Herzliya

Encyclopedia : H : HE : HER : Herzliya

Herzliya (Herzliyyāh, in Hebrew הֶרְצְלִיָּה , without Niqqud הרצליה or הרצלייה, commonly pronounced in Hebrew Hertseliya) is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel-Aviv (about 20 minutes drive center to center) and south of Netanya, and part of the Tel-Aviv metropolitan area in the Tel Aviv District. The official romanization is Herzliya, but Herzlia, Herzliyya, and other spellings are also seen.

The city of Herzliya is named after Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism. Herzliya was founded in 1924 by seven pioneering families and today its population numbers nearly 100,000, with an area of 26 km². Herzliya officially became a city in 1960 and its flag features seven stars (saluting Herzl's idea of the seven-hour working day), a small boat, two packs of wheat and a boat's steering wheel.

Ben Gurion Avenue in the centre of Herzliya, facing north towards Sokolov Street (1998)

Fittingly, Herzliya is home to a large marina, built during the 1990s, as well as a small airport (code: LLHZ), an old shopping district and two malls (including the Shiv`at ha-Kōkhāvīm Mall), movie theaters, museums, and cultural centers, and an olympic stadium and target range. Herzliya also has professional basketball and soccer teams and is home to Israel's largest film studios, Ūlpaney Herzliyyāh.

In addition to the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center, there are a number of public and private schools in the city, including the science high school `ALeH.

On the town's northern coast, a national park features the ruins of Apollonia (Arsuf), which was a town of some seventeen centuries' standing when it was destroyed during the expulsion of the Crusaders.

Contents

1 Herzliyyāh Pitū'ah
2 City mayors
3 Sister Cities
4 External links

Herzliyyāh Pitū'ah

Western Herzliya, also called Herzliyyāh-Pītū'ah, is located on the Mediterranean coast and contains a stretch of popular beachfront hotels, high-tech business area, busy restaurants and an exclusive residential area housing the residence of the United States ambassador and many of Israel's wealthiest. Herzliya is one of the main tourist locations in Israel and its many hotels have over 650 rooms along the coast, with another 750 planned as part of the marina project.

The marina, built during the 1990s by mayor Eli Landau (Elī Landāw), is located to the south of the Accadia Hotel and covers an area of 0.5 km². The complex includes a shopping mall, entertainment and sports fields, as well as high-priced housing. Building of the marina has not been without controversy, as many have argued that it has damaged the beach, blocking sand that moves from the south and thereby narrowing the beaches to the north.

City mayors

Avrāham Hīrsh, 1937-1938
Shim`ōn Ze'ev Lewīn, 1938-1943
Ben-Tsiyyōn Mikha'elī, 1943-1960
Pesah Yifher, 1960-1966
Interim council led by Natan Rōzental, 1966-1967
Yōsef Nāvō, 1969-1983
Elī Landāw, 1983-1998 (Likud Party)
Ya'el German, 1998-present (Meretz Party)

Sister Cities

Herzliya has many sister cities including:

External links

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