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Rishon LeZion

Rishon LeZion
  • רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן
  • ريشون لتسيون
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • ISO 259 Riˀšon l Çiyon
 • Translit. Rishon LeTziyon
 • Also spelled Rishon LeZiyyon (official)
Rishon LeZion skyline and lake
Rishon LeZion skyline and lake
Flag of Rishon LeZion
Flag
Rishon leZion Coat of Arms.svg
Coat of Arms
Rishon LeZion is located in Israel
Rishon LeZion
Rishon LeZion
Coordinates: 31°57′N 34°48′E / 31.950°N 34.800°E / 31.950; 34.800Coordinates: 31°57′N 34°48′E / 31.950°N 34.800°E / 31.950; 34.800
Country  Israel
District Central
Founded 1882
Government
 • Type City (from 1950)
 • Mayor Dov Tzur
Area
 • Total 58,704 dunams (58.704 km2 or 22.666 sq mi)
Population (2015)
 • Total 243,973
Name meaning First to Zion

Rishon LeZion (Hebrew: רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹןAbout this sound (audio) , lit. First to Zion) is the fourth-largest city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain 8 km (5 mi) south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area.

Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from Russian Empire, it was the second Jewish farm settlement established in The land of Israel in the 19th century, after Petah Tikva. In 2015 it had a population of 243,973.

The name Rishon LeZion is derived from a biblical verse: "First to Zion are they, and I shall give herald to Jerusalem" (Hebrew: ראשון לציון הנה הינם, ולירושלים מבשר אתן‎‎) (Isaiah 41:27) and literally translates as "First to Zion".

Rishon LeZion was founded on July 31, 1882, by ten Hovevei Zion pioneers from Kharkiv, Ukraine (then the Russian Empire) headed by Zalman David Levontin. Reuven Yudalevich was also a member of the group. The pioneers purchased 835 acres (337.91 ha) of land southeast of present-day Tel Aviv, part of the townland of the Arab village of Ayun Kara (literally 'fountain of the crier'). Ayun Kara was the scene of a bloody battle between Turkish and New Zealand troops on November 14, 1917. Local citizens carried the wounded to a hospital in Rishon. A stone cenotaph was erected by the people of Rishon LeZion to the memory of the New Zealanders who fell that day, but it has since been destroyed.


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Wikipedia

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