Beit Shemesh

Beit Shemesh (Hebrew: בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ, lit. 'House of the Sun') is a city located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy, Beit Shemesh had a population of 176,786 as of 2024. The city is named after Beth Shemesh, a Biblical city of the territory of the Tribe of Judah, and located near Tel Beit Shemesh / Ain Shams, an archeological site with remains going back to a Bronze age Canaanite settlement.