Tel Aviv

The city of Tel Aviv-Yafo (;  ) is a municipality in Israel, often just called Tel Aviv. It is Israel's second largest city and main commercial, financial, industrial and cultural center. It is on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

As of 2024, there are 4.4 million people living in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is a part of an area of cities called Gush Dan, which is the largest metropolitan area of Israel. There is around 3.4 million people living in this urban area.

History
In 1909, Jewish people started building Tel Aviv northeast of Jaffa, making it the first city founded by Jews in modern times. Tel Aviv was part of Jaffa at first, but it became a separate town in 1921. Tel Aviv grew quickly as Jewish immigrants arrived, mainly from Europe.

Between the years 1925-1929 the Scottish city planner Sir Patrick Geddes designed the first city plan for Tel Aviv.

In the early 1930s the area of the Yarkon River mouth began to develop with the opening of the international trade fair - the "Orient Fair" and the opening of the "Tel Aviv Port" alongside it. From the other side of the Yarkon River, the Reading Power Station and the Sde Dov Airport were built.

It was Israel's first capital when the nation was established in 1948.  The capital was moved to Jerusalem in 1949, but the Israeli Ministry of Defense and many foreign embassies stayed in Tel Aviv.  Most Israeli ministries that are located in Jerusalem have offices in Tel Aviv. The national intelligence agencies of Israel, Mossad (external security), Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security) also have their headquarters in Tel Aviv.

In 1950, Tel Aviv and Jaffa (called Yafo in Hebrew) joined to create the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo.  Tel Aviv-Yafo is the official name of the city, but it is almost always called Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv continued to grow quickly in the 1950s and 1960s. The fast growth of the Tel Aviv area caused problems such as air pollution, slums, and traffic that took until the 2000s to fix. Traffic is still a problem. That is why the Tel Aviv Light Rail is being built to ease the road traffic. Most of the people of Tel Aviv live in apartment buildings.

During the Persian Gulf War of 1991, Iraq fired about 25 missiles toward Tel Aviv.  Several missiles and falling debris struck residential areas in or around Tel Aviv. Two people were killed, and about 7,500 apartments were damaged.

Cultural life
The cultural center of Tel Aviv is a downtown intersection of streets at Dizengoff Circle.  Fashionable shops and sidewalk cafes line the nearby streets.  The 37-story Shalom Tower is in the city's financial district, several blocks south of Dizengoff Circle. It is the tallest building in Israel.  The southwestern part of the city was once the separate town of Jaffa. Jaffa, an ancient port from Biblical times, has many historic place that have been restored by archaeologists. Jaffa also has many art galleries, cafes, restaurants, and nightclubs.

The Israeli opera, and Habima Theater, Israel's national theater, was are in Tel Aviv. 
Tel Aviv is home to a number of dance centers and companies. The Batsheva Dance Company, a contemporary dance group, as well as the Bat-Dor Dance Company and the Israel Ballet are headquartered in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv's center for modern and classical dance is the Suzanne Dellal Center.

Museums in Tel Aviv include Haaretz Museum and the Tel Aviv Art Museum.

Tel Aviv University is one of the city's several institutions of higher learning. Bar Ilan University is in Ramat Gan, a suburb of the city.

Tel Aviv is also described as the LGBTQIA+ capital of Israel with 25% of the population being gay and having the most gay strip clubs, gay night clubs, and gay bars.

Economy
The Tel Aviv area is Israel's main manufacturing district.  About half of the nation's business companies are in the area.  Their products include computer software, electronic equipment, machine tools, building materials, chemicals, clothing, and processed foods. The city is also the nation's main center for banking, publishing, and trade and the home of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, the nation's only forensics institute, is located there.

 Twin towns and sister cities 

Tel Aviv has a partnership with Los Angeles (), and is twinned with:

 Toulouse, France (since 1958)
 Philadelphia, United States (since 1966)
 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (since 1980)
 Moscow, Russia '''
 Buenos Aires, Argentina (since 1988)
 Milan, Italy (since 1994)
 Łódź, Poland (since 1994)
 Thessaloniki, Greece (since 1994)
 Barcelona, Spain (since 1998)
 São Paulo, Brazil (since 2004)
 Beijing, China (since 2004)

 Partner city 
 Essen, Germany (since 1992) 
 Bonn, Germany (since 1980) 
 Budapest, Hungary (since 1989) 
 Warsaw, Poland (since 1992) 
 Belgrade, Serbia (since 1990) 
 Warsaw, Poland (since 1992)

 References 

 Related pages 
 Jaffa Port
 Tel Aviv Port
 Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center

 Other websites 

The official Tel Aviv municipality website 
The official Tel Aviv municipality website 
The official Tel Aviv municipality website 
The History of Tel Aviv  
Tel Aviv official tourism website 
The Tel Aviv Foundation
Tel Aviv beach guide 
Tel Aviv bus map


Category:1909 establishments in Asia
Category:1900s establishments in Israel