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Holon

[khaw-lawn]

Holon (, Ḥōlōn) is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan in the Tel Aviv District. In 2005, it had a population of 180,000. Holon has the second largest industrial zone in Israel after Haifa. The chief rabbi of the city is Rabbi Avraham Yosef, son of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Etymology

The name of the city comes from the Hebrew word hol, meaning "sand". The name Holon also appears in the Bible: "And Holon with its suburbs, and Debir with its suburbs" (Book of Joshua, 21:15).

History

Holon was founded on sand dunes six kilometers from Tel Aviv in 1935. The Łódzia textile factory was established there by Jewish immigrants from Łódź, Poland, along with many other industrial enterprises.

Culture

Holon used to host the annual Storytellers Festival, now held in Giv'atayim. It also hosts the annual Yemay Zemer song festival and a spring festival devoted to women. Daniel Barenboim organizes an annual music summer camp in the city.

Since the election of Moti Sasson as the mayor of Holon in 1993, many cultural projects have been inaugurated. Billing itself as a "children's city," Holon is home to the Holon Children's Museum and the Mediatheque youth theater.

Holon also plays host each year to a street carnival in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Purim, the Adloyada (עדלאידע). Thousands of children dress up in costumes and the streets close down for a parade featuring colorful floats.

The city has many parks and lush greenery. The park on the corner of Rehovot HaHistadrut and Eilat is famed for the backgammon or "shesh besh" tournaments which take place daily.

Samaritans

In 1954, the president of Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi helped to establish a Samaritan quarter on the outskirts of Holon. The quarter was named Neve Pinchas after Pinhas Ben-Abraham, the high priest of the Samaritan community.