In 1909, a number of Jewish residents decided to move to a healthier environment, outside the crowded and noisy city of Jaffa. They established a company called Ahuzat-Bayit and with the financial assistance of the Jewish National Fund purchased some twelve acres of sand dunes, north of Jaffa. In 1910, the suburb was named Tel Aviv after Nahum Sokolow’s translation of Altneuland, Herzl’s fictional depiction of the Jewish State.

Meir Dizengoff was Tel Aviv’s first mayor serving in that capacity from 1911 until his death in 1936. The main street in today’s sprawling city is named after him.

Today, Tel Aviv is the heart of the conurbation known as Gush Dan in which over one third of the country’s population lives. This area extends from Rishon Le-Zion, Holon and Bat Yam in the south to Herzliya in the North. To the east lies Petah Tikva. Tel Aviv is situated on the shore of the Mediterranean sea.

Sources: The Jewish Agency for Israel and The World Zionist Organization

Tel Aviv: The Founding of Tel Aviv