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
Flag Coat of Arms
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 לְצִיּוֹן‎  (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.