Petah Tikva

Petah Tikva, nicknamed the Mother of Settlements, is a city in the west of the Center District of Israel, north-east of Tel Aviv. Petah Tikva's jurisdiction covers 39,000 dunams (39 km² or 15 mi²). The population density is 4,600 people per km². According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), as of December 31, 2005, the city's population stood at 179,400, growing at an annual rate of 1.8%.

History

Petah Tikva was founded in 1878 by religious pioneers from Jerusalem, who were led by Rabbi Yoel-Moshe Salomon (grandfather of the current Chief Rabbi of Petah Tikva, Rabbi Baruch Salomon), Rabbi David Gutmann, and Raab family (later changed to Ben-Ezer in honor of Eliezer) headed by Eliezer Raab and his brother-in-law Yehoshua Stampfer. It was the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement in Ottoman Palestine and has since grown to become one of Israel's most populous urban centres.

Originally intending to establish a new settlement in the Achor Valley, near Jericho, the pioneers purchased land in that area. They chose the name for their settlement from the prophecy of Hosea (2:15), "And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the Valley of Achor for an opening of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt." However, the Turkish Sultan cancelled the purchase and forbade them from settling there, but they retained the name Petah Tikva as a symbol of their aspirations.

Undaunted, the settlers purchased a modest area (3.40 square kilometers) from the village of Mulabbis (variants: Mlabbes, Um-Labbes), near the source of the Yarqon River. The Sultan allowed the enterprise to proceed, but because their purchase was located in what was a malarial swamp, they had to evacuate when the malaia spread, founding the town of Yehud near the Arabic village Yehudiyya about 20 kilometers to the south. With the financial help of Baron Edmond de Rothschild they were able to drain the swamps sufficiently to be able to move back in 1883, joined by immigrants of the First Aliyah, and later the Second Aliyah.

During World War I, Petah Tikva served as a refugee town for residents of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, following their exile by the Turkish authorities due to their refusal to serve the Turkish army to fight the invading British forces. The town suffered heavily as it lay between the Turkish and British fronts during the war.

Petah Tikva became the school for thousands of pioneer workers, who studied the craft of farming there before they ventured out to establish dozens of settlements in all parts of the country. The agricultural schools are still active to this day.

Petah Tikva was also the birthplace of the Labor Zionist Movement, inspired and encouraged by the writings of A. D. Gordon who lived in Petah Tikva before moving to Degania in the Galilee.

In the 1930s, the pioneering founders of Kibbutz Yavneh from the Religious Zionist movement immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine, settling near Petah Tikva on land purchased by a Jewish-owned German company. Refining the agricultural skills they learned in Germany, these pioneers began in 1941 to build their kibbutz in its intended location in the south of Israel, operating from Petah Tikva as a base.

In the beginning of the 1920s Petah Tikva began to urbanise, including the development of industrial zones. In 1921, Petah Tikva was given the status of a local council by the British authorities, and in 1937 it was recognized as a city. Its first mayor, Shlomo Stampfer, was the son of one of its founders, Yehoshua Stampfer.

After the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, several adjoining villages - Amishav and Ein Ganim to the east, Kiryat Matalon to the west, towards Bnei Brak, Kfar Ganim and Machaneh Yehudah to the south and Kfar Avraham on the north - were merged into the municipal boundaries of Petah Tikva, giving it a significant population boost to 22,000.

Terrorism

During the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Petah Tikva suffered three terrorist attacks.

On May 27, 2002 a suicide bomber exploded himself outside a mall near a small coffee house, killing 2 civilians, one of whom was a baby. ^*
On December 25, 2003 a suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus stop near the Geha bridge, killing 4 civilians.^*
On February 5, 2006 a Palestinian got into a Sherut taxi, pulled out a knife and began to stab the passengers. A civilian from a factory nearby picked up a log and subdued him. Two civilians died. ^*

Economy

Petah Tikva has the second largest industrial sector in Israel (after Haifa), divided among three Industrial Zones - Kiryat Arye, Kiryat Matalon, and Segula. Its industries include textiles, metal works, wood works, plastics, processed foods, tires and other rubber products, and soap. In the last few years many hi-tech enterprises have moved into Petah Tikva's industrial zone, including the Israeli headquarters for the Oracle Corporation, ECI Telecom, and Galaxo Smith Kline Pharmecuticals.

The main factory of the giant food processing company Osem was built in 1976 in Petah Tikva, and the company's administration offices, distribution center and the sauce factory are now located there as well.

There are still extensive citrus groves and truck farms on the outskirts of the city, and building stone is quarried near the eastern side.

Transportation

While Petah Tikva is not a major center of transportation due to major hubs such as Tel Aviv being too close to it, it still hosts several dozen inter-city bus lines from the Egged Bus Cooperative, and has a well-developed inner network of local bus transport serviced by the Kavim company. The intercity to the nearest cities of Ramat Gan, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv is serviced by the Dan Bus Company.

Petah Tikva's largest bus terminal is the Petah Tikva Central Bus Station, while other major stations are located near Beilinson Hospital and Beit Rivka. A rapid transit/light rail system is in the works in Petah Tikva, a line that will also connect Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv and Bat Yam.

Israel Railways maintains a suburban railroad station in Segula, on the north-western edge of the city, with trains available to Kfar Saba, Rosh HaAyin, Tel Aviv, Lod, Rishon LeZion, Bet Shemesh and Jerusalem.

There are eight taxi fleets based in Petah Tikva, and the city is bordered by three of the major vehicle arteries in Israel: the Geha Highway (Highway 4) on the west, the Trans-Samaria Highway (Highway 5) on the north, and the Trans-Israel Highway (Highway 6) on the east.

Petah Tikva is less than half an hour's drive away from Israel's major international airport, the Ben Gurion Inernational Airport near Lod.

Leaders

In 1880, a 7-member council was elected by the residents to administrate Petah Tikva. The initial council members, from 1880 to 1921, were:

In 1921, Petah Tikva's government was given the status of an autonomous local council, and in 1937 of a city. Following are the heads of local council (1921-1937) and mayors (1937-date) of Petah Tikva.

Type	Name	Years
Head of council	Shlomo Zalman Gisin	1921
Head of council	Pinchas Meiri	1922-1928
Head of council	Shlomo Stampfer	1928-1937
Mayor	Shlomo Stampfer	1938-1940
Mayor	Yosef Sapir	1940-1950
Mayor	Mordechai Kraufman	1951
Mayor	Pinchas Rashish	1951-1966
Mayor	Yisrael Feinberg	1966-1978
Mayor	Dov Tavori	1978-1989
Mayor	Giora Lev	1989-1999
Mayor	Yitzhak Ochion	1999-date

Religious Facilities

Petah Tikva boasts over 280 synagogues of all kinds, and five mikvaot (ritual baths) throughout the city. There are two major Haredi yeshivot, Lundge Yeshiva and Or-Yisrael (founded by the Chazon Ish, Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz), as well as a modern-orthodox Hesder Yeshiva affiliated with the Religious Zionists. There are two cemeteries on the outskirts of the city, the Segula Cemetery on the east and the newer, Yarkon Cemetery to the north-west.

There are no churches or mosques within the city boundaries.

Education

Holding over 300 educational institutions, from kindergarten up to high school level, Petah Tikva provides a wide variety of educational institutions - secular, religious and Haredi. There are over 43,000 students in the city, with about 2,400 teachers.

Communications

The headquarters of the Bezeq International international phone company is located in the Kiryat Matalon industial zone
The headquarters of Golden Lines Internet Service Provider is located in the Kiryat Matalon industrial zone
The headquarters of Internet Gold Internet Service Provider is located in the Segula industrial zone
Arutz Sheva Israel National Radio, the right wing Religious Zionist Israeli radio station operates a studio in Petah Tikva, where Arutz Sheva TV is located as well as the printing press for its B'Sheva newspaper.

Health

Petah Tikva has the most extensive health coverage of any city in Israel for the size of its population, with six hospitals:

The Rabin Medical Center^*:
- The Beilinson Campus
  - Beilinson Medical Center
  - Davidoff Oncologic Center
  - Geha Psychiatric Hospital
  - Schneider Pediatric Centre^*
  - Tel Aviv University Medical Research Facility
- The Golda Campus, containing HaSharon Hospital
Beit Rivka geriatric center
Institute for medical research of the General Health Insurance
Ramat Marpe Private Hospital - a division of the Asutta Hospital

The Schneider Pediatric Centre is the largest and most modern children's hospital in the Middle East. In addition, there are nearly 20 clinics for family health throughout the city and its suburbs, besides the many clinics of the different Health maintenance organizations.

Twinning

Sister cities of Petah Tikva:

Chicago, Illinois, USA
Laval, Quebec, Canada
Koblenz, Germany
Odense municipality, Denmark
Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway

Famous Petah Tikvans

A. D. Gordon, (fl. in Petah Tikvah in the early 1900's), Labor Zionist ideologue
Shmuel Dayan (fl. 1908 in Petah Tikva), Zionist activist
Hanoch Bartov, (b. 1926 in Petah Tikva), author and opinion writer
Yehoshua Kenaz, (b. 1937 in Petah Tikva]), novelist
Tamar Gozansky (b. 1940 in Petah Tikva), a controversial Israeli politician
Itzik Kol, (b. Petah Tikva), television and movie producer
Dudu Fisher (b. 1951 in Petah Tikva), ) an Israeli cantor and stage performer
Avraham Grant (b. May 6, 1955 in Petah Tikva), the coach of the Israel national football team
Idan Tal (b. October 13, 1975 in Petah Tikva), an Israeli association football (soccer) player
Israel Finkelstein (b. Petah Tikva), archaeologist
Rami Saari, (b. 1963 in Petah Tikva), poet, translator, linguist and literary critic
Tal Burstein (b. February 19, 1980 in Petah Tikva), a professional basketball player
Lea (Leah) Rabin (lived in Petah Tikva till her death on November 12, 2000, following the assassination of her husband, Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin in 1995)

Miscellaneous

The headquarters of the ruling Kadima political party is located in Petah Tikva.

External links

Cities in Israel | 1878 establishments

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