Nahariya

Nahariya is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. In 2015 it had a population of 54,305.

Mayor: Jaki Sabag (since 1989)

Etymology:

Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga’aton which bisects it.

Famous residents:

Stef Wertheiemer – German-born Israeli entrepreneur, industrialist, and politician

Dalia Dorner –  former Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel

Gilad Shalit

Strauss family

Zoglowek family and more…

History:

British Mandate of Palestine:

In the years 1934/35 Nahariya was founded as an agricultural village by a company limited by shares and headed by the agronomist Dr. Selig Eugen Soskin. The company acquired an area of land by purchase from the Arab landowner family Toueini. After ameliorisation and parcelling the plots have been offered to new German Jewish immigrants who had escaped from Nazi persecution. The first two families permanently settled in Nahariya on February 10, 1935, which is now considered the official founding date of Nahariya. After an accumulation of economic, financial and climatic problems the residents soon realized that agriculture was impractical and chose to focus on tourism, taking advantage of the natural surroundings and beaches. During the British Mandate of Palestine, many British officers coming from Khartoum stopped in Nahariya.

State of Israel

Nahariya became a development town in the 1950s after the nearby ma’abara was integrated. The town hence become a home to many Jewish refugees from North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. During the 1990s, the city absorbed a significant number of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Nahariya experienced a construction boom.

Due to its geographic location, 9.6 km (6.0 mi) down the coast from Israel’s border with Lebanon, Nahariya had been a frequent target of cross-border terrorist attacks by Palestinian militants, mortar attacks and Katyusha rocket fire during the 1970s. The most notable of those were the 1974 attack and the 1979 Nahariya attack.

During the 2006 Lebanon War in July–August 2006, Nahariya sustained a barrage of several hundreds of Katyusha rockets launched by Hizballah from southern Lebanon. As a result, the city suffered multiple civilian casualties and 5 fatalities. Significant damage was also inflicted on property and physical infrastructure. Nahariya’s economy suffered a major blow, as two-thirds of the city’s population had to evacuate, with the rest spending weeks in bomb shelters.

Tourism:

Sderot Ga’aton, the city’s main boulevard, runs east-west from the Coastal Highway junction to the sea, and is divided down the middle by the Ga’aton River. Shaded by the thick greenery of towering eucalyptus trees and lined with numerous shops, boutiques, open-air cafes, restaurants and ice cream parlors, Sderot Ga’aton is Nahariya’s main tourist attraction and its central business and entertainment district. The beach area is an attraction in its own right, with a public park, a waterfront promenade, two public beaches, several hotels, a small marina and a lively nightlife in the multitude of beachfront cafes, bars and restaurants.

Transportation:

Highway 4, the coastal highway, is the main north–south road in the city. Highway 89 starts at the Nahariya Junction in the city, and connects it with the rest of the Upper Galilee and Tzfat. Nahariya’s public transportation hub is located at the eastern end of Sderot Ga’aton, near the intersection with Highway 4, and contains the city’s train station and central bus station. Nahariya’s train station is the northernmost station of the Israel Railways network. Sderot Ga’aton runs westward where the mouth of the Ga’aton River spills into the Mediterranean Sea.

Twin towns — Sister cities:

Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany

Bielefeld, NRW, Germany

Miami Beach, Florida, United States

Delray Beach, Florida, United States

Lefkada, Greece

Liberec,  Czechia

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