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Tel-Aviv-Yafo
"From sand dunes to the biggest city in Israel in less than four decades"
aptly describes the unparalleled development of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Tel Aviv itself, the "first all-Jewish city in modern times," was founded
in 1909; built on the sand dunes that stretched northward from the Arab
city of Jaffa, it has developed since then into a kind of "megalopolis"
(complex of cities) extending from Herzaliyah in the north to Rehovot
in the south, and merging in the east with such towns as Givatayim, Ramat
Gan, Bene Berak and Petah Tikvah.
In 1995 Tel Aviv-Jaffa contained close to 355,200 inhabitants and ever
since the establishment of the State of Israel, has served as the finance,
entertainment, press and publication center of the country. Like most
large cities, Tel Aviv-Jaffa is a city of contrasts. In its southern districts,
it embodies some of Israel's worst slums, while in the north and east
there are attractive suburbs such as Ramat Aviv, the location of Tel Aviv's
rapidly-expanding university.
These residential sections have a somewhat "Americanized" character.
Tel Aviv's commercial center is Dizengoff Street and the city's bohemian
center is Sheinkin Street. At the heart of the southern end of the city
rises Migdal Shalom, the highest skyscraper in Israel, and along the coast,
a whole chain of hotels has been built, most with their own beaches which
serve as recreation and entertainment spots for tourists and residents
alike.
Tel Aviv's beginnings actually date back to the early 19th century,
when a Jewish community was reestablished in the all-Arab city of Jaffa.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Jaffa's port had served as the "gateway to
Zion" for Jewish pilgrims coming to Erez Israel, but no Jewish residents
had been allowed to settle there. In 1820, however, a Jewish traveler
from Constantinople named Yeshaya Adjima, bought a house there (it was
called Dar al-Yahud, the house of the Jew, by the local Arabs) and laid
the foundations for a revived Jewish community. Merchants and artisans
from North Africa followed him as settlers in Jaffa, and in the latter
part of the century European Jews began to arrive as well.
The First Aliyah swelled Jaffa's Jewish population and in 1887 the building
of Jaffa's first Jewish quarter, Neveh Zedek, was initiated. This set
the pattern for later Jewish settlements structured in tightly-knit, fraternal
quarters within the midst of the Arab population. In the 1990s, Neve Zedek
is experiencing a bit of an architectural revival as young and old Israeli
artists of all types are renovating its turn of the century buildings
and recapturing some of its lost magic.
The Second Aliyah further enlarged Jaffa's Jewish population, increasing
it to 8,000 out of a total population of 17,000 in 1906. In 1909 it was
decided to create a new suburb outside of Jaffa's boundaries which would
constitute the "first all-Jewish city." The result was the city of Tel
Aviv, whose foundations were then laid.
Tel Aviv grew steadily until World War I when the Jews were expelled
from both Jaffa and Tel Aviv by the Turks. When the British took over,
the Jews returned and Tel Aviv continued to expand. On May 12, 1934, Tel
Aviv was officially given municipal status. In the same year, the Philharmonic
Orchestra was founded, the Tel Aviv Museum was opened in the home of the
city's long-time mayor, Meir Dizengoff,
and the cornerstone was laid for the Habimah Theater building. After World
War II, the city played a prominent role and suffered much in the struggle
with the British authorities, for the Haganah and the Irgun had their
headquarters there, and during the War of Independence, Tel Aviv was incessantly
shelled from Jaffa's Arab quarters. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel
was proclaimed in Tel Aviv's museum building.
On April 24, 1949, Tel Aviv and Jaffa were united and the city's official
name became Tel Aviv-Jaffa; one of the world's youngest cities had thus
incorporated one of the oldest.
by C.D.I. Systems 1992 (LTD) and Keter.
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