24 | AUGUST 1 • 2024 

Shemesh grew into a develop-
ment town, still with a mixed 
population of about 25,000 
by 1995. A native of Kiryat 
Gat, the future mayor grew 
up in a family that came from 
Morocco. When she married, 
she moved to Beit Shemesh 
— the first home for the 
young couple. Her husband 
is a medical doctor, whose 
father came from Germany, 
and whose mother is from a 
sixth-generation Jerusalem 
family. Beit Shemesh is a 
microcosm of Jewish Israel. 
Its citizens are from many 
communities; for that reason, 
the young couple came. 
Bloch says, “Residents of 
Beit Shemesh include immi-
grants from 50 countries; 
residents speak 50 native lan-
guages — Hebrew (of course), 
but English, Amharic, 
Russian, Spanish and so on.” 
The building boom contin-
ues: Beit Shemesh is now the 
fastest-growing city in Israel, 
with a population of more 

than 150,000. Vistas of the 
city include numerous con-
struction cranes. Even so, the 
housing market has trouble 
keeping up with the demand. 
I asked Gashaw Getahun, 
an electrical engi-
neer whose fam-
ily traces back to 
Ethiopia, how he 
came to live on 
Rehov Rabbi Yannai. 
He simply explained 
that a friend told 
him that an apart-
ment was available. 
Eileen Greenspun, 
a retired school 
principal, and her 
husband, Ira, a psycholo-
gist, began plans to move 
from New York to Israel in 
2018. They already had one 
married daughter in Yad 
Binyamin in Israel, and their 
other married daughter in 
the United States was eager to 
move to Beit Shemesh. 
Eileen and Ira bought 
one of the townhouses 

with a garage facing Rehov 
Hasitvanit; stairs lead up to 
the higher floors of the house, 
but Ira’s multiple sclerosis 
prevented him from using 
the stairs. So, they redesigned 
the garage into 
living space, 
and hired a con-
tractor to build 
an elevator for 
later. They loved 
the community 
from the start. 
“I don’t think 
either of us, ever 
for one minute, 
regretted it. Not 
for one min-
ute. Ira would sit in front of 
the house in his wheelchair, 
which, Baruch Hashem, is 
across the street from the 
shul. Everybody who was 
going down the block, which 
was half the neighborhood, 
would stop and say hello,” 
Eileen says. 
Neighbors regularly invit-
ed them for Shabbat meals, 

served in the neighbors’ 
street-level garages. Ira died 
last year; the elevator, Eileen 
notes, “was finished the week 
after his funeral.” Eileen has 
decided to stay here in her 
home, in her community.
Linda Lipstein and her hus-
band, Gary, had been living 
in Pisgat Zeev in Jerusalem, a 
location convenient to her job 
in academic administration 
at Hebrew University and 
his employment in catering. 
Then the COVID epidemic 
disrupted the catering busi-
ness, and he was eligible for 
retirement benefits, while 
her employment was also 
ending. Their neighborhood 
was changing, too, with their 
friends moving out, replaced 
by younger people. 
When Linda and Gary 
moved to Rehov Rabbi 
Yannai, they discovered that 
they have many friends here 
already. They also enjoy liv-
ing in an apartment building 
with people of all ages and 

ERETZ

Eileen and Ira Greenspun

continued from page 23

This playground 
is up the hill 
from the writer’s 
apartment.

Beit Shemesh is one 
of the fastest-growing 
communities in Israel. 
Cranes are a common 
sight.

