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The new Jewish immigrants came in waves, first from [[Morocco]] and [[Tunisia]], and later from [[Ethiopia]] and the former [[Soviet Union]].<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/middleeast/09lod.html?hp</ref> The city continues to influence the work of Israeli artists and thinkers, such as Dor Guez's 2009 exhibit ''Georgeopolis'' at the [[Petach Tikva]] art museum.
The new Jewish immigrants came in waves, first from [[Morocco]] and [[Tunisia]], and later from [[Ethiopia]] and the former [[Soviet Union]].<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/middleeast/09lod.html?hp</ref> The city continues to influence the work of Israeli artists and thinkers, such as Dor Guez's 2009 exhibit ''Georgeopolis'' at the [[Petach Tikva]] art museum.


A three meter-high wall has been erected to separate Jewish districts from Arab ones. Arab suburbs have been restricted from growing, while the Israeli government has encouraged building in Jewish areas. Some municipal services, such as street lighting and rubbish collection, are only provided to Jewish areas.<ref name="Econ">[http://www.economist.com/node/17254422 Pulled Apart]. ''[[The Economist]]''. 2010-10-14.</ref>
According to the Economist, a three meter-high wall was erected in 2010 to separate Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, and limits have been imposed on Arab building whereas construction in the Jewish areas is promoted. Some municipal services, such as street lighting and rubbish collection, are only provided to Jewish areas. Violent crime in the Arab neighborhoods of Lod is largely directed at other Arabs and revolves around clan wars and honor killings.<ref name="Econ">[http://www.economist.com/node/17254422 Pulled Apart]. ''[[The Economist]]''. 2010-10-14.</ref>Although the city has been plagued by a poor image for decades, projects are under way to improve services. New upscale neighborhoods are expanding the city to the east, among them Ganei Ya'ar and Ahisemah.<ref name=JPOST>[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1202246338741 Ganei Ya'ar in Lod] The Jerusalem Post, 7 February 2008</ref>

Plagued by a poor image for decades, projects are under way to improve services in Lod. New upscale neighborhoods are expanding the city to the east, among them Ganei Ya'ar and Ahisemah.<ref name=JPOST>[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1202246338741 Ganei Ya'ar in Lod] The Jerusalem Post, 7 February 2008</ref>


==Demographics==
==Demographics==

Revision as of 13:47, 8 May 2013

For other uses, see Lod (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox Israel municipality Lod (Template:Lang-he-n; Arabic: الْلُدّ al-Ludd; Greco-Latin: Lydda, Diospolis) is a city 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2011, it had a population of 74,000.

The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod.[1] When al-Ludd, as it was known by its Palestinian inhabitants was captured by Israel, the Palestinians were mainly expelled[2][3] and the city was settled by Jewish immigrants, most of them refugees from Arab countries.[4][5] Of the former Palestinian population, only 1,056 inhabitants remained, and they were not permitted to live in their own homes.[4][6] It is today known as Lod, its biblical name.[7]

Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion International Airport (previously known as Lydda Airport, RAF Lydda, and Lod Airport) is located on the outskirts of the city.

Etymology

The Hebrew name Lod appears in the bible as a town of Benjamin, founded by Shamed or Shamer (1 Chronicles 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 7:37; 11:35). In the New Testament it appears as its Greek form, Lydda.[8][9] The city also finds reference in an Islamic Hadith, as the location of the battlefield where Dajjal (the Anti-Christ) will be slayed before the Day of Judgment.[10]

History

Canaanite period

Pottery finds have dated the city's initial settlement to 5600–5250 BC.[11] The earliest written record is in a list of Canaanite towns drawn up by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III at Karnak in 1465 BC.[12]

Jewish period

From the 5th century BC until the Roman conquest in 70 AD, the city was a Jewish city, and a well-known centre of Jewish scholars and merchants.[13] According to Martin Gilbert, during the Hasmonean period, Jonathan Maccabee and his brother Simon Maccabaeus enlarged the area under Jewish control, which included conquering the city.[14]

The city is mentioned several times in the Bible: in Ezra 2:33, it is mentioned as one of the cities whose inhabitants returned after the Babylonian captivity, and in the New Testament, it is the site of Peter's healing of a paralytic man in Acts 9:32-38.[15]

In 43 AD, Cassius, the Roman governor of Syria, sold the inhabitants of Lod into slavery. During the First Jewish–Roman War, the Roman proconsul of Syria, Cestius Gallus, razed the town on his way to Jerusalem in 66 AD. It was occupied by Emperor Vespasian in 68 AD.[16]

During the Kitos War, 117-115 AD, the Roman army laid siege to Lod, then called Lydda, where the rebel Jews had gathered under the leadership of Julian and Pappus. The distress became so great that the patriarch Rabban Gamaliel II, who was shut up there and died soon afterwards, permitted fasting even on Ḥanukkah. Other rabbis condemned this measure.[17] Lydda was next taken and many of the Jews were executed; the "slain of Lydda" are often mentioned in words of reverential praise in the Talmud.[18]

Roman period

In 200 AD, emperor Septimius Severus elevated the town to the status of a city, calling it Colonia Lucia Septimia Severa Diospolis.[19] The name Diospolis ("City of Zeus") may have been bestowed earlier, possibly by Hadrian.[20] At that point, most of its inhabitants were Christian. In 415, the Council of Diospolis was held here to try Pelagius; he was acquitted. In the sixth century the city was renamed Georgiopolis[21] after St. George, a soldier in the guard of the emperor Diocletian, who was born there between 256 and 285 AD.[22] Church of St. George is named for him.[12]

Arab period

Old Khan

After the Muslim conquest of Palestine by Amr ibn al-'As in 636 AD,[23] Lod which was referred to as "al-Ludd" in Arabic served as the capital of Jund Filastin ("Military District of Palestine") before the seat of power was moved to nearby Ramla during the Umayyad Caliphate of Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik in 715-716. Afterward, the population of al-Ludd was relocated to the newly-found city of Ramla.[24] With the relocation of its inhabitants and the construction of the White Mosque in Ramla, al-Ludd lost its importance and fell into decay.[25]

The city was visited by the local Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi in 985, during the Abbasid Caliphate and was noted for its Great Mosque which served the residents of al-Ludd, Ramla and the nearby villages. He also wrote of the city's "wonderful church (of St. George) at the gate of which Christ will slay the Antichrist."[26]

Crusader and Ayyubid period

Tomb of Saint George

The Crusaders occupied the city in 1099 and named it St. Jorge de Lidde.[13] It was briefly conquered by Saladin, but retaken by the Crusaders in 1191. For the English Crusaders, it was a place of great significance as the birthplace of Saint George. The Crusaders made it the seat of a Latin rite diocese,[27] and it remains a titular see.[28] According to the Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela, there was one Jewish family living there in 1170.[29]

In 1226 Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi visited al-Ludd and stated it was part of the Jerusalem District during Ayyubid rule.[30]

Ottoman era

Lydda, 1903

The missionary Dr. William M. Thomson visited Lydda in the mid 19th century, describing it as a "flourishing village of some 2,000 inhabitants, embosomed in noble orchards of olive, fig, pomegranate, mulberry, sycamore, and other trees, surrounded every way by a very fertile neighborhood. The inhabitants are evidently industrious and thriving, and the whole country between this and Ramleh is fast being filled up with their flourishing orchards. Rarely have I beheld a rural scene more delightful than this presented in early harvest ... It must be seen, heard, and enjoyed to be appreciated."[31]

In 1870, under the rule of the Ottoman empire, the Church of Saint George was built. In 1892 the first railway station in the entire region was established in the city.[32] In the second half of the 19th century, Jewish merchants migrated to the city but left after the 1921 Jaffa riots.[32]

British Mandate era

Lydda, 1920
Herbert Samuel at Lod train station

From 1918, Lydda was under the administration of the British Mandate in Palestine, as per a League of Nations decree that followed World War I. During World War II, the British set up supply posts in and around Lydda and its railway station, also building an airport that was renamed Ben Gurion Airport after the establishment of Israel.[32]

Until 1948, Lydda was an Arab town with a population of around 20,000—18,500 Muslims and 1,500 Christians.[33][34] In 1947, the United Nations proposed dividing Palestine into two states, one Jewish state, one Arab; Lydda was to form part of the proposed Arab state.[35] Several Arab states attacked, and in the ensuing war Israel captured Arab towns outside the area the UN had allotted it, including Lydda.

The Israel Defense Forces entered Lydda on July 11, 1948. The following day, under the impression that it was under attack,[36] the 3rd Battalion was ordered to shoot anyone "seen on the streets." According to Israel, 250 Arabs (men, women, and children) were killed. Other estimates are higher: Arab historian Aref al Aref estimated 400, and Nimr al Khatib 1700.[37][38]

State of Israel

Lydda, 1948

During 1948, the population rose to 50,000 people due to the influx of Jewish immigrants who moved into the town from August 1948 onwards, fleeing persecution from Arab countries.[4] as a result of which Lydda became a predominantly Jewish town.[34][39]

The new Jewish immigrants came in waves, first from Morocco and Tunisia, and later from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union.[40] The city continues to influence the work of Israeli artists and thinkers, such as Dor Guez's 2009 exhibit Georgeopolis at the Petach Tikva art museum.

According to the Economist, a three meter-high wall was erected in 2010 to separate Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, and limits have been imposed on Arab building whereas construction in the Jewish areas is promoted. Some municipal services, such as street lighting and rubbish collection, are only provided to Jewish areas. Violent crime in the Arab neighborhoods of Lod is largely directed at other Arabs and revolves around clan wars and honor killings.[41]Although the city has been plagued by a poor image for decades, projects are under way to improve services. New upscale neighborhoods are expanding the city to the east, among them Ganei Ya'ar and Ahisemah.[42]

Demographics

Synagogue, mosque and church in Lod

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the population of Lod in 2010 was 69.5 thousand people.[43] Of these about 25 percent are Arabs, the rest Jewish Israelis. Thirty-three percent of the population are "olim", or new Jewish immigrants to Israel. See Population groups in Israel.

In 2003, an Israeli government report outlined Lod's social and demographic problems.[44] The report noted a high rate of drug use and crime, a large number of poor and social service cases (about 10 percent of the population), and cramped and substandard living conditions among the city's Arab population.[44]

Education

According to CBS, there are 38 schools and 13,188 pupils in the city. They are spread out as 26 elementary schools and 8,325 elementary school pupils, and 13 high schools and 4,863 high school pupils. 52.5% of 12th grade pupils were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.

Economy

Reception hall, Ben Gurion International Airport

The airport and related industries are a major source of employment for the residents of Lod. The Jewish Agency Absorption Centre, the main facility for handling olim arriving in Israel, is also located in Lod. According to CBS figures for 2000, there were 23,032 salaried workers and 1,405 self-employed. The mean monthly wage for a salaried worker was NIS 4,754, a real change of 2.9% over the course of 2000. Salaried men had a mean monthly wage of NIS 5,821 (a real change of 1.4%) versus NIS 3,547 for women (a real change of 4.6%). The mean income for the self-employed was NIS 4,991. There were 1,275 people receiving unemployment benefits and 7,145 receiving an income supplement.

Archaeology

File:Mosaic Floor (central panel detail), Roman, ca. 300 CE, excavated at Lod (Lydda), Israel, stone tesserae. Israel Antiquities Authority.jpg
Detail of mosaic floor

A well-preserved mosaic floor dating to the Roman period was excavated in 1996 as part of a salvage dig conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Municipality of Lod, prior to widening HeHalutz Street. The mosaic was covered over with soil at the conclusion of the excavation for lack of funds to conserve and develop the site.[45] The mosaic is now part of the Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center.

Sports

The city's major soccer club, Hapoel Bnei Lod, plays in Liga Leumit (the second division). Its home base is Lod Municipal Stadium. The club was formed by a merger of Bnei Lod and Rakevet Lod in the 1980s. Two other clubs in the city play in the regional leagues: Hapoel MS Ortodoxim Lod in Liga Bet and Maccabi Lod in Liga Gimel.

Hapoel Lod played in the top division during the 1960s and 1980s, and won the State Cup in 1984. The club folded in 2002. A new club, Hapoel Maxim Lod (named after former mayor Maxim Levy) was established soon after, but folded in 2007.

Notable residents

Twin towns-sister cities

Lod is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ^ The Madaba Mosaic Map, Jerusalem 1954, 61-62
  2. ^ Spiro Munayyer, The Fall of Lydda( اللد لن تقع), Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Summer, 1998), pp. 80-98. See also Yitzhak Rabin's diaries, quoted here [1].
  3. ^ Holmes et al., 2001, p. 64.
  4. ^ a b c Encyclopedia of Islam, By Sir H. A. R. Gibb, 1983 edition, ISBN 978-90-04-07164-3, Page 897
  5. ^ Morris, Benny. (2004) The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press, pp. 414-461.
  6. ^ Hoffman, Carl (16 December 2008). "Lod: In need of a major makeover". © 2008-2009 The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-06-02. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Yacobi, Haim. The Jewish-Arab City, Taylor & Francis, 2009, p. 29: "The occupation of Lydda by Israel in the 1948 war did not allow the realization of Pocheck's garden city vision. Different geopolitics and ideologies began to shape Lydda's urban landscape ... [and] its name was changed from Lydda to Lod, which was the region's biblical name."; also see Pearlman, Moshe and Yannai, Yacov. Historical sites in Israel. Vanguard Press, 1964, p. 160. For the Hebrew name being used by inhabitants before 1948, see A cyclopædia of Biblical literature: Volume 2, by John Kitto, William Lindsay Alexander. p. 842 ("... the old Hebrew name, Lod, which had probably been always used by the inhabitants, appears again in history."); And Lod (Lydda), Israel: from its origins through the Byzantine period, 5600 B.C.E.-640 C.E., by Joshua J. Schwartz, 1991, p. 15 ("the pronunciation Lud began to appear along with the form Lod")
  8. ^ Bible Dictionary, "Lydda".
  9. ^ International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, "Lod; Lydda"
  10. ^ "SIgns of the Appearance of the Dajjal". Missionislam.com. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  11. ^ Schwartz, Joshua J. Lod (Lydda), Israel: from its origins through the Byzantine period, 5600 B.C.-640 A.D.. Tempus Reparatum, 1991, p. 39.
  12. ^ a b "Excursions in Terra Santa". Franciscan Cyberspot. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  13. ^ a b "Lod," Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009.
  14. ^ Gilbert, Martin. Dearest Auntie Flori: The Story of the Jewish People. Harper Collins 2002, p. 82; also see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 14:208
  15. ^ "Lod," Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009. "And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda," Acts 9:32-38.
  16. '^ Michael Avi-Yonah, Encyclopaedia Judaica, s.v. "Lydda"
  17. ^ Ta'anit ii. 10; Yer. Ta'anit ii. 66a; Yer. Meg. i. 70d; R. H. 18b
  18. ^ Pes. 50a; B. B. 10b; Eccl. R. ix. 10
  19. ^ Cecil Roth, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1972, p. 619.
  20. ^ E. Mary Smallwood, The Jews under Roman rule: from Pompey to Diocletian : a study in political relations, p. 491. BRILL, 2001. ISBN 978-0-391-04155-4
  21. ^ Yoram Tsafrir, Leah Di Segni, Judith Green, Tabula Imperii Romani Iudaea-Palestina: Eretz Israel in the Hellenistic , Roman and Byzantine Periods; Maps and Gazetteer, p. 171. Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994. ISBN 978-965-208-107-0
  22. ^ Frenkel, Sheera and Low, Valentine. "Why Lod, the other land of St George, isn't for the faint-hearted", The Times, April 23, 2009.
  23. ^ le Strange, p.28.
  24. ^ le Strange, p.303.
  25. ^ le Strange, p.308.
  26. ^ le Strange, p.493.
  27. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Lydda" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  28. ^ Lydda Catholic-hierarchy.org
  29. ^ Pringle, 1993, p. 11.
  30. ^ le Strange, p.494.
  31. ^ Thomson, W.M. (1861). The Land and the Book. T Nelson and Sons, p. 525.
  32. ^ a b c Shahin, 2005, p. 260.
  33. ^ "Lod," January 2, 1949, IS archive Gimel/5/297 in Yacobi, Haim. The Jewish-Arab City, Taylor & Francis, 2009, p. 31.
  34. ^ a b Monterescu and Rabinowitz, 2007, pp. 16-17.
  35. ^ Sa'di and Abu-Lughod, 2007, pp. 91-92.
  36. ^ Tal, David. War in Palestine, 1948: Strategy and Diplomacy. Routledge, 2004, p. 311.
  37. ^ Sefer Hapalmah ii (The Book of the Palmah), p.565; and KMA-PA (Kibbutz Meuhad Archives - Palmah Archive). Quoted in Morris, 1987.
  38. ^ Morris, 1987, p. 205. Morris writes: "[...] dozens of unarmed detainees in the mosque and church in the centre of the town were shot and killed."
  39. ^ Yacobi, Haim. The Jewish-Arab City, Taylor & Francis, 2009, p. 29.
  40. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/middleeast/09lod.html?hp
  41. ^ Pulled Apart. The Economist. 2010-10-14.
  42. ^ Ganei Ya'ar in Lod The Jerusalem Post, 7 February 2008
  43. ^ Israel Central Bureau of Statistics Annual Report 2010
  44. ^ a b The City of Lod:Information and Statistics (Knesset Research Bureau 2003), available at www.knesset.gov.il/mmm/data/docs/m00975.doc
  45. ^ Lod mosaic
  46. ^ "Piatra Neamţ - Twin Towns". © 2007-2008 Piatra-Neamt.net. Retrieved 2009-09-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)

Bibliography

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