Wikipedia
Shoham
Shoham (, lit. onyx) is a town ( local council) in the Center District of Israel founded in 1993. Like Nofekh, Bareket and Ahlama (the former name of Beit Arif) nearby, the name relates to one of the 12 stones in the Hoshen, the sacred breastplate worn by a Jewish high priest (Exodus 28:20).
According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Shoham's population in the end of 2009 was 18,200. Its jurisdiction is 5,889 dunams (~5.9 km).
The mayor of Shoham is Gil Livneh and the chief rabbi is Rabbi David Stav.
In the 2009–2010 school year, Shoham ranked top in the country in percentage of high school students passing the Bagrut matriculation exams.