Petah Tikva: Difference between revisions
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'''Petah Tikva''' ({{lang-he-n|פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה}}, |
'''Petah Tikva''' ({{lang-he-n|פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה}}, "Doorway to Hope") known as ''Em Hamoshavot'' ("Mother of the Colonies"), is a city in the [[Center District (Israel)|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 [[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics|Central Bureau of Statistics]], as of [[September 30]], [[2006]], the city's population stood at 182,800, growing at an annual rate of 2.6%. |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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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. |
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. |
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==Economy== |
==Economy== |
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[[Image:PetahTikva01.jpg|thumb|200px]] |
[[Image:PetahTikva01.jpg|thumb|200px]] |
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The Schneider Pediatric Centre is the largest and most modern children's hospital in the Middle East In addition, there are many family health clinics throughout the city and suburbs, and many Kupat Holim clinics run by different [[Health maintenance organization]]s. |
The Schneider Pediatric Centre is the largest and most modern children's hospital in the Middle East In addition, there are many family health clinics throughout the city and suburbs, and many Kupat Holim clinics run by different [[Health maintenance organization]]s. |
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==Terrorist incidents== |
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During the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Petah Tikva suffered three terrorist attacks. |
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On May 27, 2002 a suicide bomber blew himself up at a small cafe outside a shopping mall, leaving two dead, including a baby.[1] |
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On December 25, 2003 a suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus stop near the Geha bridge, killing 4 civilians.[2] |
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On February 5, 2006 a Palestinian got into a Sherut taxi, pulled out a knife and began stabbing passengers. A worker from a nearby factory hit him with a log, subduing him. Two civilians died.[3] |
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==Sister cities== |
==Sister cities== |
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Revision as of 11:28, 23 September 2007
Petah Tikva (Template:Lang-he-n, "Doorway to Hope") known as Em Hamoshavot ("Mother of the Colonies"), is a city in 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, as of September 30, 2006, the city's population stood at 182,800, growing at an annual rate of 2.6%.
Etymology
The name of Petah Tikva was chosen by its founders in 1878 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."
Petah Tikva's emblem appears on a postage stamp designed by Yitzhak Goldenhirsch, a founding member of Petah Tikva. The plow symbolizes Petah Tikva's origins as an agricultural settlement, the field symbolizes the drying of the Yarkon River swamps and cultivation of the land, and the orange tree symbolizes Petah Tikva's citrus industry, starting with the first tree planted by Rabbi Arye Leib Frumkin.
History
Petah Tikva was founded in 1878 by religious pioneers from Jerusalem, who were led by Yehoshua Stampfer, Yoel-Moshe Salomon, Zerach Barnett and David Gutmann as well as Lithuanian Rabbi Aryeh Leib Frumkin. 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. 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 Yarkon 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 malaria 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.
Economy
Petah Tikva has the second largest industrial sector in Israel (after Haifa), divided into three industrial zones - Kiryat Arye, Kiryat Matalon, and Segula. Industries include textiles, metalwork, carpentry, plastics, processed foods, tires and other rubber products, and soap. In the last few years many high-tech enterprises and start-ups have moved into the Petah Tikva industrial zone, including the Israeli headquarters for the Oracle Corporation, IBM, Intel, SanDisk, ECI Telecom, and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmecuticals.
One of Israel's leading food processing corporations Osem opened in Petah Tikva in 1976. Since then, it has been joined by Osem's administrative offices, distribution center and sauce factory.
The extensive citrus groves that once ringed the city have disappeared as real-estate developers acquired the land for construction projects. Many new neighborhoods are going up in and around Petah Tikva. A quarry for building stone is located east of Petah Tikva.
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.
- The headquarters of Tadiran Telecom is located in the Ramat Siv industrial zone.
- Arutz Sheva, the right wing Religious Zionist Israeli media network operates an internet radio studio in Petah Tikva, where Arutz Sheva internet TV is located as well as the printing press for its B'Sheva newspaper.
Transportation
While Petah Tikva is not a major transportation hub, a large number of intercity Egged buses stop here and the city has a network of local buses operated by the Kavim company. The Dan bus company operates lines to Ramat Gan, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv.
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 which will connect Petah Tikva to 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, Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv, Lod, Be'er Ya'aqov, Rishon LeZion, Ramla, 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: 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, Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod.
Local government
Petah Tikva's history of government goes back to 1880, when the pioneers elected a council of seven members to run the new colony. From from 1880 to 1921, members of the council were David Meir Guttman, Yehoshua Stampfer, Ze'ev Brenda, Abraham Ze'ev Lipkis, Yitzhak Goldenhirsch, Chaim Cohen-Rice, Moshe Gisin, Shlomo Zalman Gisin and Akiva Librecht. This governing body was declared a local council in 1921, and Petah Tikva became a city in 1937.
The following have served as chairmen of the local council (1921-1937) and mayors (1937-date):
| 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 |
Kadima party headquarters
Kadima, the political party founded by former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and now headed by the current prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has its headquarters in Petah Tikva.[1]
Education
Petah Tikva is home to 300 educational institutions from kindergarten through high school, catering to the secular, religious and Haredi populations. There are over 43,000 students enrolled in these schools, which are staffed by some 2,400 teachers. In 2006, five schools participated in the nationwide Mofet program, which promotes academic excellence.[citation needed] Petah Tikva has nine public libraries, the main one located in the city hall building.
Religion
Some 5,000 Orthodox Jews live in Petah Tikva. The community of Petah Tikva is served by 300 synagogues[2], including the 100-year old Great Synagogue [3], six mikvaot (ritual baths) [4] and two major Haredi yeshivot, Lomzhe Yeshiva and Or-Yisrael (founded by the Chazon Ish, Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz). Yeshivat Hesder Petah Tikva, a modern-orthodox Hesder Yeshiva affiliated with the Religious Zionist movement, directed by Rabbi Yuval Sherlo, is also located in Petah Tikva. Petah Tikva's two cemeteries are Segula Cemetery to the east and the Yarkon Cemetery, to the northeast.
Landmarks and cultural institutions
- Santiago Calatrava bridge
- Petah Tikva Zoo
- Beit Yad Labanim
- Petah Tikva Museum of Art
- Rothschild Arch
Sports
Petah Tikva has two soccer teams - Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. and Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C.. The local baseball team, the Petach Tikva Pioneers, plays in the Israel Baseball League.
Health
Petah Tikva has the most extensive health coverage of any city in Israel, relative to the size of its population. It has six hospitals :
- The Rabin Medical Center:
- Beilinson Campus
- Beilinson Medical Center
- Davidoff Oncologic Center
- Geha Psychiatric Hospital
- Schneider Pediatric Hospital[1]
- Tel Aviv University Medical Research Facility
- Golda Campus, containing HaSharon Hospital
- Beilinson Campus
- Beit Rivka geriatric center
- Institute for medical research of Kupat Holim sick fund
- Ramat Marpe Private Hospital - a division of Assuta Hospital
The Schneider Pediatric Centre is the largest and most modern children's hospital in the Middle East In addition, there are many family health clinics throughout the city and suburbs, and many Kupat Holim clinics run by different Health maintenance organizations.
Terrorist incidents
During the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Petah Tikva suffered three terrorist attacks. On May 27, 2002 a suicide bomber blew himself up at a small cafe outside a shopping mall, leaving two dead, including a baby.[1] On December 25, 2003 a suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus stop near the Geha bridge, killing 4 civilians.[2] On February 5, 2006 a Palestinian got into a Sherut taxi, pulled out a knife and began stabbing passengers. A worker from a nearby factory hit him with a log, subduing him. Two civilians died.[3]
Sister cities
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Laval, Quebec, Canada
Koblenz, Germany
Odense municipality, Denmark
Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
Famous residents
- A. D. Gordon, (fl. in Petah Tikva 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 columnist
- Yehoshua Kenaz, (b. 1937 in Petah Tikva), novelist
- Tamar Gozansky (b. 1940 in Petah Tikva), politician
- Itzik Kol, (b. Petah Tikva), television and movie producer
- Dudu Fisher, (b. 1951 in Petah Tikva), cantor and stage performer
- Avraham Grant (b. May 6, 1955 in Petah Tikva), former coach of the Israel national football team and current coach of Chelsea F.C.
- Idan Tal, (b. October 13, 1975 in Petah Tikva), 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), professional basketball player
- Leah Rabin, wife of assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, lived in Petah Tikva from 1995 until her death on November 12, 2000
- Pnina Rosenblum (b. 1954 in Petah Tikva), fashion model, businesswoman and politician.
- Nahum Stalmach (1936-1999), legendary soccer player and figurehead of the local team, Hapoel Petah Tikva
Miscellaneous
- Nickelodeon television station tried to break the world record for World's Largest Picnic at the "Picnickelodeon" in Petah Tikva on Yom Haatzmaut (Israel Independence Day) in 2006.
References
- ^ http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=36105
- ^ http://www.tehilla.com/aliya/places.asp?id=60
- ^ http://pogrom.org.il/eng_articles.php?art_id=21
- ^ http://www.petah-tikva.muni.il list of mikvaot in religious services
External links
- Official website Template:He icon
- Official website Template:En icon
- Petah Tikva's LiveJournal community Template:Ru icon
- Petah Tikva's Ynet forum Template:He icon
- Petah Tikva's Yahoo Group Template:En icon
