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Rishon LeZion
Hebrew	רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן
Name Meaning	First to Zion
Founded in	1882
Government	City
Also Spelled	Rishon LeZiyyon (officially)
District	Center
Population	222,300 (2006)
Jurisdiction	59,000 dunams (59 km²)
Mayor	Meir Nitzan

Rishon LeZion (Hebrew: רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן‎, lit. first to Zion), is a city on Israel's central coastal plain, south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area (Gush Dan) and Israel's fourth largest city, with a population of 222,300 residents in 2006. The mayor is Meir Nitzan.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Notable people in Rishon's history 2.1.1 Founders 2.1.2 Others who contributed to Rishon 3 Economy 3.1 Tourism 4 Culture 4.1 Rishon's Parliament 4.2 Education 4.3 Sports 5 Geography 5.1 Topography and climate 5.2 Districts 6 Mayors of Rishon LeZion 7 Famous residents 8 Sister Cities 9 External links

The name of the city is derived from a biblical verse: "First to Zion are they, and I shall give herald to Jerusalem" - "ראשון לציון הנה הינם, ולירושלים מבשר אתן" (Book of Isaiah 41:27)

Rishon LeZion was founded on July 31, 1882 by a group of ten Hovevei Zion pioneers from Kharkov, Ukraine headed by Zalman David Levontin. The group purchased 835 acres (3.4 km²) of land southeast of present-day Tel Aviv, near the Arab village of Ayun Kara. Rishon LeZion was the second settlement in the land of Israel. The first was Petah Tikva, which was deserted and then reestablished.

The new settlers faced numerous difficulties. The soil was sandy, water was scarce and the settlers had no agricultural experience. After a well was dug and more pioneers arrived - the Biluim - the colony slowly took shape. When Baron Edmond James de Rothschild took over, sending in his administrators, major progress was made in the spheres of agriculture, citrus and viticulture. Under Rothschild's patronage, the Carmel-Mizrahi Winery was established in 1886.

The first Hebrew school opened in 1886, and the first Hebrew kindergarten in 1899. The population numbered 359 in 1890. Five years later it increased to 380, and by 1900 rose to 526.

• Zeev Abrahamovich;
• Fani Belkind - member of Bilu group who settled in Rishon;
• Israel Belkind - member of Bilu group who settled in Rishon;
• Shimshon Belkind - member of Bilu group who settled in Rishon;
• Yoel Drubin - member of Bilu group who settled in Rishon;
• Israel Fineberg - defended Rishon from Arab and Bedouin bandits.
• Yossef Fineberg - chemist;
• Yehuda Hankin;
• Dr. Haim Hissin - member of Bilu group who settled in Rishon;
• Zalman David Levontin - buyer of Rishon's territory from the Ottoman Empire;
• Zvi Ha-Cohen Levontin;
• Reuven Yudalevich - believed member of the original 10 with Levontin;
• David Yudilovich - member of Bilu group who settled in Rishon.

• David Ben-Gurion - Head of workers' union at Carmel Mizrahi Winery, later Israel's first prime minister.
• Eliezer Ben-Yehuda - Father of modern Hebrew, worked as a teacher in Rishon LeZion
• Dov Lubman Haviv - A teacher in the first Hebrew school
• Mordechai Lubman Haviv - Educational inspector
• Baron Edmond James de Rothschild - French Jewish philanthropist, patron of Rishon LeZion.

Rishon Lezion's main industries today are wine, construction, services and commerce. Factories and workshops are located in the industrial zone, which has become a popular venue for pubs, dance clubs and restaurants.

The two major malls in Rishon LeZion are Rothschild Center in the old downtown center and Gold Mall (Kanyon ha-Zahav) in the New West district.

• Midrachov (pedestrian mall)
• Gan-HaMoshava park (also known as "Gan Ha-Nadiv")
• Great Synagogue
• Great Well ("Matzanu Mayim")
• Old Water Tower
• Rishon LeZion History Museum
• Beit Sefer Haviv - First Hebrew school
• Carmel Mizrahi/Carmel Winery
• Beit Yad LeBanim - Administrative center of Baron Rothschild, now a soldiers' memorial
• Heichal HaTarbut (Hall of Culture) - concert and performance hall
• Superland amusement park

The city, often called Rishon (or Rashlatz, the Hebrew acronym for Rishon LeZion, in written material), hosts the annual Rishon LeZion Wine Festival. Rishon is also known for its numerous shopping centers, the Amphi-Park (which once held shows of international artists like Sting, Metallica, Alanis Morissette and more), a zoo, an amusement park (Superland), and its beach promenade.

Heichal HaTarbut (Hall of Culture) in Rishon is a large and highly reputed modern center for concerts, theatre and cultural events. It has one main hall for shows and two small halls for artistic workshops.

The Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon Lezion, directed by Dan Ettinger, has participated in music festivals all over the world. It was awarded the ACUM prize in 1991. (http://www.music-lovers.co.il/day_by_day/orchestras/rishon_symphony_orchestra.htm)

The "Rishon's Parliament" is a mythological group of Rishon's elders and veterans who were known for their wit and unique style. The group used to assemble about three times a week to discuss current events and exchange anecdotes and jokes. Their stories were documented by Uri Porat and Amnon Nahmias and published in a series of stories in Yediot Aharonot and later in a book called Rishon - The Wild East.

Rishon LeZion has twenty-three elementary schools, nine middle schools and twelve high schools. Rishon Lezion's College of Management has a student population of 10,000.^[1]

Rishon hold the first all Hebrew school (Haviv school) and kindergarten. It has the 5th highschool in Israel, HaGymnasia HaRealit, which was founded in 1939 and considered among the best highschools in Israel.

Rishon Lezion is known for its achievements in handball and chess. In handball, Hapoel Rishon LeZion and Maccabi Rishon LeZion dominate the handball league. Hapoel has won more than seven domestic championships and cups in a row, with stars like goalkeeper Vladimir Zaikman and field-players Idan Maimon and Dudi Balsar. Its biggest rival, Maccabi, has a rich history as well, and was able to take the championship title from Hapoel in the latest 2005/06 season. Handball is also a dominant sport in Rishon LeZion high schools. The Amit Amal high school handball team has won the world championship several times.

In chess, the Rishon LeZion Chess Club, founded in 1939, is one of the leading clubs in Israel, in senior, women and youth leagues. Israeli grandmasters such as Boris Alterman play for Rishon. World champion Garry Kasparov was a former member.

As to the two most popular sports in Israel, soccer and basketball, Rishon has achieved certain accomplishments as well. Hapoel Ironi Rishon leZion has managed to advanced up to Israel's Ligat ha'Al during the end of the millennium, but experienced a decline in recent years and have been relegated to the Liga Artzit.

The Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball team is a long-time member of the Israeli first division league. The team was a stubborn rival to Israel's top club and European champion, Maccabi Tel Aviv, during the 1990s. After a certain decline in the beginning of the 2000s, the club is trying to get back its place in the top positions of the first division league. With the support of Rishon high schools, the club has been known to produce some very talented basketball players over the years.

Rishon LeZion is located on the Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Plain, the historic land bridge between Europe, Africa, and Asia. Immediately north of Jaffa, Tel Aviv is situated on land which used to be sand dunes, and as such has relatively poor soil fertility. It is now on flat land with no notable gradients. As such, its most notable geographical feature are the bluffs above the Mediterranean coastline and the Yarkon River's mouth. In modern times, due to the expansion of Tel Aviv and the Gush Dan region in general, absolute borders between Tel Aviv and Jaffa, and between the city's neighbourhoods do not exist. The city is located some 60 kilometers (37 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, Israel's capital city, and some 90 kilometres (55.9 mi) south of the northern port city of Haifa.

Weather averages for Rishon LeZion
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average high °C (°F)	23 (74)	27 (80)	31 (87)	35 (95)	37 (99)	36 (97)	33 (92)	33 (91)	33 (92)	33 (92)	31 (87)	26 (79)
Average low °C (°F)	1 (34)	2 (36)	3 (37)	6 (42)	8 (47)	13 (55)	16 (60)	17 (62)	15 (59)	10 (50)	6 (43)	2 (36)
Precipitation mm (inch)	139.7 (5.5)	88.9 (3.5)	61 (2.4)	20.3 (0.8)	2.5 (0.1)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	27.9 (1.1)	73.7 (2.9)	144.8 (5.7)
Source: The Weather Channel (United States) [2] 2007-07-20

Rishon LeZion's main quarters are:

• The Old City refers to the downtown around Herzl Street and Jabotinsky Street. The center of the Old City is Rothschild street, near the Midrahov (pedestrian mall) and the old Gan-HaMoshava (The City Park). Neighbourhoods here include Remez (Givaat Levinson), Rishonim (Gan Nahum), Abrahmovich, Katzanelson (Shikun Poalim), Shikun Mapam and Shivat Zion), Nahalat Yehuda, Benot Hayil, Neve Hillel, Neve Elyahu and Neve Yam.
• The Eastern Resident (Shikun(ey) HaMizrah) is located in the eastern part of Rishon and includes the Shikun(ey) HaMizrah, HaRambam, Mishor HaNof, Revivim (Shikun Sela), Kidmat Rishon and Ha-Shomer neighbourhoods
• North Mabat is the Old Industrial Zone which is officially called "Mis'har, Biluy, Taasia" (commerce, entertainment and industry) and was originally full of light industry and glass factories. Today it is the center of motor garages, large food stores and has a vivid night life in a pedestrian mall filled with bars and cafes. The North Mabat is located in the northern part of Rishon, near HaMaccabim road (the road called "Kvish Beit-Dagan" by the locals).
• Maarav Rishon (The New West) was built in the 1980s and mostly populated in the 1990s. It is a block of new neighborhoods, inter-connected with modern, wide roads. The New West is the modern part of Rishon and has many parks and community-centers. It is considered to be very aesthetic and prestigious and in less than a decade it was filled with more than 100,000 residents, doubling Rishon's population. Current neighbourhoods here include Neve Yam, Ne'ot Shikma, Kiriyat Ganim, Neve Ashalim, Kiriyat Hatanei Pras Nobel, Neve Dkalim, Neve Hof (Pueblo Español) and Neve Eliyahu. There are also two new industrial zones in this area called Ovest Mabat.

1. Eliakum Ostashinski (1950-1951)
2. Arie Sheftal (1951)
3. Moshe Gavin (1952-1955)
4. Gershon Man Mankov (1955)
5. Hana Levin (1955-1960)
6. Arie Sheftal (1960-1962)
7. Noam Laoner (1962-1965)
8. Arie Sheftal (1965-1969)
9. Hananya Gibstein (1969-1983)
10. Meir Nitzan (1983-present)

• Tal Ben Haim, Chelsea F.C. footballer
• Zohar Argov, singer
• Boris Gelfand, chess champion

Braşov, Romania Debrecen, Hungary Gondar, Ethiopia Heerenveen, Netherlands Lublin, Poland Lviv, Ukraine Metrowest, New Jersey, USA

Münster, Germany Nîmes, France (1986) Prince Georges County, Maryland, USA St. Petersburg, Russia Teramo, Italy Tianjin, China

• Rishon LeZion City Hall (Hebrew)

Coordinates: 31°58′N, 34°48′E

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