RISHON LEZION

Rishon LeZion, Israel, courtesy, Onward Israel

Rishon LeZion is a city in Israel, located along the central coastal plain, roughly 5 miles south of Jaffa. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. As of 2017, it was the fourth-largest city in Israel, with a population of 254,384.

In the time of Joshua, the village of En haKoreh (mentioned in Judges 15:19) was allotted to the tribe of Dan. Abandoned after the Roman destruction of Judea in 135, it wasn’t until many centuries later, after the Arab conquest of the region in the 7^th century, that a small group of Arab settlers took over the area and Arabized its name to Ayun Kara. But by 1882, mainly Russian, Jews began to return to the area. The British vice consul in Jaffa Haim Amzaleg, a native-born Jew from Jerusalem, purchased 835 acres of land from Ayun Kara under their Mukhtar, Mustafa Abdallah ali Dajan. This community was the second modern Jewish farm settlement established after Petah Tikva, and the first by the early Zionists. They therefore called their community “Rishon LeZion”, derived from a biblical verse: "First to Zion (Heb. Rishon LeZion רִאשׁוֹן ןלְצִיּוֹ) are they, and I shall give herald to Jerusalem" (Isaiah 41:27).  

In the beginning, there were problems posed by sandy soil and the pioneers’ lack of agricultural experience. But probably a more important problem was lack of water. Baron Edmond de Rothschild, who had financially supported this and other communities throughout Israel, brought in water experts who then drilled for water in strategic locations. He also brought in agronomists and administrators who immediately established a local administrative office (now a soldiers’ memorial). They introduced fruit growing, especially wine grapes from the vine strains sent from southern France. But a crisis arose when the administrators regarded the settlers as hired workers and stifled their initiative. The vine strains proved unsuitable and the grapes had no market. The farmers’ revolt in 1884 changed all that. Part of the vineyards were then replaced by almond plantations.

In 1883 Itzhak Leib Toporovski a local blacksmith created the first iron plow in the land of Israel, and in 1885 the flag that would later become the flag of Israel was raised for the first time as part of the celebrations of the 3rd anniversary of the village. The Great Synagogue, which became a major focus of life in Rishon LeZion, was built between 1885 and 1889. Under Rothschild's patronage, the Carmel-Mizrahi Winery was established in 1886. That same year, the Haviv elementary school was founded as the first modern school to teach exclusively in Hebrew. Naphtali Herz Imber, the famed Hebrew-language poet, lived in Rishon LeZion for a few years in the late 1880s. He was the author a poem entitled “Tikvatenu”. In 1887, Shmuel Cohen, a young resident of Rishon with a musical background, observed the emotional response of the local Jewish farmers to Tikvatenu. Using his musical skills, he put the poem to a musical adaptation of a Moldavian/Romanian folk-song, "Carcul cu Boi" (the Cart with Oxen), and it was later retitled as “Hatikvah”, Israel’s national anthem. In 1895, the Rishon LeZion orchestra was established, and that was followed three years later by the world’s first Hebrew kindergarten, founded by Esther (Shapira) Ginzburg a former student of the Haviv school.

By 1900, the chief commodities of the community would be wine and brandy, which were then exported mainly to Egypt, Constantinople, Russia, Germany, and the United States. Over a million and a half vines had been planted, most of which, were imported from the United States and grafted with French varieties. Over 20,000 mulberry-trees, used in silkworm culture, as well as a large number of fruit-trees, such as the almond, fig, pomegranate, apple, and citron, thrived.

In 1900 the management of the village was transferred from the Baron de Rothschild’s office to the village council and the Jewish Colonization Association. In 1910 the village bell was constructed next to the medicine house. Immigration from Eastern Europe and Yemen brought additional Jewish laborers. Thousands of additional citrus groves of grapes and other fruits were planted and the village progressed economically. In 1912 the village’s first car made its appearance.

During World War I the Turkish governor Djemal Pasha, in appreciation of the village's achievements in reclaiming formerly barren terrain, ordered an area of 5,000 acres (20,000 dunams) of sand dunes stretching from Rishon leZion west to the seashore to be annexed to its boundaries. In 1916, the village, as well as the rest of the country, experienced a Locust attack. On November 14, 1917, Ayun Kara was the scene of a bloody battle between Turkish and New Zealand troops and the local Arabs would often carry the wounded to a medical facility in Rishon LeZion. In the wake of the battle, the New Zealanders set up a local military camp. Relations between the troops and villagers were good, and the troops brought the villagers the news of the Balfour Declaration. 

In 1919 after the war, the women of Rishon LeZion were given voting rights and in the same year Nehama Pohatchevsky was elected chairman of the village council which marked the first time a woman was elected to the position. By 1924, Rishon LeZion was connected to the regional electrical grid.  In 1939, the Rishon LeZion Chess Club was founded and today, it is one of the leading clubs in Israel, in senior, women and youth leagues. (World champion Garry Kasparov was a former member.) The Hapoel Rishon LeZion football club appeared in two cup finals, in 1946 and in 1996 and won the 2012–13 Toto Cup Leumit. Maccabi Rishon Lezion played at the top division during the 1940s and the two seasons after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Rishon LeZion was declared a city in 1950, by which time it had a population of around 18,000. During the Gulf War in 1991, the mayor of Münster, Germany, made a surprise visit. According to Haaretz, he felt he could not sit quietly at home while missiles were falling on his sister city. Throughout the war, he stayed at the home of Rishon LeZion mayor Meir Nitzan and accompanied him on visits to sites hit by missiles. In 2007, the Rishon LeZion Municipality was awarded the Ministry of Interior Prize for Proper Management. By 2020, the city’s population was over 253,000. 

Today, Rishon LeZion's main industries are wine, construction, services and commerce. Factories and workshops are located in the old industrial zone, which has become a popular venue for pubs, dance clubs, and restaurants. The other industrial zone is called Mabat, an abbreviation for Miskhar, Bilui VeTa'asiya (Commerce, Pastime and Industry). It is located in the west of the city. Most of the residents find work in and around Tel Aviv settlement and as a result, Rishon has become one of Israel’s most congested cities.

The old city of Rishon contains the original neighborhoods, some buildings dating back to its founding in 1882. This quarter is located in the city center, between and around Herzl and Jabotinsky Streets. It includes the neighborhoods of Nahalat Yehuda, Neve Hillel, Bnot Hayil, Abramovich, Katzenelson, Remez (Giv'at Levinson), and Rishonim (Gan Nahum). Other local sites include: Rothschild Center shopping mall, Gold Mall (Kenyon HaZahav), the newly constructed Azrieli Rishonim shopping mall, Shafdan recycling plant, the municipal zoo, Superland amusement park, a beach promenade, Heychal HaTarbut (Hall of Culture), a boardwalk (Tayelet Hatnei Pras Nobel) in honor of Jewish Nobel Prize winners, the history museum, the Well, and the old water tower. Active football teams, aside from those mentioned above include Moadon Sport Shikun HaMizrah (playing in Liga Alef), Hapoel Nahalat Yehuda (playing in Liga Bet), and Moadon Sport Rishon LeZion (playing in Liga Gimel). The main football stadium is the 6,000-seat Haberfeld Stadium. The Rishon LeZion Amphitheatre Live Park has hosted a number of overseas artists such as Sting, Mariah Carey, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Alanis Morissette, alt-J, Megadeth, Deep Purple, Avicii, Jason Derulo, Flo Rida, Wiz Khalifa and Sean Paul. "Open Doors" is a holocaust memorial which is a 23-foot high sculpture designed by Filipino artist Luis Lee Jr. It was erected in honor of and appreciation to Manuel Quezon president of the Philippines during WWII, and the Filipino people, who saved over 1,200 Jews from Nazi Germany.