TEL AVIV

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TEL AVIV
FROM OLD JAFFA TO THE AZRIELLI TOWERS
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At the beginning there was Jaffa. During most
of its 4,000 years, it served as the main gate to
the Land of Israel.
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Anybody arriving at the shores of Eretz Yisrael
was thrown from the ship into a boat and carried
in the arms of strong Jaffa porters to shore and
the colorful, not very clean port. They would
then have to reach their destination climbing
through Jaffas picturesque alleys, quenching
their thirst with the water of the Sabil, and
continue through the steaming, sweating Levant
town. This is what the pilgrims did hundreds of
years ago, and this was what the various
Alliyot people did.
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On their way to Han Manouli to catch a
Dillijance, or a bed for the night, the newcomers
would pass near the impressive clock tower (built
during the Ottoman rule), and could also purchase
something in the vibrant flee market.
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The lively Jaffa Jewish community lead an active
life throughout the generations. The building
which housed the Anglo-Palestine Bank still
stands in Yeffet Street (the dark plaque below),
and in Jaffa-Tel Aviv Street we can still see the
plaque on the building where the Gymnassia
Hertzelia made its first steps.
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However, Jaffa was a hard city for those who
emigrated from Europe or America. Various
communities gradually tried to settle outside the
citys limits. The first ones were the members of
an American religious sect from Main, The
Messiah Church, who, in 1866, built the
impressive buildings shown here.
But after three years only, poverty and disease
forced them to sell the houses to the German
Templars, who also built Sharona (todays Kirya),
and who enjoyed tremendous financial and
agricultural success. The impressive church and
buildings (some of them restored) still stand in
Hoffman Street.
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though the house it self was not refined on the
outside, the inside rooms were, and the house is
used as an art galery
In the year 1883 Mr. Aharon Shlush built this
house on the outskirts of Jaffe. As the place
was in the middle of nowhere, his family dared to
move in only around 1887, after the foundation
of Neve Tzedek near by.
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A birds eye-view of Neve-Tzedek today.
The neighborhood, which was started in 1887,
gradually deteriorated over the years, and the
broken shutters below speak for themselves.
In recent years the need to preserve and restore
the neighborhood to its former beauty finally
convinced the authorities to take the necessary
measures, and the area is changing its appearance
9
This is how some restored sections of Neve-Tzedek
look today (at the left).
At the heart of the neighborhood
stands the Suzanne Dellal Center for dance and
theatre (below).
10
During a period of ten years, more quarters were
established adjacent to Neve-Tzedek. In 1890
Neve-Shalom, in 1896 Mahane Yehuda, better known
as the Yemenite-Vineyard, in 1899 Achva quarter,
built by wealthy Ashkenazi Jews. In 1902, as a
result of a Cholera outbreak, the mayor forbade
the burial of the dead within the towns
boundary. The head of the Jewish community in
Jaffa, Mr. Shimon Rokach purchased 12 dunams of
land and established a Cemetery, known today as
the Trumpeldor Cemetery in the south of Tel-Aviv.
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The first person to be buried in the new cemetery
was a Galmood- an anonymous new immigrant
without any relations, whose headstone supports
the southern section of the cemetery wall.
The second
was Nishka Bromberg buried exactly opposite in
the northern boundary of the cemetery. Their
graves marked the borders of the cemetery when a
surrounding wall was built ten years later.
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Like many old cemeteries, this one too tells
the history of the town and its people. On the
right is a mass grave (of which there are quite a
few) of the victims of the 1921 pogrom. Above on
the right is the grave of Yehuda Fanya
Matmon- the founders teachers of the Hertzelia
High School. In an area of their own some of the
more famous national figures like the national
poet Haim Nachman Biyalik, Nordau, and others
(and their little wives)
On the left the grave pf the legendary 1st
Mayor of Tel-Aviv -Meir Dizingoff, his wife
Zina.
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This simple, humble grave-stone deserves
much greater honor than it actually gets. Akiva
Arie Weiss emigrated to Palestine in 1906 and
became the first advocate for getting out of
stuffy old Jaffa. He was head of the committee of
Ahuzat-Bayit and was the chief instigator of
the city of Tel-Aviv three years later.
Below, is the grave of his daughter called,
Ahuzabit born in 1910 and named after the
city just established by her father.
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In April 1909, after overcoming administrative
and financial difficulties, the building of
Ahusat Bayit finally started in an event called
The Sea Shell Lottery (The names of people and
plots of land were written on sea shells
collected from the sea).
Jewish strongmen straightened the sand dunes, and
Arab contractors were hired to build the houses.
Hertzel Street emerged from the dunes
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The first house to be built in Ahuzat-Bayit
was the house of Reuven Segal at 25 Yehuda Halevi
Str. It was demolished years ago.
But the second house, built for Akiva Weiss at
no. 2 Hertzel Str. was beautifully renovated and
a second floor was added. Here it can be seen in
all its glory.
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In 1909 the Hertzelia High School was built in
the middle of Herzel Street, a fact which turned
it into an obstruction as the city grew and
spread out. However, at the beginning it
attracted many visitors, as can be seen in the
pictures of the painter Nahum Guttman.
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The same view of Hertzel str. today, with the
Shalom Tower, 140 meters tall, taking the place
of the Hertzelia High School demolished in 1958.
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In 1910 the name of Ahuzat-Buyit was changed
to Tel-Aviv. The name was suggested by Mr.
Shenkin who had gotten the idea from Theodor
Hertzels book Alt Noiland. In 1911 Akiva
Weiss resigned from his post as head of the
committee of Ahuzat Bayit, and was replaced by
the mythological Meir Dizengoff who became the
first Mayor of Tel-Aviv. Dizengoff was determined
to erase the name of Akiva Weiss from the history
of the city, and only many years later the
municipality named a small street after him.
Meir Dizengoff built his house in 1910 on
Rothchild Blv. He left the house to the city,
which renovated it and added another floor, and
it was from there that David Ben-Gurion read the
Declaration of the establishment
of the
state of Israel in 1948. Today the house is a
museum.
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In Rothchild Boulevard trees were planted and
Kiosks were put up .A few of them how
unbelievable - are still functioning today.
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Litvinsky house-Hehad-Aham 22
Many of Tel Avivs first houses were built in an
Eclectic, personal style which reflected the
fulfillment of the owners various dreams.
The house of Ben Zakay str. no.2
The "Pagoda House on the corner off nachmany
/ montifyory str.
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On Hertzel str no. 16 an impressive
commercial building was built by a business man
called Zvi Arie Pansk. In its courtyard was
installed the first elevator in town.
Push to operate it
This is how the elevator looks today, neglected.
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The end of Allenby str. circa 1920, with camels
walking along, and Jaffa seen in the far
distance.
1
2
Herbert Samuel Square in the 1960s with a
double-decker bus. Below is the same square
today, with Jaffa still in the background.
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Below is a 1914 announcement about the opening
of the first cinema theatre in town, named
Eden, together with a first class refreshment
shop.
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The Eden cinema theatre was purchased and
restored by Bank LeUmi, which uses it as its
archive.
The kiosk still stands, too, selling sandwiches
and drinks.
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In the 1930s a sizable group of architects,
who were graduates of the Bauhaus school,
arrived from Germany.
They built hundreds of buildings in Tel-Aviv, and
a large number of them survived (unlike Europe ,
where they were destroyed during the 2nd WW).
Because of them Tel Aviv was declared an Unesco
World Heritage Site.
Rotchild Blv.
The Boat-House on Levanda str.
Zina Dizingoff square
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During the Arab revolt in 1936, the
British-Mandate in Palestine allowed the Jews to
build a new port in Tel-Aviv. It was active for
30 years until the Ashdod Port was opened in
1965, replacing the ports of Jaffa and T.A.
Today it is an entertainment center.
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On the left is the famous Shapira House in
what is called The Nameless Alley. In 1922
a wealthy business man called Shapira built a
new neighborhood for the better-off, which he
named Shapira Alley after himself. Meir
Dizengoff the Mayor did not like the idea and
expressed his objection. When he arrived for a
visit riding his horse, an argument broke out
between the two, and, according to some, they
even came to blows. Eventually the angry Mayor
declared This alley will never be named. And
so, indeed, this alley is known as theNameless
Alley to this very day !!!
And this is the lion which stands guard at Mr.
Shapiras front door.
.
28
Meir Dizengoff, Tel Aviv first Mayor, died on
October 4, 1936. The picture on the right
depicts the municipality building and the
thousands of mourners who came to the funeral.
The same building today serves as a museum.
The New Municipality building of Tel-Aviv opened
in 1968, on Ibn-Gevirol str.
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In recent decades, the Tel Aviv sky line has been
filling up with hundreds of high rises, changing
its innocent appearance.
To the right - the sea shore as seen from Jaffa.
Below - is the same view from
the Shalom Tower.
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Your Towers, Tel-Aviv
Above the Diamond Exchange buildings on the
border of T.A. Ramat-Gan. On the left is the
tallest one - the Aviv-Tower .
Levinstein Tower
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And last but not least the glorious
Azrielli Towers. Beautiful to look at, and
wonderful to look from.
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The view from the Azrielli Towers towards the
Diamond-Exchange area in the city of Ramat-Gan.
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The story of Tel-Aviv, the city which never takes
a break, is completed but not finished
Morag igal morag- i_at_013.net.il
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