shekels to organizations such as the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, the Bezalel Academy, Yad Vashem, the Open University, as well as to theaters, museums, and musical projects actross the country. Sizeable grants have also been made to the neighboring towns of Or Akiva and Jisr az-Zarqa.

The Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Development Corporation (Hebrew: החברה לפיתוח קיסריה אדמונד בנימין דה רוטשילד) is the operational arm of the Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Foundation, whose goal is to establish a unique community that combines quality of life and safeguarding the environment with advanced industry and tourism.

Caesarea remains today the only locality in Israel managed by a private organization rather than a municipal government. As well as carrying out municipal services, the Caesarea Development Corporation markets plots for real-estate development, manages the nearby industrial park, and runs the Caesarea's golf course and country club, Israel's only 18 hole golf course.

Modern Caesarea is one of Israel's most upscale residential communities. The Baron de Rothschild still maintains a home in Caesarea, as do many business tycoons from Israel and abroad.

• Byzantine scholar, Procopius (c. 500-c. 565)
• Seventh President of Israel, Ezer Weizman
• Pop singer, Keren Ann
• Russian-Israeli billionaire, Arcadi Gaydamak
• Baron Benjamin de Rothschild

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Caesarea

• Caesarea Development Corporation