Holon

**Holon** ( ) is a ceety in Israel, on the central coastal strip sooth o Tel Aviv. Holon is pairt o the metropolitan aurie kent as Gush Dan in the Tel Aviv Destrict. In  it haed a population o . Holon haes the seicont lairgest industrial zone in Israel, efter Haifa.

## Etymology
The name o the ceety comes frae the Ebreu wird *holon*, meanin "(Little) saund". The name Holon an aa appears in the Bible: "And Holon wi its suburbs, an Debir wi its suburbs" (Beuk o Joshua, 21:15).

## History
Holon wis foondit on saund dunes sax kilometers frae Tel Aviv in 1935. The Łódzia textile factory wis established thare bi Jewish immigrants frae Łódź, Poland, alang wi mony ither industrial enterprises. In the early months o the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Holon wis on the front line, wi constant shootin goin on the mairch wi the veelage o Tel A-Rish tae its northwast—a suburb o Arab Jaffa—an clashes an aa in the direction o the toun o Yazur tae the east. An attack bi the Holon-based Hagana militia units on Tel A-Rish wis repulsed wi considerable losses. Housomeivver, the faw o Jaffa—center o the Palestinian Arab forces in this region—tae an attack launcht frae Tel Aviv precipitatit the faw o baith Tel A-Rish. Efter the establishment o the state, Holon expandit tae include Tel A-Rish (renamed "Tel Giborim", "The Mound o the Heroes") an the orange groves o Yazur. In the 1950s, the ceety wis populatit bi Jewish immigrants frae Arab kintras.

## Urban development

Holon, an important pairt o the Tel Aviv metropolitan aurie, is experiencin a new burst o biggin on the remainin saund dunes tae its sooth, creatin a continuum wi Rishon Lezion. Environmentalist groups hae been campaignin tae preserve some o the saund dunes, wi thair unique flora an fauna, an prevent them frae aw bein engulfed bi the real estate boom.

## Local govrenment

### Mayors
* Haim Kugel – 1940 tae 1953
* Pinhas Eylon – 1953 tae 1987
* Haim Sharon – 1987 tae 1988
* Moshe Rom – 1988 tae 1993
* Moti Sasson – 1993 tae present

## Cultur

Holon uised tae host the annual Storytellers Festival, nouw held in Giv'atayim. It an aa hosts the annual Yemay Zemer sang festival an a spring festival devotit tae weemen. Daniel Barenboim organizes an annual simmer muisic camp in the ceety. Synee the election o Moti Sasson as the mayor o Holon in 1993, mony cultural projects hae been inauguratit. Billin itsel as a "children's ceety," Holon is hame tae the Holon Children's Museum an the Mediatheque youth theater. Holon an aa plays host each year tae a street carnival in celebration o the Jewish holiday o Purim, the Adloyada. Thoosans o children dress up in costumes an the streets close doun for a parade featurin colorful floats. The ceety haes mony pairks an lush greenery. The pairk on the corner o streets HaHistadrut an Eilat is famed for the backgammon or "shesh besh" tournaments which tak place daily. The Holon cemetery contains memorials for Jewish communities wiped oot in the Holocaust.

## Transportation
Holon is surroondit bi a few interceety roads. The main road servin the ceety is the Ayalon Expressway, passin alangside Holon's wastern border.
Road 44 passes bi on the northeastren side o the ceety, connectin it wi Lod an Ramle.
Road 4 passes bi on the eastren border. Holon's public transport is based solely on bus service, operatit bi baith Egged an Dan transport companies.
The majority o the bus routes are regional, connectin the ceety tae neighborin ceeties in the metropolitan aurie, but thare are an aa a few local routes. Train service tae the ceety is planned tae be established in 2011, wi the openin o the "Tel Aviv—Wast Rishon Le Zion" suburban line. Fower stations wad serve the ceety: "Sha'ar Holon" at the northren main entrance tae the ceety, an "Wolfson", "Yoseftal" an "Komemiyut" alang the wastren side.

## Samaritan community

In 1954, the preses o Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi helped tae establish a Samaritan quarter on the ootskirts o Holon. The quarter wis named Neve Pinchas efter Pinhas Ben-Abraham, the heich priest o the Samaritan community. Holon is ane o ae twa ceeties in the warld tae hae a Samaritan community, the ither bein the veelage o Kiryat Luza on Munt Gerizim abuin Nablus on the Wast Bank. That community fled Nablus for Kiryat Luza follaein the ootbreak o the First Intifada (1987–1993).

## Sports
* Hapoel Tzafririm Holon F.C. (fitbaa) – Liga Alef [3rd tier]
* Hapoel Holon (basketbaw) – premier league,  naitional champion in 2008 an state cup haulder in 2009
* Maccabi Kiryat-Sharett Holon (handbaw) – Liga Leumit [1st tier]
* Hapoel Holon chess (chess) – Liga Leumit [1st tier]

## Notable residents

*Oz Almog (1956-) Israeli-Austrian airtist an author
*Rafi Amit poker player
*David Ben Dayan (1978–)  soccer player
*Omri Casspi (1988-) NBA basketbaw player (Sacramento Kings)
*David D'Or (1966–) coontertenor & composer; Israel's 2001 Sangster o the Year
*Dana International (1972–) pop sangster
*Eran Kolirin (1973–) cinema director & script writer
*Lior Narkis (1976–) popular sangster
*Chen Reiss opera sangster
*Peter Roth (1974–) rock sangster & composer
*Ben Sahar (1989–) soccer player
*Arie Vardi pianist & teacher

## Twin ceeties

*  Dayton, Ohio, USA
*  Suresnes, Fraunce
*  Berlin-Mitte, Germany
*  Hann-Münden, Germany
*  Anshan, Cheenae

Pairtnership o kindness wi:
*  Andong, Sooth Korea

## See an aa
*Holon Academic Institute of Technology

## References

## Freemit airtins

* (English) 
*Friends of Holon Foundation (English) 
*Hapoel Holon Basketball Club official site (Hebrew)
*Zafririm Holon soccer club (Hebrew)
*Youth week in Holon (hebrew)