In the early 20th century, the lands of the Arab village of Kefr Etta were purchased by a Warsaw religious foundation named "Avodat Israel" through intermediaries in the American Zion Commonwealth. Avodat Israel founded Ata in 1925. During the 1929 Arab riots the town was attacked and abandoned. A year later the residents returned and rebuilt the community. The town was renamed Kfar Ata in 1940, which was also the name of the local textile factory. In 1965, when the village was merged with adjacent Kiryat Binyamin, the name became Kiryat Ata.