Petah Tikva
Encyclopedia
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot ("Mother of the Moshavot
"), is a city in the Center District
of Israel
, 10.6 km (6.59 mi) east of Tel Aviv
.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics
, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately 5800 PD/km2. Petah Tikva's jurisdiction covers 35,868 dunam
s (~35.9 km² or 15 sq mi).
(2:17), "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."
Petach Tikva's emblem appears on a postage stamp
designed by Yitzhak Goldenhirsch, a founding member of Petah Tikva. The plow symbolizes Petach 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 Petach Tikva's citrus industry, starting with the first tree planted by Rabbi Arye Leib Frumkin.
Petah Tikva was founded in 1878 by religious pioneers from Europe, who were led by Yehoshua Stampfer
, Moshe Shmuel Raab, Yoel Moshe Salomon, Zerach Barnett, and David Gutmann, as well as Lithuania
n Rabbi Aryeh Leib Frumkin
. It was the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement in Ottoman
Palestine (hence its nickname as "Mother of the Moshavot") 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, Abdülhamid II
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 malaria
l swamp, they had to evacuate when the malaria spread, founding the town of Yehud
near the Arabic village Yehudiyya about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) 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 the Sinai and Palestine Campaign
of World War I
, Petah Tikva served as a refugee town for residents of Tel Aviv and Jaffa
, following their exile by the Ottoman authorities due to their refusal to serve the Ottoman army to fight the invading British forces. The town suffered heavily as it lay between the Ottoman 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 the town.
The first recorded Arab attack on Jews in what would become Israel took place in Petah Tikva in 1886. Petah Tikva was also the scene of Arab rioting in May 1921, which left four Jews dead.
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 early 1920s, industry began to develop in the Petah Tikva region. 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 (named after the biblical village (Joshua 15:34)), Kiryat Matalon to the west, towards Bnei Brak, Kfar Ganim and Mahaneh Yehuda 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.
Nowadays, with a population of over two hundred thousand inhabitants Petah Tikva is the third most populous city in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area ("Gush Dan").
. The industry is divided into three zones—Kiryat Aryeh (named after Aryeh Shenkar), Kiryat Matalon (named after Moshe Yitzhak Matalon), and Segula, and includes textiles, metalwork, carpentry, plastics, processed foods, tires and other rubber products, and soap.
Numerous high-tech companies and start-ups have moved into the industrial zones of Petah Tikva, which now house the Israeli headquarters for the Oracle Corporation
, IBM
, Intel, Alcatel-Lucent
, ECI Telecom
, and GlaxoSmithKline
Pharmecuticals. The largest data center
in Israel, operated by the company TripleC, is also located in Petah Tikva. Furthermore, the Israeli Teva
company, the world's largest generic drug manufacturer is headquartered in Petah Tikva, whilst one of Israel's leading food processing corporations, Osem
opened in Petah Tikva in 1976 and has since been joined by the company's administrative offices, distribution center and sauce factory.
Over time, the extensive citrus groves that once ringed Petah Tikva 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.
As well as general hi-tech firms, Petah Tikva has developed a position as a base for many communications firms. As such, the headquarters of the Bezeq International international phone company is located in the Kiryat Matalon industrial zone as are those of the 012 Smile Internet Service Provider
. The headquarters of Tadiran Telecom
are 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.
The Israeli secret service, Shin Bet, has an interrogation facility in Petah Tikva.
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 (Tahana Makazit), 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 two suburban railroad stations in Segula and Kiryat Aryeh, in the northern part of the city. A central train station near the main bus station is envisioned as part of Israel Railways's long-term expansion plan. 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.
Santiago Calatrava
's bridge, a 164 feet (50 m) long span Y-shaped cable-stayed pedestrian bridge connecting Rabin Hospital to a shopping mall, a residential development and a public park. The structure is supported from a 95 feet (29 m) high inclined steel pylon, which is situated where the three spans intersect. Light in construction, the bridge is built principally of steel with a glass-paved deck.
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 1880 to 1921, members of the council were David Meir Guttman, Yehoshua Stampfer, Ze'ev Wolf Branda, Abraham Ze'ev Lipkis, Yitzhak Goldenhirsch, Chaim Cohen-Rice, Moshe Gissin, Shlomo Zalman Gissin and
Akiva Librecht
. This governing body was declared a local council in 1921, and Petah Tikva became a city in 1937. Kadima
, the political party founded by former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon
and now headed by Tzipi Livni
, has its headquarters in Petah Tikva.
In 2007, the discovery of a group of Neo-Nazi teenagers, Patrol 35
, formed by immigrants from the former Soviet Union with some Jewish ancestry shocked the country.
In 2006, five schools participated in the nationwide Mofet
program, which promotes academic excellence.
Petah Tikva has nine public libraries, the main one located in the city hall building.
Some 70,000 Orthodox Jews live in Petah Tikva. The community of Petah Tikva is served by 300 synagogues, including the 120-year old Great Synagogue, eight mikvaot
(ritual baths) 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 Cherlow, is also located in Petah Tikva.
Petah Tikva has two cemeteries: Segula Cemetery, east of the city, and Yarkon Cemetery, to the northeast.
Petah Tikva has the most extensive health coverage of any city in Israel relative to the size of its population. Six hospitals are located in the city. The Rabin Medical Center
Beilinson complex includes the Beilinson Medical Center, the Davidoff Oncologic Center, the Geha Psychiatric Hospital, the Schneider Pediatric Hospital and Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Medical Research. Other medical facilities in Petah Tikva are HaSharon Hospital, the Beit Rivka Geriatric Center, the Kupat Holim Medical Research Center and a private hospital, Ramat Marpeh, affiliated with Assuta Hospital. The Schneider Pediatric Center is one of the largest and most modern children's hospitals in the Middle East. In addition, there are many family health clinics in Petah Tikva as well as Kupat Holim clinics operated by Israel's Health maintenance organization
s.
teams – Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. and Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C.. The local baseball team, the Petach Tikva Pioneers
, played in the inaugural 2007 season of the Israel Baseball League
. The league folded the following year.
with:
Moshava
A moshava , plural: Moshavot is a form of rural settlement in Israel.In a moshava, as opposed to communal settlements like the kibbutz and the moshav, all the land and property are privately-owned. The first moshavot, described as "colonies" in professional literature, were established by...
"), is a city 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...
, 10.6 km (6.59 mi) east of Tel Aviv
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...
.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics
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...
, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately 5800 PD/km2. Petah Tikva's jurisdiction covers 35,868 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s (~35.9 km² or 15 sq mi).
Etymology
The name of Petach Tikva was chosen by its founders in 1878 from the prophecy of HoseaHosea
Hosea was the son of Beeri and a prophet in Israel in the 8th century BC. He is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, also known as the Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament. Hosea is often seen as a "prophet of doom", but underneath his message of destruction is a promise...
(2:17), "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."
Petach Tikva's emblem appears on a postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
designed by Yitzhak Goldenhirsch, a founding member of Petah Tikva. The plow symbolizes Petach 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 Petach Tikva's citrus industry, starting with the first tree planted by Rabbi Arye Leib Frumkin.
History
Yehoshua Stampfer
Yehoshua Stampfer was one of the founders of the city of Petah Tikva in Israel, and a member of its original municipal council. Petah Tikva was founded in 1878 and is nicknamed "Mother of Settlements" since it was the first renewed modern Jewish agricultural settlement in Palestine at the...
, Moshe Shmuel Raab, Yoel Moshe Salomon, Zerach Barnett, and David Gutmann, as well as Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n Rabbi Aryeh Leib Frumkin
Aryeh Leib Frumkin
Aryeh Leib Frumkin was a rabbi, Zionist, a founder and pioneer of Petah Tikva, the first yishuv created in the pre-state of Israel. He also was an author of halachic texts, a teacher, and operator of a wine shop, L. Frumkin and Company....
. It was the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement in Ottoman
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...
Palestine (hence its nickname as "Mother of the Moshavot") 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
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
, the pioneers purchased land in that area. However, Abdülhamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
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 malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
l swamp, they had to evacuate when the malaria spread, founding the town of Yehud
Yehud
Yehud is a city in the Center District in Israel that is part of the joint municipality of Yehud-Monosson. In 2007, Yehud's population was approximately 25,600 .- History :...
near the Arabic village Yehudiyya about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) to the south. With the financial help of Baron Edmond de Rothschild
Edmond James de Rothschild
Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild was a French member of the Rothschild banking family. A strong supporter of Zionism, his generous donations lent significant support to the movement during its early years, which helped lead to the establishment of the State of Israel.- Early years :A...
they were able to drain the swamps sufficiently to be able to move back in 1883, joined by immigrants of the First Aliyah
First Aliyah
The First Aliyah was the first modern widespread wave of Zionist aliyah. Jews who migrated to Palestine in this wave came mostly from Eastern Europe and from Yemen. This wave of aliyah began in 1881–82 and lasted until 1903. An estimated 25,000–35,000 Jews immigrated to Ottoman Syria during the...
, and later the Second Aliyah
Second Aliyah
The Second Aliyah was an important and highly influential aliyah that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 40,000 Jews immigrated into Ottoman Palestine, mostly from the Russian Empire, some from Yemen....
.
During the Sinai and Palestine Campaign
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
The Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...
of 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...
, Petah Tikva served as a refugee town for residents of Tel Aviv and Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, following their exile by the Ottoman authorities due to their refusal to serve the Ottoman army to fight the invading British forces. The town suffered heavily as it lay between the Ottoman 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
Labor Zionism
Labor Zionism can be described as the major stream of the left wing of the Zionist movement. It was, for many years, the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizational structure...
, inspired and encouraged by the writings of A. D. Gordon
A. D. Gordon
Aaron David Gordon , more commonly known as A. D. Gordon, was a Zionist ideologue and the spiritual force behind practical Zionism and Labor Zionism. He founded Hapoel Hatzair, a movement that set the tone for the Zionist movement for many years to come. Influenced by Leo Tolstoy and others, it is...
who lived in the town.
The first recorded Arab attack on Jews in what would become Israel took place in Petah Tikva in 1886. Petah Tikva was also the scene of Arab rioting in May 1921, which left four Jews dead.
In the 1930s, the pioneering founders of Kibbutz Yavneh
Kibbutz Yavneh
Kvutzat Yavne is a religious kibbutz in the Center District of Israel. Located in the coastal plain just east of Ashdod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 1,100.-History:...
from the Religious Zionist movement
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
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 early 1920s, industry began to develop in the Petah Tikva region. In 1921, Petah Tikva was given the status of a local council
Local council (Israel)
Local councils are one of the three types of local government found in Israel, with the other two being cities and regional councils. As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel, these being settlements which pass a minimum threshold enough to justify their operations as independent...
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
Yehoshua Stampfer
Yehoshua Stampfer was one of the founders of the city of Petah Tikva in Israel, and a member of its original municipal council. Petah Tikva was founded in 1878 and is nicknamed "Mother of Settlements" since it was the first renewed modern Jewish agricultural settlement in Palestine at the...
.
Urban development
Nowadays, with a population of over two hundred thousand inhabitants Petah Tikva is the third most populous city in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area ("Gush Dan").
Economy
Petah Tikva is the second-largest industrial sector in Israel after the northern city of HaifaHaifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. The industry is divided into three zones—Kiryat Aryeh (named after Aryeh Shenkar), Kiryat Matalon (named after Moshe Yitzhak Matalon), and Segula, and includes textiles, metalwork, carpentry, plastics, processed foods, tires and other rubber products, and soap.
Numerous high-tech companies and start-ups have moved into the industrial zones of Petah Tikva, which now house the Israeli headquarters for the Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Intel, Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...
, ECI Telecom
ECI Telecom
ECI Telecom Ltd is a global telecom networking infrastructure provider headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel. It provides communications platforms and solutions to carriers and service providers, cable/multiple system operators, wireless/cellular service providers, utilities and carrier of carriers,...
, and GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
Pharmecuticals. The largest data center
Data center
A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems...
in Israel, operated by the company TripleC, is also located in Petah Tikva. Furthermore, the Israeli Teva
Teva
Companies commonly known as Teva include:*Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.*Teva Naot*Teva sport sandals*Teva Learning Center...
company, the world's largest generic drug manufacturer is headquartered in Petah Tikva, whilst one of Israel's leading food processing corporations, Osem
Osem (company)
Osem Investments Ltd. is one of the largest food manufacturers and distributors in Israel.The group is majority owned by Nestlé S.A...
opened in Petah Tikva in 1976 and has since been joined by the company's administrative offices, distribution center and sauce factory.
Over time, the extensive citrus groves that once ringed Petah Tikva 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.
As well as general hi-tech firms, Petah Tikva has developed a position as a base for many communications firms. As such, the headquarters of the Bezeq International international phone company is located in the Kiryat Matalon industrial zone as are those of the 012 Smile Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
. The headquarters of Tadiran Telecom
Tadiran Telecom
Tadiran Telecom Ltd is a telecommunications company which offers enterprises complete converged communications solutions that support voice, data, video and advanced applications. It is represented by a global network of more than 200 distributors and affiliates in 40 countries.The corporate...
are in the Ramat Siv industrial zone. Arutz Sheva
Arutz Sheva
Arutz Sheva is an Israeli media network identifying with Religious Zionism. It offers online news in English, Hebrew, French, Spanish and Russian. Arutz Sheva offers free podcasts, live streaming radio, a daily email news update, streaming video and 24 hour updated text news...
, the right wing Religious Zionist
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
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.
The Israeli secret service, Shin Bet, has an interrogation facility in Petah Tikva.
Transportation
Petah Tikva is served by a large number of buses. A large number of intercity Egged buses stop there, and the city has a network of local buses operated by the KavimKavim
Kavim is an Israeli bus company. It was founded in 2000 and provided lines in the eastern Gush Dan region - the towns/cities Kiryat Ono, Petah Tikva, Or Yehuda, Giv'atayim and others. In February 2005, Kavim expanded to the north, where it started providing bus lines in Afula, Bet She'an and the...
company. The Dan bus company
Dan Bus Company
Dan Bus Company is an Israeli bus company based in Tel Aviv. It operates local bus service in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area as well as some intercity bus services between the Gush Dan area and nearby regions such as Samaria, and a connection between Bne Brak and Jerusalem. Dan operates 1,200...
operates lines to Ramat Gan, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv
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...
.
Petah Tikva's largest bus terminal is the Petah Tikva Central Bus Station (Tahana Makazit), while other major stations are located near Beilinson Hospital and Beit Rivka. A rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
/light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system is in the works which will connect Petah Tikva to Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv
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...
and Bat Yam.
Israel Railways
Israel Railways
Israel Railways is the principal passenger railway operating company in Israel, and is responsible for all inter-city and suburban rail way passenger and freight traffic in the country. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from...
maintains two suburban railroad stations in Segula and Kiryat Aryeh, in the northern part of the city. A central train station near the main bus station is envisioned as part of Israel Railways's long-term expansion plan. 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
Highway 4 (Israel)
Highway 4 is an Israeli highway that runs along Israel's entire coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea, its route in the north runs from the Rosh HaNikra border crossing with Lebanon until the Erez Border Crossing with the Gaza Strip...
) on the west, the Trans-Samaria Highway (Highway 5
Highway 5 (Israel)
Highway 5, or the Trans-Samaria Highway , is one of Israel's main highways, connecting the Mediterranean coast immediately north of Tel Aviv with the central Sharon plain and eastwards to Ariel and other Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank, known under the biblical name Samaria.The name...
) on the north, and the Trans-Israel Highway (Highway 6
Highway 6 (Israel)
Highway 6 , widely known as the Trans-Israel Highway or Cross-Israel Highway , is a major electronic toll highway in Israel. The highway was officially dedicated as the Yitzhak Rabin Highway , though this name is not commonly used. It started operating in the early 2000s and is being lengthened as...
) on the east.
Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava Valls is a Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer whose principal office is in Zürich, Switzerland. Classed now among the elite designers of the world, he has offices in Zürich, Paris, Valencia, and New York City....
's bridge, a 164 feet (50 m) long span Y-shaped cable-stayed pedestrian bridge connecting Rabin Hospital to a shopping mall, a residential development and a public park. The structure is supported from a 95 feet (29 m) high inclined steel pylon, which is situated where the three spans intersect. Light in construction, the bridge is built principally of steel with a glass-paved deck.
Local government and politics
Akiva Librecht
Akiva Librecht
Akiva Librecht was a founding member of Petah Tikva, Israel, and a member of its first council, which he headed in 1912–13. He was also a member of the Kfar Sava council....
. This governing body was declared a local council in 1921, and Petah Tikva became a city in 1937. Kadima
Kadima
Kadima is a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely to support the issue of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and was soon joined by like-minded Labor politicians...
, the political party founded by former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
and now headed by Tzipi Livni
Tzipi Livni
Tzipporah Malkah "Tzipi" Livni is an Israeli lawyer and politician. She is the current Israeli Opposition Leader and leader of Kadima, the largest party in the Knesset. Raised an ardent nationalist, Livni has become one of her nation's leading voices for the two-state solution. In Israel she has...
, has its headquarters in Petah Tikva.
In 2007, the discovery of a group of Neo-Nazi teenagers, Patrol 35
Patrol 35
Patrol 35 was an Israeli neo-Nazi organization led by Erik Bonite, who goes by the alias "Ely the Nazi". The group's members were aged 16 to 19 and it was based in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv...
, formed by immigrants from the former Soviet Union with some Jewish ancestry shocked the country.
Council heads
- Shlomo Zalman Gissin (1921)
- Pinchas Meiri (1922–1928)
- Shlomo Stampfer (1928–1937)
Mayors
- Shlomo Stampfer (1938–1940)
- Yosef SapirYosef SapirYosef Sapir was an Israeli politician and Knesset member of the 1st to 7th Knessets. He served as head of the General Zionists and was a founding member of the Gahal party....
(1940–1950) - Mordechai Kraufman (1951)
- Pinchas Rashish (1951–1966)
- Yisrael Feinberg (1966–1978)
- Dov Tavori (1978–1989)
- Giora Lev (1989–1999)
- Yitzhak Ohayon (1999–present)
Schools and religious institutions
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
Mofet
Mofet is an educational program developed in order to promote academic education in Israel. MoFeT is a Hebrew acronym composed of the initial letters of "Mathematics, Physics, Culture"; the Hebrew word mofet means: "paragon; outstanding exemplar"....
program, which promotes academic excellence.
Petah Tikva has nine public libraries, the main one located in the city hall building.
Some 70,000 Orthodox Jews live in Petah Tikva. The community of Petah Tikva is served by 300 synagogues, including the 120-year old Great Synagogue, eight mikvaot
Mikvah
Mikveh is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism...
(ritual baths) and two major Haredi yeshivot
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
, Lomzhe Yeshiva and Or-Yisrael (founded by the Chazon Ish, Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz). Yeshivat Hesder Petah Tikva
Yeshivat Hesder Petah Tikva
Yeshivat Hesder Petah Tikva is a Hesder Yeshiva located in Petah Tikva, Israel. Established in 1998, it currently has approximately 200 students, 25% whom are actively serving in the IDF.-History:...
, a modern-orthodox Hesder
Hesder
Hesder is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework...
Yeshiva affiliated with the Religious Zionist movement, directed by Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, is also located in Petah Tikva.
Petah Tikva has two cemeteries: Segula Cemetery, east of the city, and Yarkon Cemetery, to the northeast.
Neighborhoods
Petah Tikva is divided into 33 neighborhoods for municipal purposes:Health care
Rabin Medical Center
The Rabin Medical Center is a medical center in Petah Tikva, Israel. It is currently the second largest medical center in Israel after Sheba Medical Center, having lost the title of largest in 2006...
Beilinson complex includes the Beilinson Medical Center, the Davidoff Oncologic Center, the Geha Psychiatric Hospital, the Schneider Pediatric Hospital and Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Medical Research. Other medical facilities in Petah Tikva are HaSharon Hospital, the Beit Rivka Geriatric Center, the Kupat Holim Medical Research Center and a private hospital, Ramat Marpeh, affiliated with Assuta Hospital. The Schneider Pediatric Center is one of the largest and most modern children's hospitals in the Middle East. In addition, there are many family health clinics in Petah Tikva as well as Kupat Holim clinics operated by Israel's Health maintenance organization
Health maintenance organization
A health maintenance organization is an organization that provides managed care for health insurance contracts in the United States as a liaison with health care providers...
s.
Landmarks and cultural institutions
- Beit Yad Labanim
- Petah Tikva Museum of Art
- Petah Tikva Zoo
- Rothschild Arch
Arab-Israeli conflict
During the Second 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; on December 25, 2003, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus stop near the Geha bridge, killing 4 civilians, and on February 5, 2006, a Palestinian got into a shuttle taxi, pulled out a knife, and began stabbing passengers killing two of them, but a worker from a nearby factory hit him with a log, subduing him.Sports
Petah Tikva has two soccerFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
teams – Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. and Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C.. The local baseball team, the Petach Tikva Pioneers
Petach Tikva Pioneers
The Petach Tikva Pioneers is an Israeli baseball team from Petah Tikva in the Israel Baseball League.They finished the inaugrual 2007 regular season in last place , and lost to the Modi'in Miracle in the quarterfinals of the 2007 championship....
, played in the inaugural 2007 season of the Israel Baseball League
Israel baseball league
The Israel Baseball League was a six-team professional baseball league in Israel. The first game was played on June 24, 2007...
. The league folded the following year.
Notable residents
- Yehuda AmichaiYehuda AmichaiYehuda Amichai was an Israeli poet. Amichai is considered by many, both in Israel and internationally, as Israel's greatest modern poet. He was also one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew....
(1924–2000), poet - Hanoch BartovHanoch BartovHanoch Bartov is an Israeli author and journalist.-Biography:Hanoch Helfgott was born in Petah Tikva in 1926, a year after his parents immigrated from Poland. He attended a religious school and then the Ahad Haam gymnasium. After working in diamond polishing and welding for two years, he enlisted...
(b. 1926 in Petah Tikva), author and columnist - Tal BursteinTal BursteinTal Burstein is an Israeli professional basketball player.He can play at the point guard position and also as a swingman. He is 198 cm in height. He has also been named as one of the best Israeli basketball players ever...
(b. 1980 in Petah Tikva), professional basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player - Shmuel DayanShmuel DayanShmuel Dayan was a Zionist activist during the British Mandate of Palestine and an Israeli politician who served in the first three Knessets.-Biography:...
(1891–1968), Zionist activist - Israel FinkelsteinIsrael FinkelsteinIsrael Finkelstein is an Israeli archaeologist and academic. He is currently the Jacob M. Alkow Professor of the Archaeology of Israel in the Bronze Age and Iron Ages at Tel Aviv University and is also the co-director of excavations at Megiddo in northern Israel...
(b. 1949 Petah Tikva), archaeologist - Dudu FisherDudu FisherDavid "Dudu" Fisher is an Israeli cantor and stage performer.He is best known for his Broadway performance as Jean Valjean in the musical Les Misérables.- Cantorial career :...
(b. 1951 in Petah Tikva), cantor and stage performer - Yehoshua KenazYehoshua Kenaz-Biography:Glass was born in Petah Tikva, in the British Mandate of Palestine, in 1937. During the Second World War, his father worked for the British Army, and for a while the family moved to Haifa. He learned to play the violin. His brother Hilik was born when he was thirteen. He was drafted to...
(b. 1937 in Petah Tikva), novelist - A. D. GordonA. D. GordonAaron David Gordon , more commonly known as A. D. Gordon, was a Zionist ideologue and the spiritual force behind practical Zionism and Labor Zionism. He founded Hapoel Hatzair, a movement that set the tone for the Zionist movement for many years to come. Influenced by Leo Tolstoy and others, it is...
(1856–1922), Labor Zionist ideologue - Tamar GozanskyTamar Gozansky-Background:Born in Petah Tikva during the Mandate era to a Russian family, Gozansky studied in Russia, gaining an MSc in Economics from Leningrad State University. She later worked as an economist.-Political career:...
(b. 1940 in Petah Tikva), politician - Avraham GrantAvraham GrantAvraham "Avram" Grant is an Israeli association football manager. Grant has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of national league and cup victories with different teams, and also managing the Israeli national team for four years.Grant moved to...
(b. 1955 in Petah Tikva), former coach of Israel national football teamIsrael national football teamThe Israel national football team is the national football team of Israel, controlled by the Israel Football Association .Israel National Football is the direct successor of the Eretz Yisrael National Team during British Mandate...
and Chelsea F.C.Chelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... - Tzofit Grant (b. 1964 in Petah Tikva), television personality and Avraham Grant's wife
- Simcha JacoboviciSimcha JacoboviciSimcha Jacobovici is a Canadian film director, producer, free-lance journalist, and writer. He is a three-times Emmy winner for Outstanding Investigative Journalism....
(b. 1953 in Petah Tikva), filmmaker - Haim KaufmanHaim KaufmanHaim Kaufman was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1977 and 1988, and again from 1990 until his death in 1995.-Biography:...
(b. 1936 in Petah Tikva), city council member, Knesset member, deputy to finance minister, businessman - Itzik KolItzik KolItzik Kol , was an Israeli television and film producer considered by many to be a pioneer and originator of Israeli cinema. He died following complications from pneumonia.-Biography:...
(1932–2007), television and movie producer - Samir NaqqashSamir NaqqashSamir Naqqash was an Iraqi Jewish novelist, short-story writer, and playwright who immigrated to Israel.-Biography:...
(1938–2004), Iraqi-Jewish author - Zvi NishriZvi NishriZvi Nishri was a pioneer in modern physical education in Palestine, and subsequently in Israel.-Early life:...
(Orloff) (1878–1973), Russian/Palestinian/Israeli pioneer in physical education - Elyakum OstashinskiElyakum OstashinskiElyakum Ostashinski or Elyakum Austshinsky , born 1909, died 1983, was the first mayor of Rishon LeZion, and later CEO of the Farmers Association.- Education :...
(b. 1909 in Petah Tikva), first mayor of Rishon LeZion - Leah Rabin (1928–2000), wife of assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak RabinYitzhak Rabin' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
, lived in Petah Tikva from 1995 until her death in 2000 - Neta RivkinNeta RivkinNeta Rivkin is an Israeli Olympic rhythmic gymnast. She won silver medals in the individual hoop competition and in clubs at the 2011 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, and a bronze medal in the individual hoop final at the 2011 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships.-Biography:Rivkin...
(born 1991), rhythmic gymnast - Pnina RosenblumPnina RosenblumPnina Rosenblum is an Israeli businesswoman, model and media personality, who has also been involved in politics.-Career:Rosenblum was an actress and fashion model, known to foreign media in her youth as Pnina Golan. She appeared in the films Kasach , Am Yisrael Hai , Lo LeShidur , Diamante Lobo ,...
(b. 1954 in Petah Tikva), fashion model, businesswoman, and politician. - Rami SaariRami SaariRami Saari is an Israeli poet, translator, linguist and literary critic.-Biography:Saari studied Semitic and Uralic languages at the Universities of Helsinki, Budapest and Jerusalem. He did his PhD in linguistics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His doctoral thesis, "Maltese Prepositions",...
(b. 1963 in Petah Tikva), poet, translator, linguist, and literary critic - Dan ShechtmanDan ShechtmanDan Shechtman is the Philip Tobias Professor of Materials Science at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, an Associate of the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, and Professor of Materials Science at Iowa State University. On April 8, 1982, while on sabbatical at the U.S...
(b. 1941), winner of Nobel Prize for Chemistry - Giora SpiegelGiora SpiegelGiora Spiegel , is a former Israeli footballer and coach. As a footballer, he holds the record for the longest Israeli career, spanning 14 years and 357 days.-Biography:...
(b. 1947 in Petah Tikva), soccer player and coach - Nahum StelmachNahum StelmachNahum Stelmach was an Israeli footballer and manager.-Biography:He was chosen third by Yediot Aharonots greatest Israeli footballers. He made a name for himself as the leader of Hapoel Petah Tikva....
(1936–99), soccer player and figurehead of local team, Hapoel Petah Tikva - Idan TalIdan TalIdan Tal is an Israeli footballer who plays for Hapoel Jerusalem, as a midfielder.-Club career:Tal started his career at Maccabi Petah Tikva FC during the 1996–97 season, and played 71 games until his move to Hapoel Tel Aviv FC in the midst of the 1998–99, winning the state cup, the first title in...
(b. 1975 in Petah Tikva), soccer player
Twin towns — Sister cities
Petah Tikva 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:
| Chicago, Illinois, United States Laval, Quebec Laval, Quebec Laval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006... , Canada Koblenz Koblenz Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the... , Germany Odense Odense Municipality Odense Municipality, is a Danish municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the island of Funen in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 190,245... municipality, Denmark |
Trondheim Trondheim Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of... , Norway (since 1975) Bacău Bacau Bacău is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. It covers a land surface of 43 km², and, as of January 1, 2009, has an estimated population of 177,087. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, and on the Bistriţa River... , Romania Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Kadıköy Kadiköy Kadıköy is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district of İstanbul, Turkey on the Asian side of the Sea of Marmara, facing the historic city centre on the European side of the Bosporus... , Turkey |