Herzliya

History

Herzliya, named after Theodor Herzl, was founded in 1924 as a semi-cooperative farming community (moshava) with a mixed population of new immigrants and veteran residents. During that year, 101 houses and 35 cowsheds were built there, and it continued to grow. The 1931 census recorded a population of 1,217 inhabitants, in 306 houses.

Upon the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, Herzliya was a town of 5,300. Large numbers of immigrants settled there, and it reached 12,000 residents within a few years. In 1960, when the population reached 25,000, Herzliya was declared a city.

Under current city development plans, the city's population is projected to triple to approximately 290,000 residents by 2030. This rapid expansion will be facilitated by the construction of 52,000 new homes, alongside significant new industrial developments and hotels construction. The plan outlines a denser construction in the exiting city center, while also expanding the city limits towards the north and southwest.

File:הרצליה - בניה-JNF037754.jpeg|Herzliya under construction 1920 File:Herzliya 1942.jpg|Herzliya 1942 1:20,000 File:Herzliya 1945.jpg|Herzliya 1945 1:250,000 File:Herzliya Central Bus Station 1964.jpg|Herzliya in 1964, with the Central Bus Station in the foreground

Demographics

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, residents of Herzliya are among the wealthiest in Israel. In 2003–2005, average monthly salaries were ILS 8,211, or about ILS 1,500 above average in a survey of Israel's 15 largest cities. However, there is a large gap between the city's seven working-class neighborhoods, among them Yad Tisha, Neve Yisrael and Neve Amal, and upscale Herzliya Pituah. The population is older compared with other cities in the Sharon region and the national average: 18% of Herzliya's residents are under 14 years old, compared to a national average of 27.5%.

Education and culture

Investment in education in Herzliya was higher compared with all other cities surveyed, which resulted in a higher number of high school students were eligible for a bagrut matriculation certificate. Herzliya is also home to Reichman University (formerly 'The Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center'), Israel's only private university. It was founded in 1994 by Prof. Uriel Reichman and is located in the Tel Aviv District. The institution was rebranded in 2021.

Herzliya serves as a significant center for media and infrastructure within Israel. It is the location of Herzliya Studios (Ulpanei Herzliya), Israel's largest television and film studio. The city also hosts RGE studios, which provide services for the Kids Channel and Sport 5 Channel. Herzliya also accommodates the IDC television and radio center.

The Herzliya Marina was constructed in the 1970s. Herzliya's civic infrastructure includes a small airport, three shopping malls (Arena Mall, Seven Stars Mall, and The Outlet), movie theaters, museums, cultural centers, and a stadium. The Herzliya Cinematheque initially opened in the downtown area in 2008, relocating in 2023 to a new site within the town hall building at 22 Ben Gurion Street.

Local government

In a 2008 survey of 15 Israeli cities, Herzliya ranked second in fiscal management. The Herzliya municipality ended 2006 with a sizeable budget surplus.

Mayors

• Avraham Raphael Hirsch, 1937–38
• Shmuel Zeev ("Shin-Zayin") Levin, 1938–43
• Ben Zion Michaeli, 1943–60
• Pesah Yifhar, 1960–66
• Interim council led by Natan Rosenthal, 1966–67
• Yosef Nevo, 1969–83
• Eli Landau, 1983–98 (Likud)
• Yael German, 1998–2013 (Meretz, later independent)
• Yehonatan Yas'ur, 2013
• Moshe Fadlon, 2013–2024
• Yariv Fisher 2024 -

Landmarks

One of the founders' homes has been turned into a museum Beit Rishonim documenting the history of Herzliya. The Herzliya Museum of Art is part of the Yad Labanim memorial complex. West of Herzliya is Sidna Ali, a Muslim holy site. To the northwest is Tel Arsaf (Arsuf) and the Apollonia National Park. Inhabited from the Persian period until the Crusader period, the site contains the remains of the Crusader town of Arsuf, including a fortress surrounded by a moat. Another archaeological site, Tel Michal, lies on Herzliya's Mediterranean coast 4 km south of Arsuf.

The Herzliya Park. It was established on agricultural fields and open spaces and today it covers about 200 acers. The Herzliya Park is built on the grounds of a local swamp. In the processes of establishing the park, emphasis was placed on preserving the original structure of the area

Herzliya Conference

Since its inception in 2000, the Herzliya Conference has become an annual summit of the most influential Israeli and international leaders. The conference is attended by government ministers, Knesset members, senior defense officials, leaders of the Israeli business community, senior academicians, media representatives from Israel and abroad, delegates of world Jewish organizations, foreign dignitaries and Israeli diplomats.

Sports

The city has two football clubs, Maccabi Herzliya and Hapoel Herzliya, both of which are based at the 8,100-capacity Herzliya Municipal Stadium. The Bnei Herzliya basketball club plays its games in the HaYovel high school arena. Herzliya is also one of the centers of rugby union in Israel.

Herzliya is also home to the City's swimming club - Bnei Herzelia, training children from a young age to adulthood. The Bnei Herzelia swimmers have had enormous success in professional events, especially in open-water swimming.

One of the city's main attractions is Sportek Herzliya, an outdoor, 30 acres, sports compound open for public usage.

Transportation

The Herzliya railway station, positioned in the median of the Ayalon Highway, provides direct rail connections to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beersheva, Haifa and Ben Gurion Airport.

The Israel Railways development plan for the station, which has an opening target of 2026, focuses on doubling its sizeto handle expected increases in passenger and train traffic, while also improving connectivity to the local employment areas. Key components of this project include building a new passenger hall west of the Ayalon Highway, constructing two bridges to directly link the station sides, extending the platforms, and adding a new parking lot and a centralized public transportation terminal for bus lines.

In addition, the station is central to future mass transit plans: the Green Line of the light rail is planned to pass through the station (expected to open around 2029), and toward 2040, two Metro lines connecting the Gush Dan and Shefela regions are also planned to pass through the station.

Herzliya Pituah

Main article: Herzliya Pituah

Herzliya Pituach is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood located in the western part of Herzliya, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the coastal highway (Route 2) to the east. Established in 1925 on former sand dunes, it was initially known as "Herzliya G."

The area is nationally recognized as one of the wealthiest in Israel, characterized by luxury homes and villas, including the famously expensive Galei Tekhelet Street. Herzliya Pituach serves as a key economic and leisure center, housing a major high-tech industrial park (part of "Silicon Wadi"), the Herzliya Marina (Israel's largest), and numerous high-end hotels (such as the Dan Acadia, Daniel, and Sharon). It also includes medical facilities like the Herzliya Medical Center, along with commercial offices, restaurants, and leisure centers.

Due to its prestige, the neighborhood is a popular residence for wealthy Israelis, international investors, and many foreign ambassadors. Access to the neighborhood is convenient via the coastal highway through the Kfar Shmaryahu and Hsira interchanges.

Arab–Israeli conflict

A makeshift strip located around the current Herzliya Airport was used as the main operating base of Israel's first true fighter aircraft (as opposed to makeshift use of light planes), Avia S-199, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The airfield was used as it was a bit back from the front lines and was clandestine since it was a purpose-built strip, that was constructed after the beginning of hostilities, between the orange orchards around Herzliya, and did not appear on published maps.

On 11 March 1978, a bus hijacking by Fatah led to the Coastal Road Massacre, in which 38 Israeli civilians were killed at the Glilot Junction near Herzliya.

On June 11, 2002, Hadar Hershkowitz (14) was killed in the 2002 Herzliya shawarma restaurant bombing. On May 30, 2006, Re'ut Feldman (20), a resident of Herzliya, was killed in the Kedumim bombing. On 27 December 2024, Ludmila Lipovsky (83), a Holocaust survivor, was stabbed to death outside a nursing home by a Palestinian man from the West Bank.

Twin towns – sister cities

Herzliya is twinned with:

• ESP Alicante, Spain
• SVK Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
• USA Beverly Hills, United States
• USA Columbus, United States
• UKR Dnipro, Ukraine
• POR Funchal, Portugal
• USA Hollywood, United States
• GER Leipzig, Germany
• GER Marl, Germany
• CYP Paphos, Cyprus
• USA San Bernardino, United States
• ARG San Isidro, Argentina

Notable people

Please respect alphabetical order by surname

• Adi Ashkenazi (born 1975), comedian and actress
• Gilad Hochman (born 1982), new classical music composer
• Tal Brody (born 1943), basketball player
• Nochi Dankner (born 1954), businessman and billionaire
• Maayan Davidovich (born 1988), Olympic windsurfer
• Abba Eban (1915–2002), statesman, Foreign Affairs Minister, US and UN ambassador
• Gadi Eizenkot (born 1960), IDF Chief of General Staff
• Tal Flicker (born 1992), judoka
• Carine Goren (born 1974), pastry chef, cookbook author, television baking show host
• Yaniv Green (born 1980), basketball player
• Meir Har-Zion (1934–2014), military commando
• Chaim Herzog (1918–1997), 6th Israeli President
• Ágnes Keleti (born 1921), gymnast, winner of 10 Olympic medals
• Amos Mansdorf (born 1965), tennis player
• Roy Nissany (born 1994), racing driver
• Mimi Reinhardt (1915–2022), Oskar Schindler's secretary, spent her last years here
• Matan Roditi (born 1998), Olympic marathon swimmer
• Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (born 1988), Kenyan-born Israeli Olympic marathon runner
• Alice Schlesinger (born 1988), Olympic judoka
• Keren Siebner (born 1990), Olympic swimmer
• Alona Tal (born 1983), actress and singer
• Yehuda Weinstein (born 1944), lawyer and Attorney General of Israel

References

References

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