Ramat Gan

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Ramat Gan
Diamond Exchange Compound
Hebrew	רָמַת גַּן
Arabic	رمات جان
Name meaning	Garden Heights
Founded in	1921
Government	City (from 1950)
District	Tel Aviv
Population	129,700[1] (2006)
Jurisdiction	12,214 dunams (12 km²)
Mayor	Zvi Bar

Ramat Gan (Hebrew: רָמַת גַּן‎) is a city in the Tel Aviv district of Israel, which borders Tel Aviv to its west. It houses Israel's national football stadium, Bar-Ilan University, an advanced medical center (Sheba Medical Center), and a national park. It is also the home of one of the world's major diamond exchanges, in which Israel's tallest building, the Moshe Aviv Tower, is located. The city was established in 1921 as a moshava, a communal settlement, with a focus on agriculture. After commercial and population expansion, it was declared a city in 1950, and, as of 2006, had 129,700 residents.^[1] The mayor of Ramat Gan is Zvi Bar.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 3.1 Religion 4 Economy 5 Culture 5.1 Performing arts 5.2 Museums 5.3 Sport 6 Government 7 Services 7.1 Education 7.2 Healthcare 8 Sister cities 9 Notable residents 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History

Ramat Gan was established by the Ir Ganim (lit: Town of Gardens)^[2] association in 1921 as a satellite town of Tel Aviv. There are varying records as to whether the first plots of land here were purchased in 1914 or 1918.^[3] The settlement was initially a moshava, a socialist-style Zionist agricultural settlement initially growing wheat, barley and watermelons.^[4] The name of the settlement was changed to Ramat Gan (lit: Garden Heights) in 1923, a development on the Ir Ganim name. The settlement continued to operate as a moshav until 1933, although was recognised as a local council in 1926 by the British Mandate.^[3] At this time it had 450 residents.^[3] As the years passed, Ramat Gan shifted from an agriculture-based economy to a more commercial and urban settlement, and by 1946 had a population of 12,000.^[3]

In 1950, Ramat Gan was recognized by the nascent State of Israel as a city and by 1955 had a population of 55,000.^[3] The first mayor of the city of Ramat Gan was Abraham Krinitzi who served in this role for 43 years.^[3] In 1961, the municipal area of Ramat Gan was expanded both westwards, to encompass the are including the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, and eastwards, to encompass the area around Bar Ilan University.^[3] In 1968, the world's largest diamond exchange opened in Ramat Gan.^[3]

The city's infrastructure grew steadily, as new structures such as Sheba Medical Center, the national stadium, Bar Ilan University, and the Diamond Exchange were developed.

[edit] Geography

Ramat Gan is located in the Gush Dan, Tel Aviv metropolitan area to the east of Tel Aviv. The northern boundary of the city is the Yarkon River, the eastern meets with Bnei Brak, whilst Givatayim is to the south west of the city.^[4] Ramat Gan experiences an average of 500mm of rainfall per year and is located, on average 80 meters above sea level.^[4] It is built on limestone hills.^[5] The name, Ramat Gan, means Garden Heights, and as such the city has a number of gardens and parks including The National Park which covers some 1,900 dunams, and David Park in the Marom Naveh neighborhood.^[6] 25% of Ramat Gan is covered by public parkland. A 2007 survey announced Ramat Gan as the second most tranquil region in the Gush Dan area, just 234 votes behind Ramat Hasharon.

Ramat Gan is made up of the following neighborhoods: City Center, Nachalat Ganim, Kiryat Krinitzi, Ramat Shikma, Ramat Itzahk, Shuchnat Rishonim, Tel Yehuda, Giva'at Geula, Neve Yehoshua, Kiryat Borchov, Marom Naveh, Ramat Amidar, Ramat Chen, Shikun Vatikim, Shchunat Hillel, Elite and Diamond Exchange District and Tel Binyamin.^[3]

[edit] Demographics

City of Ramat Gan Population by year[7]
1948	17,200
1955	58,500
1961	90,800
1972	118,000
1983	117,100
1995	128,700
2005	128,400
2006	129,700

As of 2006, Ramat Gan had 129,700 residents, on an area of 12,000 dunams (12 km²).^[1] The population was growing at a rate of 1.0% per annum with 90% of this growth coming through natural increase.^[1] The population density of the city is 9,822.6 per square kilometer, one of the highest in Israel.^[7] In terms of the origin of Ramat Gan's residents, 42,900 originate from Europe and America, 10,200 from Africa, 29,200 from Asia, and 40,600 from Israel.^[8] 86,200 of the residents of Ramat Gan were born in Israel, whilst 36,600 were born abroad.^[8]

According the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, as of 2001, Ramat Gan's socioeconomic ranking stood at 8 out of 10 (high). 70.9% of twelfth grade students received a matriculation certificate in 2000. In that year, the average wages in Ramat Gan were 6,995 NIS. As of 2006, 32,100 of the city's households had people who were not in the labour force, with 23,300 of these retired.^[9] 1,900 of the households had unemployed within them.^[9] 43,000 households were fully employed.^[9] The largest sectors of jobs for those in employment in Ramat Gan were business activities accounting for 18.1% of jobs, education, 15.1%, wholesale and retail trade, and repairs, 14.2%, manufacturing 10.8%, and health, welfare and social work services, 10.0%.^[10]

[edit] Religion

Ramat Gan has 130 synagogues as well as two Yeshivas.^[11]

[edit] Economy

Ramat Gan's economy is most notable for the Diamond Exchange District in the northwest of the city, home to a large concentration of skyscrapers, including Moshe Aviv Tower (City Gate), Israel's tallest at over 240 meters, the Diamond Exchange (a world leader in fancy-cut diamonds), a large Sheraton hotel, and many high-tech businesses including the headquarters of Checkpoint. The area was formerly a nightly center of prostitution and unlawful gambling, but in 2006, following a new law^[12], the police detained criminals related to prostitution and sex trafficking, and these activities disappeared.^[13] Also located in the Diamond Exchange District is the State Bank of India's Israeli headquarters and the headquarters of the Israel Mizrachi Bank, whilst the embassies of Ghana, Kenya, the Ivory Coast, Jordan, Norway, Belgium, Holland, and the European Economic Community, are located in the area.^[14] A number of other international embassies are also located in the city, as is the British Council. Also headquartered in the city is the Histadrut trade union. Located to the south of Ramat Gan is the Hiriya, the largest waste dump in the Middle East.

Ramat Gan is also an important center for industry and manufacturing with major fruit and vegetable canning plants, textile mills, metal production plants, electrical manufacturers, furniture makers, and food producers based here.^[15]

In 2008, construction is expected to begin on the Elite Tower, set to exceed the City Gate Tower in height, to be constructed on the site of the historic Elite Candy factory. As a tribute to the history of the site, the lower floors of the tower are planned to house a chocolate museum.^[16] The tower is set to contain luxury apartments, with an average price tag of $1 million each.

As of the end of 2006, Ramat Gan had three hotels, with a total of 408 rooms with 150,000 person-nights over the year representing 64% room occupancy.^[17]

[edit] Culture

[edit] Performing arts

Ramat Gan is home to a number of theaters including the Ramat Gan Theater, The Diamond Theater, and the The Russell Cultural Center. Furthermore, the Beit Zvi School of Performing Arts is based in the city and performs regularly. Ramat Gan has two cinemas, the Lev-Elram Cinema and the "Yes Planet" megaplex.^[18]

[edit] Museums

Ramat Gan has a number of museums. The history of the city is told in Beit Abraham Krinizi, the home of the first mayor of the city, Abraham Krizini, whilst the Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum tells the story of the Israeli diamond industry.^[19] Man and the Living World Museum is a natural history museum, whilst the Maccabi Museum is a history of Jewish sports activity since 1898.^[19] The city is also the location of the Zoological Center of Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan, a 250 acre zoo with some 1,600 animals. It contains the largest animal collection in the Middle East.^[6]

The Museum of Israeli Art is the only gallery in Israel dedicated solely to Israeli artwork, whilst the adjoining Kiryat Omanut houses the converted homes of the artists, Kahana, Constant and Nathan Rapoport.^[19] Constant House is a sculpture gallery, Kahana House a ceramics studio of ceramics, and Rapoport House the permanent home of the artist's sculptures.^[19] Other galleries in the city include the Museum of Russian Art, Museum of Jewish Art, and the Yechiel Nahari Museum of Far Eastern Art, the only gallery in Israel dedicated to Far Eastern artwork.^[19]

[edit] Sport

The city includes Kfar haMaccabiah where the Maccabiah Games, the Jewish Olympics, are held every 4 years. The city is also the location of the Ramat Gan Stadium, Israel's national football stadium which seats some 41,583 and is the largest stadium in the country. Hakoah Maccabi Amidar Ramat Gan F.C. is currently Ramat Gan's top football team, playing in Liga Leumit, the second division of Israeli football, and based at the Winter Stadium in the city. Also in the city is Hapoel Ramat Gan F.C., who play in the third division of Israeli football, Liga Artzit, and are based at HaMakhtesh Stadium in neighboring Giv'atayim. Although currently not in the top leagues of football in Israel, both Hakoah and Hapoel have previously been successful in Ligat ha'Al, the top division of Israeli football, winning two and one championships respectively. Other teams based in the city include Beitar Ramat Gan and Shikun Vatikim Ramat Gan both in Liga Bet South A. In basketball, the city is represented in Ligat Ha'al, the top Israeli division by Ironi Ramat-Gan.

[edit] Government

The mayor of Ramat Gan is Zvi Bar. The make up of the city's 25 seat City Council is: Ramat Gan First 6, Labor 3, Likud 3, Sun 2, Meretz 3, Trufa 2, SAAS 2, Midal 3, and Ramat Gan Different 1.^[20]

[edit] Services

[edit] Education

Ramat Gan is home to Israel's second largest university, Bar-Ilan University, with 24,000 students. The city is also the location of the Shenkar School of Engineering and Design, Ramat Gan College, and Beit Zvi acting college.^[21]

[edit] Healthcare

The Sheba Medical Center located in southeastern Ramat Gan and Tel HaShomer, is Israel's largest hospital.^[22] It includes the Safra Children's Hospital and Padeh Geriatric Rehabilitation Center. The city has 32 medical centers run by health authorities and 10 child-care clinics operated by the municipality.^[23]

[edit] Sister cities

Ramat Gan has sister city agreements with the following towns:^[24]

• Barnet, London, UK
• Kassel, Germany
• Main Kinzig District, Germany
• Phoenix, Arizona, USA
• San Borja, Lima, Peru
• Strasbourg, France
• Szombathely, Hungary
• Weinheim, Germany
• Wrocław, Poland

[edit] Notable residents

• Jonathan Kashanian, winner of Season Five of Grande Fratello
• Ilan Ramon, first Israeli astronaut, who died in the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster
• Tal Stricker, Israeli breaststroke swimmer

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (English) Ramat-Gan municipal website
• (Hebrew) Ramat-Gan municipal website

Coordinates: 32°05′N, 34°49′E

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