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Concept
Rishon LeZion
Summary
Rishon LeZion (רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , lit. First to Zion, Arabic: ريشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area.
Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were part of the First Aliyah, it was the first Zionist settlement founded in the Land of Israel by the New Yishuv and the second Jewish farm settlement established in Ottoman Syria in the 19th century, after Petah Tikva. As of 2017, it was the fourth-largest city in Israel, with a population of .
The city is a member of Forum 15, which is an association of fiscally autonomous cities in Israel that do not depend on national balancing or development grants.
The name Rishon LeZion is derived from a verse from the Tanakh: "First to Zion are they, and I shall give herald to Jerusalem" (ראשון לציון הנה הינם, ולירושלים מבשר אתן) (Isaiah 41:27) and literally translates as "First to Zion".
Rishon LeZion was founded on 31 July 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 British vice-consul in Jaffa, Haim Amzaleg, purchased of land southeast of present-day Tel Aviv, the site of watering holes called ‘Uyūn Qārā (literally 'fountain of the crier') from Mustafa Abdallah ali Dajan. According to Marom, ‘Uyūn Qārā offered "a convenient launching pad for early land purchase initiatives which shaped the pattern of Jewish settlement until the beginning of the British Mandate". Amzaleg signed a declaration to the settlers stating that none of the structures on this land will ever be his own.
In addition to the problems posed by sandy soil and lack of water, the newcomers had no agricultural experience. Baron Rothschild brought in experts who drilled for water, finding the groundwater table uneven. Wells were built at a depth of 20–25 meters.
After the Biluim arrived, the colony slowly began to develop. On 23 February 1883, the settlers found water in the wells.
Official source
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