Holon

Holon
District	Tel Aviv
Government	City (from 1950)
Hebrew	חוֹלוֹן
Arabic	حولون
Name meaning	(Little) sand
Population	170,900 (2008)
Area	18,927 dunams (18.927 km2; 7.308 sq mi)
Mayor	Moti Sasson
Founded in	1936

Location of Holon within the Tel Aviv District

The Yanshul, half-cat half-owl, symbol of the Holon Children's Museum

A Samaritan synagogue

Mediatheque cultural center

Holon (Hebrew: חוֹלוֹן‎ (audio) (help·info)) is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan in the Tel Aviv District. In 2007, it had a population of 168,800.^[1] Holon has the second largest industrial zone in Israel after Haifa.^{[citation needed]}

Etymology

The name of the city comes from the Hebrew word hol, meaning "sand". The name Holon also appears in the Bible: "And Holon with its suburbs, and Debir with its suburbs" (Book of Joshua, 21:15).

The name of Holon is thus in essence identical to that of Ramla, some kilometres to the east, which is derived from the Arabic "rimal", menaing "sand". Both names reflect the same sandy environment.

History

Holon was founded on sand dunes six kilometers from Tel Aviv in 1935.^[2] The Łódzia textile factory was established there by Jewish immigrants from Łódź, Poland, along with many other industrial enterprises.^[2]

In the early months of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, with Jewish-Zionist and Arab-Palestinian militias fighting each other while the British were in the process of evacuating the country, Holon was on the front line, with constant shooting going on the border with the village of Tel A-Rish to its northwest - a suburb of Arab Jaffa - and clashes also in the direction of the town of Yazur to the east. An attack by the Holon-based Hagana militia units on Tel A-Rish was repulsed with considerable losses. However, the fall of Jaffa - center of the Palestinian forces in this region - to an attack launched from Tel Aviv precipitated the fall of both Tel A-Rish and Yazur, as of numerous other Arab villages and towns in this region. Their inhabitants shared in the fate of many other Palestinians in the Nakba and ended up in refugee camps.

Following the war, Holon Mayor Haim Kugel - a staunch supporter of David Ben Gurion's ruling Mapai party - managed to secure the annexation to his town of both Tel A-Rish (renamed "Tel Giborim", "The Mound of the Heroes") and of much of Yazur's agricultural lands, formerly planted with orange groves.(The built up area of Yazur, emptied of its inhabitants, was made into the new Israeli town of Azor, but in much narrower municipal boundaries).

Holon thus doubled its territory within a single year, with its population increasing accordingly, mainly with Jewish immigrants from Arab and Mulsim countries arriving in the 1950s. The orange groves were all cut down and replaced with numerous residential neighbourhoods, as well as Israel's second-largest industrial zone. Some of the former buildings of Tel A-Rish still exist, now inhabited by Israelis, and a Muslim domed building marking the reputed grave of a Medieval Muslim saint is surrounded on all sides by Holon's industrial zone. Otherwise, few remains of the pre-1948 are to be seen within Holon.

At present, Holon - as well as being an important part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area - is one of Israel's biggest cities in its own right, and experiencing a new burst of building on the remaining sand dunes to its south, creating a continual conurbation with Rishon Lezion. Environmentalist groups have been campaigning to preserve at least a limited part of the sand dunes, with their unique flora and fauna, and prevent them from being all engulfed by the real estate boom.

The industrial zone provides the Holon municipality with considerable income, used to establish numerous parks throughout the city, as well as a cinemateque and Holon's unique Cartoon Museum. Still, Israelis seeking a "fashionable" address still tend to prefer the suburbs north of Tel-Aviv.

Culture

Holon used to host the annual Storytellers Festival, now held in Giv'atayim. It also hosts the annual Yemay Zemer song festival and a spring festival devoted to women. Daniel Barenboim organizes an annual music summer camp in the city.^{[citation needed]}

Since the election of Moti Sasson as the mayor of Holon in 1993, many cultural projects have been inaugurated. Billing itself as a "children's city," Holon is home to the Holon Children's Museum and the Mediatheque youth theater.^[3]

Holon also plays host each year to a street carnival in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Purim, the Adloyada (עדלאידע). Thousands of children dress up in costumes and the streets close down for a parade featuring colorful floats.

The city has many parks and lush greenery. The park on the corner of Rehovot HaHistadrut and Eilat is famed for the backgammon or "shesh besh" tournaments which take place daily.

Transport

Roads

Holon is surrounded by a few intercity roads. The main road serving the city is the Ayalon Expressway, passing alongside Holon's western border. Road 44 passes on the north-east side of the city, connecting it with Lod and Ramle. Road 4 passes on the eastern border.

Public Transport

Holon's public transport is based only on bus service, operated by both Egged and Dan transport companies. The majority of the bus routes are regional buses connecting the city to the neighboring cities in the metropolitan area, but there are also few local routes.

A train service to the city is planned to be established at 2011, with the opening of the "Tel-Aviv – West Rishon Le Zion" suburban line. 4 stations would serve the city - "Sha'ar Holon" in the North main entrance to the city, and "Wolfson", "Yoseftal" and "Komemiyut" alongside the western border.

In the distant future, Holon would be connected to the Green Line of the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area Light Rail System.

Samaritans

In 1954, the president of Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi helped to establish a Samaritan quarter on the outskirts of Holon. The quarter was named Neve Pinchas after Pinhas Ben-Abraham, the high priest of the Samaritan community.^[4]

Holon is thus one of the only two cities in the world to have a Samaritan community, the other one being Nablus on the West Bank.

Sports

• Hapoel Tzafririm Holon F.C. (football) – Liga Alef [3rd tier]
• Hapoel Holon (basketball) – premier league, national champion in 2008 and state cup holder in 2009/
• Maccabi Kiryat-Sharett Holon (handball) – Liga Leumit [1st tier]
• Hapoel Holon chess (chess) – Liga Leumit [1st tier]

Notable residents

• Rafi Amit poker player
• David Ben Dayan (1978–) soccer player
• David D'Or (1966–) countertenor & composer; Israel's 2001 Singer of the Year
• Dana International (1972–) pop singer
• Eran Kolirin (1973–) cinema director & script writer
• Lior Narkis (1976–) popular singer
• Peter Rott (1974–) rock singer & composer
• Ben Sahar (1989–) soccer player
• Arie Vardi pianist & teacher
• Chen Reiss opera singer

Mayors

• Haim Kugel – 1940 to 1953
• Pinhas Eylon – 1953 to 1987
• Haim Sharon – 1987 to 1988
• Moshe Rom – 1988 to 1993
• Moti Sasson – 1993 to present

Twin cities

Sister city shields at the city entrance

See also: Town twinning.

• Dayton, Ohio, USA
• Suresnes, France
• Berlin-Mitte, Germany
• Hann-Münden, Germany
• Anshan, China

Partnership of kindness with:

• Andong, South Korea

See also

• Holon Academic Institute of Technology
• Samaritans

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Holon

• (English)
• Friends of Holon Foundation (English)
• Hapoel Holon Basketball Club official site (Hebrew)
• Zafririm Holon soccer club (Hebrew)
• Holon's Story Gardens (1/2)
• Holon's Story Gardens (2/2)
• Pictures of Holon – Israel in Photos
• Youth week in Holon (hebrew)

Coordinates: 32°01′N 34°46′E / 32.017°N 34.767°E / 32.017; 34.767

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