Lod
Encyclopedia
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv
in the Center District
of Israel
. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.
The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod. When al-Ludd, as it was known by its Arab inhabitants was captured by Israel, the Arab inhabitants fled or were expelled and the city was settled by Jewish immigrants, most refugees fled or were expelled from Arab countries. Of the former Arab population, only 1,056 inhabitants remained. It is today known as Lod, its Hebrew name.
Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion International Airport
(previously called Lydda Airport, RAF Lydda
, and Lod Airport) is located in the city.
, as the location of the battlefield where 'Dajjal' (the Anti-Christ) will be slayed before the Day of Judgment.
Pottery finds have dated the city's initial settlement to 5600–5250 BC. The earliest written record is in a list of Canaan
ite towns drawn up by the Egyptian
pharaoh
Thutmose III
at Karnak
in 1465 BC.
conquest in 70 AD, the city was a Jewish city, and a well-known centre of Jewish scholars and merchants. According to Martin Gilbert
, during the Hasmonean
period, Jonathan Maccabee and his brother Simon Maccabaeus
enlarged the area under Jewish control, which included conquering the city.
The city is mentioned several times in the Bible: in , it is mentioned as one of the cities whose inhabitants returned after the Babylonian captivity
, and in the New Testament
, it is the site of Peter
's healing of a paralytic man in .
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In 43 AD, Cassius, the Roman governor of Syria
, sold the inhabitants of Lod into slavery. During the First Jewish–Roman War, the Roman proconsul
of Syria, Cestius Gallus
, razed the town on his way to Jerusalem in 66 AD. It was occupied by Emperor Vespasian
in 68 AD.
During the Kitos War
, the Roman army laid siege to Lod, then called Lydda
, where the rebel Jews had gathered under the leadership of Julian and Pappus. The distress became so great that the patriarch Rabban Gamaliel II
, who was shut up there and died soon afterwards, permitted fasting even on Ḥanukkah
. Other rabbis condemned this measure. Lydda was next taken and many of the Jews were executed; the "slain of Lydda" are often mentioned in words of reverential praise in the Talmud.
elevated the town to the status of a city, calling it Colonia Lucia Septimia Severa Diospolis. The name Diospolis ("city of gods") may have been bestowed earlier, possibly by Hadrian
. At that point, most of its inhabitants were Christian.
In 415, the Council of Diospolis was held here to try Pelagius
; he was acquitted.
In the sixth century the city changed its name again to Georgiopolis after St. George, a soldier in the guard of the emperor Diocletian
, who was born there between 256 and 285 AD. The city's Church of St. George was built as a memorial.
by Khalid ibn al-Walid
in 636 AD during the Muslim conquests
, when it served as the capital, though this was later moved to Ramla
.
occupied the city in 1099 and named it St. Jorge de Lidde. It was briefly conquered by Saladin
, but retaken by the Crusaders in 1191. For the English Crusader
s, it was a place of great significance as the birthplace of Saint George
. The Crusaders made it the seat of a Latin
rite diocese, and it remains a titular see
. According to the Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela
, there was one Jewish family living there in 1170.
The missionary Dr. William M. Thomson visited Lydda in the mid 19th century, describing it as:
In 1870, under the rule of the Ottoman empire
, the current Church of Saint George was built. In 1892 the first railway station in the entire region was established in the city. In the second half of the 19th century, Jewish merchants migrated to the city but left after the 1921 Jaffa riots
. By this time, Lydda was under the administration of the British Mandate in Palestine, as per a League of Nations
decree that followed World War I
. During World War II
, the British set up supply posts in and around Lydda and its railway station, also building an airport, renamed Ben Gurion Airport after the establishment of Israel in 1948.
, one Arab; Lydda was to form part of the proposed Arab state. Several Arab states attacked, and in the ensuing war
Israel captured Arab towns outside the area the UN had allotted it, including Lydda.
The Israel Defence Forces entered Lydda on July 11, 1948. The following day, under the impression that it was under attack, the 3rd Battalion was ordered to shoot anyone "seen on the streets." According to the Israeli army, 250 Arabs (men, women, and children) were killed. Other estimates are higher: Palestinian historian Aref al Aref estimated 400, and Nimr al Khatib 1700.
During 1948, the population rose to 50,000 people as Arab refugees fleeing other areas made their way there. All but 700 to 1,056 were expelled by order of the Israeli high command, and forced to walk 17 kilometers to Arab Legion
lines on one of the hottest days of the year. Many died from exhaustion and dehydration; estimates vary from a handful to 355. The town was subsequently sacked
by the Israeli army. The few hundred Arabs who remained in the city were not permitted to live in their own homes,. They were soon vastly outnumbered by the influx of Jewish immigrants
who moved into the town from August 1948 onwards, most from Arab countries. as a result of which Lydda became a predominantly Jewish town. The new Jewish immigrants came in waves, first from Morocco
and Tunisia
, and later from Ethiopia
and the former Soviet Union
.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/middleeast/09lod.html?hp. The city continues to influence the work of Israeli artists and thinkers, such as Dor Guez's 2009 exhibit Georgeopolis at the Petach Tikva art museum.
Within the city of Lod, a three meter-high wall has been erected to separate Jewish districts from Arab ones. Arab suburbs have been restricted from growing, while the Israeli government has encouraged building in Jewish areas. Some municipal services, such as street lighting and rubbish collection, are only provided to Jewish areas.
According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
(CBS), the population of Lod in 2010 was 69.5 thousand people. Of these about 25 percent are Arabs, the rest Jewish Israelis. Thirty-three percent of the population are "olim", or new Jewish immigrants to Israel. See Population groups in Israel.
An Israeli government report in 2003 singled out Lod as a focal point for social and demographic problems. The report noted the high rate of drug use and crime, the large number of poor and social service cases (about 10 percent of the population), and, in particular, the cramped and substandard living conditions of Lod's Arab population. According to the report, 60 percent of the city's Arabs lived in overcrowded or substandard housing.
According to CBS, there are 38 schools and 13,188 pupils in the city. They are spread out as 26 elementary schools and 8,325 elementary school pupils, and 13 high schools and 4,863 high school pupils. 52.5% of 12th grade pupils were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
Absorption Centre, the main facility for handling olim arriving in Israel, is also located in Lod. According to CBS figures for 2000, there were 23,032 salaried workers and 1,405 self-employed. The mean monthly wage for a salaried worker was NIS 4,754, a real change of 2.9% over the course of 2000. Salaried men had a mean monthly wage of NIS 5,821 (a real change of 1.4%) versus NIS 3,547 for women (a real change of 4.6%). The mean income for the self-employed was NIS 4,991. There were 1,275 people receiving unemployment benefits and 7,145 receiving an income supplement.
Plagued by a poor image for decades, projects are under way to improve services in Lod. New upscale neighborhoods are expanding the city to the east, among them Ganei Ya'ar and Ahisemah.
and the Municipality of Lod, prior to widening HeHalutz Street. The mosaic was covered over with soil at the conclusion of the excavation for lack of funds to conserve and develop the site. The mosaic is now part of the Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center
.
(the second division). Its home base is Lod Municipal Stadium. The club was formed by a merger of Bnei Lod and Rakevet Lod in the 1980s. Two other clubs in the city play in the regional leagues: Hapoel MS Ortodoxim Lod in Liga Bet
and Maccabi Lod in Liga Gimel
.
Hapoel Lod
played in the top division during the 1960s and 1980s, and won the State Cup
in 1984. The club folded in 2002. A new club, Hapoel Maxim Lod (named after former mayor Maxim Levy
) was established soon after, but folded in 2007.
with: Piatra Neamţ
, Romania
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
in the Center District
Center District (Israel)
The Central District of Israel is one of six administrative districts, including most of the Sharon region. The district capital is Ramla. It is further divided into 4 sub-districts: Petah Tikva, Ramla, Sharon and Rehovot. The district's largest city is Rishon LeZion. Its population as of 2008 was...
of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.
The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod. When al-Ludd, as it was known by its Arab inhabitants was captured by Israel, the Arab inhabitants fled or were expelled and the city was settled by Jewish immigrants, most refugees fled or were expelled from Arab countries. Of the former Arab population, only 1,056 inhabitants remained. It is today known as Lod, its Hebrew name.
Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport , also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag , is the largest and busiest international airport in Israel, handling 12,160,339 passengers in 2010...
(previously called Lydda Airport, RAF Lydda
RAF Lydda
Lod Air Force Base, also Air Force Base 27, was an Israeli Air Force base that was part of the Ben Gurion International Airport, located approximately north of Lod; east-southeast of Tel Aviv....
, and Lod Airport) is located in the city.
Etymology
The Hebrew name Lod appears in the bible as a town of Benjamin, founded by Shamed or Shamer (1 Chronicles 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 7:37; 11:35). In the New Testament it appears as its Greek form, Lydda. The city also finds reference in an Islamic HadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, as the location of the battlefield where 'Dajjal' (the Anti-Christ) will be slayed before the Day of Judgment.
Canaanite period
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ite towns drawn up by the Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
Thutmose III
Thutmose III
Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
at Karnak
Karnak
The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak—comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amun and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Ramses II . Sacred Lake is part of the site as well. It is located near Luxor, some...
in 1465 BC.
Jewish period
From the 5th century BC until the RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
conquest in 70 AD, the city was a Jewish city, and a well-known centre of Jewish scholars and merchants. According to Martin Gilbert
Martin Gilbert
Sir Martin John Gilbert, CBE, PC is a British historian and Fellow of Merton College, University of Oxford. He is the author of over eighty books, including works on the Holocaust and Jewish history...
, during the Hasmonean
Hasmonean
The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...
period, Jonathan Maccabee and his brother Simon Maccabaeus
Simon Maccabaeus
Simon Thassi was the second son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family. The name "Thassi" has an uncertain meaning...
enlarged the area under Jewish control, which included conquering the city.
The city is mentioned several times in the Bible: in , it is mentioned as one of the cities whose inhabitants returned after the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
, and in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, it is the site of Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
's healing of a paralytic man in .
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, sold the inhabitants of Lod into slavery. During the First Jewish–Roman War, the Roman proconsul
Proconsul
A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
of Syria, Cestius Gallus
Cestius Gallus
Gaius Cestius Gallus was the son of a consul in ancient Rome and himself a suffect consul in 42.He was legate of Syria from 63 or 65. He marched into Judea in 66 in an attempt to restore calm at the outset of the Great Jewish Revolt...
, razed the town on his way to Jerusalem in 66 AD. It was occupied by Emperor Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
in 68 AD.
During the Kitos War
Kitos War
The Kitos War , translation: Rebellion of the exile) is the name given to the second of the Jewish–Roman wars. Major revolts by diasporic Jews in Cyrene , Cyprus, Mesopotamia and Aegyptus spiraled out of control resulting in a widespread slaughter of Roman citizens and others by the Jewish rebels...
, the Roman army laid siege to Lod, then called Lydda
Lydda
Lydda can refer to:*Lod, also named Lydda*Exodus from Lydda and Ramla, the Palestinian exodus from the city in July 1948...
, where the rebel Jews had gathered under the leadership of Julian and Pappus. The distress became so great that the patriarch Rabban Gamaliel II
Gamaliel II
Rabban Gamaliel II was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as Nasi after the fall of the second temple, which occurred in 70 CE. Gamliel was appointed nasi approximately 10 years later. Gamaliel II was the son of Shimon ben Gamaliel, one of Jerusalem's foremost men in the war against the...
, who was shut up there and died soon afterwards, permitted fasting even on Ḥanukkah
Hanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
. Other rabbis condemned this measure. Lydda was next taken and many of the Jews were executed; the "slain of Lydda" are often mentioned in words of reverential praise in the Talmud.
Roman period
In 200 AD, emperor Septimius SeverusSeptimius Severus
Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...
elevated the town to the status of a city, calling it Colonia Lucia Septimia Severa Diospolis. The name Diospolis ("city of gods") may have been bestowed earlier, possibly by Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
. At that point, most of its inhabitants were Christian.
In 415, the Council of Diospolis was held here to try Pelagius
Pelagius
Pelagius was an ascetic who denied the need for divine aid in performing good works. For him, the only grace necessary was the declaration of the law; humans were not wounded by Adam's sin and were perfectly able to fulfill the law apart from any divine aid...
; he was acquitted.
In the sixth century the city changed its name again to Georgiopolis after St. George, a soldier in the guard of the emperor Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
, who was born there between 256 and 285 AD. The city's Church of St. George was built as a memorial.
Arab period
It became an important city after the Arab conquest of PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
by Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khālid ibn al-Walīd also known as Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl , was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is noted for his military tactics and prowess, commanding the forces of Medina and those of his immediate successors of the Rashidun Caliphate; Abu Bakr and Umar...
in 636 AD during the Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
, when it served as the capital, though this was later moved to Ramla
Ramla
Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...
.
Crusader period
The CrusadersCrusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
occupied the city in 1099 and named it St. Jorge de Lidde. It was briefly conquered by Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
, but retaken by the Crusaders in 1191. For the English Crusader
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
s, it was a place of great significance as the birthplace of Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
. The Crusaders made it the seat of a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
rite diocese, and it remains a titular see
Titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
. According to the Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin of Tudela was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, and Africa in the 12th century. His vivid descriptions of western Asia preceded those of Marco Polo by a hundred years...
, there was one Jewish family living there in 1170.
Ottoman period and the British Mandate
[A] flourishing village of some 2,000 inhabitants, embosomed in noble orchards of oliveOliveThe olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
, figFicusFicus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
, pomegranatePomegranateThe pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
, mulberryMulberryMorus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
, sycamoreSycamoreSycamore is a name which is applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms....
, and other trees, surrounded every way by a very fertile neighborhood. The inhabitants are evidently industrious and thriving, and the whole country between this and Ramleh is fast being filled up with their flourishing orchards. Rarely have I beheld a rural scene more delightful than this presented in early harvest ... It must be seen, heard, and enjoyed to be appreciated.
In 1870, under the rule of the Ottoman empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the current Church of Saint George was built. In 1892 the first railway station in the entire region was established in the city. In the second half of the 19th century, Jewish merchants migrated to the city but left after the 1921 Jaffa riots
Jaffa riots
The Jaffa riots were a series of violent riots in Palestine on May 1–7, 1921, which began as a fight between two Jewish groups but developed into an attack by Arabs on Jews during which many were killed...
. By this time, Lydda was under the administration of the British Mandate in Palestine, as per a League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
decree that followed World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the British set up supply posts in and around Lydda and its railway station, also building an airport, renamed Ben Gurion Airport after the establishment of Israel in 1948.
Arab–Israeli conflict
Until 1948, Lydda was an Arab town with a population of around 20,000—18,500 Muslims and 1,500 Christians. In 1947, the United Nations proposed dividing Palestine into two states, one Jewish stateJewish state
A homeland for the Jewish people was an idea that rose to the fore in the 19th century in the wake of growing anti-Semitism and Jewish assimilation. Jewish emancipation in Europe paved the way for two ideological solutions to the Jewish Question: cultural assimilation, as envisaged by Moses...
, one Arab; Lydda was to form part of the proposed Arab state. Several Arab states attacked, and in the ensuing war
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
Israel captured Arab towns outside the area the UN had allotted it, including Lydda.
The Israel Defence Forces entered Lydda on July 11, 1948. The following day, under the impression that it was under attack, the 3rd Battalion was ordered to shoot anyone "seen on the streets." According to the Israeli army, 250 Arabs (men, women, and children) were killed. Other estimates are higher: Palestinian historian Aref al Aref estimated 400, and Nimr al Khatib 1700.
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
lines on one of the hottest days of the year. Many died from exhaustion and dehydration; estimates vary from a handful to 355. The town was subsequently sacked
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
by the Israeli army. The few hundred Arabs who remained in the city were not permitted to live in their own homes,. They were soon vastly outnumbered by the influx of Jewish immigrants
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
who moved into the town from August 1948 onwards, most from Arab countries. as a result of which Lydda became a predominantly Jewish town. The new Jewish immigrants came in waves, first from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, and later from Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/middleeast/09lod.html?hp. The city continues to influence the work of Israeli artists and thinkers, such as Dor Guez's 2009 exhibit Georgeopolis at the Petach Tikva art museum.
Within the city of Lod, a three meter-high wall has been erected to separate Jewish districts from Arab ones. Arab suburbs have been restricted from growing, while the Israeli government has encouraged building in Jewish areas. Some municipal services, such as street lighting and rubbish collection, are only provided to Jewish areas.
Demographics and Society
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , abbreviated CBS, is an Israeli government office established in 1949 to carry out research and publish statistical data on all aspects of Israeli life, including population, society, economy, industry, education and physical infrastructure.It is headed by a...
(CBS), the population of Lod in 2010 was 69.5 thousand people. Of these about 25 percent are Arabs, the rest Jewish Israelis. Thirty-three percent of the population are "olim", or new Jewish immigrants to Israel. See Population groups in Israel.
An Israeli government report in 2003 singled out Lod as a focal point for social and demographic problems. The report noted the high rate of drug use and crime, the large number of poor and social service cases (about 10 percent of the population), and, in particular, the cramped and substandard living conditions of Lod's Arab population. According to the report, 60 percent of the city's Arabs lived in overcrowded or substandard housing.
According to CBS, there are 38 schools and 13,188 pupils in the city. They are spread out as 26 elementary schools and 8,325 elementary school pupils, and 13 high schools and 4,863 high school pupils. 52.5% of 12th grade pupils were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
Economy and income
The airport and related industries are a major source of employment for the residents of Lod. The Jewish AgencyJewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
Absorption Centre, the main facility for handling olim arriving in Israel, is also located in Lod. According to CBS figures for 2000, there were 23,032 salaried workers and 1,405 self-employed. The mean monthly wage for a salaried worker was NIS 4,754, a real change of 2.9% over the course of 2000. Salaried men had a mean monthly wage of NIS 5,821 (a real change of 1.4%) versus NIS 3,547 for women (a real change of 4.6%). The mean income for the self-employed was NIS 4,991. There were 1,275 people receiving unemployment benefits and 7,145 receiving an income supplement.
Plagued by a poor image for decades, projects are under way to improve services in Lod. New upscale neighborhoods are expanding the city to the east, among them Ganei Ya'ar and Ahisemah.
Archaeology
A well-preserved mosaic floor dating to the Roman period was excavated in 1996 as part of a salvage dig conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities AuthorityIsrael Antiquities Authority
The Israel Antiquities Authority is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of Antiquities. The IAA regulates excavation and conservation, and promotes research...
and the Municipality of Lod, prior to widening HeHalutz Street. The mosaic was covered over with soil at the conclusion of the excavation for lack of funds to conserve and develop the site. The mosaic is now part of the Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center
Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center
The Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center is an archaeological museum in Lod, Israel that displays one of the largest best-preserved mosaic floors ever uncovered in Israel.-History:...
.
Sports
The city's major soccer club, Hapoel Bnei Lod, plays in Liga LeumitLiga Leumit
Liga Leumit is the second tier in the Israeli football league system below the Premier League.-Structure:There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the lowest-placed team are relegated to Liga Alef while the highest-placed team from Liga Alef are promoted in their place...
(the second division). Its home base is Lod Municipal Stadium. The club was formed by a merger of Bnei Lod and Rakevet Lod in the 1980s. Two other clubs in the city play in the regional leagues: Hapoel MS Ortodoxim Lod in Liga Bet
Liga Bet
-History:League football started in Israel in 1949–50, a year after independence. However, the financial and security crises gripping the young nation caused the 1950–51 season to be abandoned before it had started. When football resumed in 1951–52, the new top division went by the name of Liga...
and Maccabi Lod in Liga Gimel
Liga Gimel
Liga Gimel is the fifth and bottom tier of Israeli football league system, a position it has held since 2009.-History:Between 1999 and 2009 it was the sixth tier after Liga Bet, Between 1974 and 1999 it was the fifth tier after the creation of Liga Artzit, and between 1949 and 1974 it was the...
.
Hapoel Lod
Hapoel Lod F.C.
Hapoel Lod was an Israeli football club based in Lod. The club spent several seasons in the top division in the 1960s and 1980s, and won the State Cup in 1984. After several relegations, they folded in 2002.-History:...
played in the top division during the 1960s and 1980s, and won the State Cup
Israel State Cup
The State Cup , is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israeli Football Association.The State Cup was first held in 1927–28 as the Palestine Cup...
in 1984. The club folded in 2002. A new club, Hapoel Maxim Lod (named after former mayor Maxim Levy
Maxim Levy
Maxim Levy was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Gesher and One Israel between 1996 and 2002, as well as mayor of Lod between 1983 and 1996.-Biography:...
) was established soon after, but folded in 2007.
Notable residents
- DAMDAM (band)DAM is a Palestinian hip-hop group. Based in Lod, Israel, DAM was founded in 1999 by brothers Tamar and Suhell Nafar and their friend Mahmoud Jreri, and their songs are largely about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and poverty...
, a hip-hop group - Saint GeorgeSaint GeorgeSaint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
, Roman soldier and martyr - George HabashGeorge HabashGeorge Habash also known by his laqab "al-Hakim" was a Palestinian nationalist. Habash, a Palestinian Christian, founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which pioneered the hijacking of airplanes as a Middle East militant tactic...
(1926–2008), founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of PalestinePopular Front for the Liberation of PalestineThe Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah... - Tamer NafarTamer NafarTamer Nafar , is a Palestinian and Arab-Israeli rap artist.Tamer was born on June 6, 1979 in the city of Lod, Israel. He began writing and making rap music in 1998 and in 2000 his brother Suhell and their friend Mahmoud Jrere joined him to start the first Palestinian-Arab or Arab Israeli rap group,...
, rapper - Salim TuamaSalim TuamaSalim Tuama is an Arab Israeli soccer player. He is a midfielder playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv who has in the past played for Standard Liège, Maccabi Petah Tikva, Kayserispor, Larissa and the youth club Gadna Tel Aviv Yehuda...
, footballer
Twin towns - sister cities
Lod is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Piatra Neamţ
Piatra Neamt
Piatra Neamț , , ; is the capital city of Neamţ County, in the historical region of Moldavia, eastern Romania. Because of its privileged location in the Eastern Carpathian mountains, it is considered one of the most picturesque cities in Romania...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
See also
- List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestinian exodus
- Operation DannyOperation DannyOperation Danny was an Israeli military offensive launched at the end of the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The objectives were to capture territory east of Tel Aviv and then to push inland and relieve the Jewish population and forces in Jerusalem...
- Israeli–Palestinian conflictIsraeli–Palestinian conflictThe Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
- 1948 Arab–Israeli war
- 1948 Palestinian exodus1948 Palestinian exodusThe 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as the Nakba , occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs left, fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute...
External links
- City council
- al-Lydd Palestine Remembered
- Lydda (Lod), Jewish Agency for Israel