Holon

<tr><td>Arabic</td><td>حولون</td></tr><tr><td>Name meaning</td><td>Ḥol means sand in Hebrew</td></tr><tr><td>Founded in</td><td>1936</td></tr>

The Yanshul, half-cat half-owl, the symbol of Holon's Children's Museum. Many such sculptures are placed throughout the city.

This article is about the city Holon. For the philosophical concept, see Holon (philosophy).

Holon (Standard Hebrew חוֹלוֹן; Tiberian Hebrew חֹלֹן, Ḥōlōn) is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip, just south of Tel Aviv, and part of the metropolex known as Gush Dan in the Tel Aviv District. It has about 180,000 residents. Holon has arguably the second biggest industrial zone in Israel after Haifa (competing with Petah Tikva). The city hosts about half of the world's Samaritan population.

The name of the city comes from the word "Ḥōl" in Hebrew, which means "Sand". The name also appears in the Bible in the Book of Joshua, chapter 21, verse 15: "And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs".

Mayors of Holon since its proclamation as a city in 1950 are:

• Dr. Haim Kugel -- 1950 to 1953
• Pinhas Eylon -- 1953 to 1987
• Haim Sharon -- 1987 to 1988
• Moshe Rom -- 1988 to 1993
• Motti Sasson -- 1993 to date

Sports

• Zafririm Holon (football) - Liga Artzit (3rd Division), relegated to Liga Aleph for next season
• Hapoel Holon (basketball) - Liga Leumit (2nd Division)
• Maccabi Kiryat-Sharet Holon (handball) - Liga Leumit (1st Division)
• Hapoel Holon (chess) - Liga Leumit (1st Division)

Culture

Holon used to host the annual Storytellers Festival, now held in Givʻatayim. It also hosts the Yeme Zemer (days of singing) festival annually. Daniel Barenboim organizes an annual music summer camp in the city.

During the term of Moti Sasson as mayor, many civic projects have developed in Holon, including the Holon Children's Museum and the Mediatheque, one of the largest public libraries in Israel.

Holon also plays host each year to a famous and colourful street carnival in celebration of the Jewish Festival of Purim. Thousands of children take to the streets dressed in imaginative costumes, whilst the city also closes the streets for a parade complete with vibrant floats.

Holon is a city with a friendly atmosphere and a diverse cultural demography composed of Saphardic,European and African Jewish immigrants as well as a large populatiton of Russians who have made aliyah to Israel in recent years.

The city is filled with parks and areas for outdoor recreation, and is notable for the large amount of lush greenery. The park on the corner of Rehovot HaHistadrut and Eilat is famed for the Backgammon or "shesh besh" tournaments which take place daily. One can spot there quaint scenes of elderly men avidly focused upon their sheshbesh boards sheltered from the sweltering Israeli sun by the canopy of sweet scented Sycamore trees.

Famous Holonites

• Moshik Afia
• Safra A. Catz
• David Ben Dayan
• David D'Or
• Dana International
• Lior Narkis
• Peter Rott

Sister City

• Dayton, Ohio, USA
• Cleveland, Ohio, USA
• Suresnes, France
• Berlin-Mitte, Germany
• Hann-Münden, Germany
• Andung, South Korea

See also

• Holon Academic Institute of Technology
• Samaritans

External links

• Holon official website (Hebrew) (English)
• Holon JNews website (Russian)
• Hapoel Holon Basketball Club official site (Hebrew)
• Zafririm Holon soccer club (Hebrew)

Coordinates: 32°01′N 34°45′E

Tel Aviv District
Cities	Bat Yam · Bnei Brak · Giv'atayim · Herzliya · Holon · Or Yehuda · Ramat Gan · Ramat Hasharon · Tel Aviv-Jaffa · Qiryat Ono
Local councils	Azor · Kfar Shmaryahu
Regional councils	Ef'al

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