Jaffa Clock Tower

Migdal haShaon Yafo.

The Clock Tower was built in the beginning of the 20th century to celebrate the silver jubilee of the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Hamid the II (1842-1918).
The Tower stands at the northern entrance of Jaffa (Yefet street).

The Twelve Mosaics (Tel Aviv)

The Twelve Mosaics are situated around the fountain in front of the Old City Hall, Bialik Street 27.

The mosaics tell us the history of Tel Aviv-Jaffa throughout the ages.

They are the work of Nahum Gutman

1. The Greek legend about Andromeda saved from the monster by Perseus. (The rock of Andromeda in Jaffa)

2. 1482 BC. - Tsahouti, the commander of the army sent by Thutmose III, succeeds to take Jaffa by ruse.

3. Tel Qasile (near the Yarkon River) on the mosaic we see the fortress, the port and a long caravan from the era of the Judea Kings.

4. The battle between Richard the Lion heart and Saladin (1191-1192) (Notice the almost abstract style in this section).

5. 1799 - Napoleon Bonaparte who conquered Jaffa, visiting his sick soldiers in the Armenian Monastery, despite the dangers of the raging plague.

6. The title of this section is "Shabbat in the Jewish yard". I the beginning of the 19th century starts a revival of the Jewish community by immigration from North Africa. Heshiahu Agiman from Istanbul acquires a group of houses and a synagogue around a large courtyard. In the center of the yard- Rabbi Yehuda Margoza, the Rabbi of Jaffa, The Aharon Chlouche and the sons of the Matalon and Moyal families.

7. Montefiore's Orange grove (1855). Sir and Mrs. Judith (1784-1862) Montefiore visiting the orange grove and orchards he bought. This was the first agricultural estate in Israel. Haim Amazleg, the British Consul General in Jaffa, accompanies them.

Montefiore, Sir Moses M. (1784-1885) was born in Livorno but lived in England most of his life. English Philanthropist. He amassed a comfortable fortune, largely through close collaboration with N.M.Rothschild, and was able to retire from business at the age of forty. In 1837 Montefiore was sheriff of the city of London and the first English Jew in modern times to be knighted. He was profoundly pious and became famous throughout the Jewish world by his mission to the Levant at the time of the Damascus Affair in 1840. He interceded personally on behalf of the Jews of Russia (1846, 1872), of Maroccco (1863), of Romania (1858), and more. He visited Palestine on 7 occasions, the last time at the age of 90. In Palestine, a.o. he worked to improve the status of the Jews by creating employment through industry and agricultural settlements. Montefiore was President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews (1838-1874), in which capacity he strenuously opposed religious reform tendencies.

8. Herzl in Jaffa (1898). Herzl's reason was to meet Kaiser Wilhelm II. He stayed at the Kaminitz Hotel. In the mosaic we see Herzl and his entourage.

9. This mosaic is called: "Neve Zedek on a week day" -1887: New housing quarters- the first one is in Neve Zedek. Some of the most prominent people in the country lived there. Persons in the mosaic:

Brenner, Joseph Haim (1881-1921), born in the Ukraine. He began to edit the Bund newspaper in Homel in 1898. In 1900 his first sketches describing Jewish poverty in Russia appeared. Shortly after that, he started to make a name as a novelist. In 1903-1907 he lived in London where a.o. he published the monthly Hebrew journal called HaMe'orer. In 1909 he settled permanently in Palestine where besides his writing he became a leader of the workers movement. He also taught at the Herzlya Secondary School, published critical essays, and translated world classics into Hebrew. In 1919 Brenner began to edit Ha'Adama, the journal of Ahdut Ha'Avoda. In 1921 Arabs in Jaffa murdered him. Chatting with Brenner are Joseph Aharonovitz and Deborah Baron.

Aharonovitz, Joseph (1899-1937), born in Padolia (Poland) and settled in Palestine in 1906. He was a writer and labor leader. One of the founders of HaPo'el HaTza'ir, editing their journal from 1908 to 1922. He served as manager of Bank HaPo'alim ("the Workers Bank") from 1923 to 1937. Aharonovitz was active in all aspects of the Palestinian labor movement and in the Zionist organization He was married to:

Baron, Deborah (1887- 1956) was born in White Russia. She was a Hebrew novelist who settled in Palestine in 1911. Her stories deal mostly with life small Jewish communities of White Russia and are mainly for children. Apparently she was one of the first "women's libbers" as she preferred to keep her own last name.
Further seen in the Mosaic are the Rabbis Kook and Uziel.

Kook, Avraham Yitzchak (1865-1935).He was the Rabbi of Lithuania, 1889-1895; Latvia, 1895-1904 and in Jaffa from 1904. He began his literary career at the age of 23 (1888) by editing and publishing a rabbinical journal. One of his articles "Te'udat Yisrael u-Leumiyuto" became the ideological basis of the Mizrachi movement with which he was closely associated. In 1909, he permitted certain agricultural work to be done during the Sabbatical year. He left for Europe in 1914 and because of the outbreak of World War I, returned only in 1919. During this period, he officiated in Switzerland (1914-1916) and London (1916-1919). In 1921 he became Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Community in Palestine. At that time he established a yeshiva called Merkaz HaRav.

Uziel, Ben Zion Meir Hai (1880-1954), was born and educated in Jerusalem. In 1939 became Rishon LeZion (Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Palestine later of Israel). He was a prolific writer on halachic and other topics.

Other known people from these days walk in the alleys while workers, artisans work in their shops, and a woman draws water from the well.

10. The Jaffa Port where new immigrants arrived. They spent their first few days in Jaffa and from there find their ways to different places throughout Palestine.

11. Tel Aviv at the beginning of the 1930's. The famous poet Nachman Bialik takes a stroll through the building sites of the city. On the right site is Mugrabi's Circle with its famous cinema. On the left site of the mosaic is an artists' café, a table with literary rebels sitting together (Alterman, Shlonsky, and Eliezer Steinman). At another table the old brigade- Fishman, Burla, and Borash.

12. May 14, 1948: Israel's Declaration of Independence by Ben Gurion took place at the Museum on Rothschild Blvd., the house of Mayor Meir.

Mahmoudiya Mosque (Great Mosque of Jaffa)

The largest and most significant mosque in Jaffa.

The Mosque was built by Abu Nabut Muhammad Aja Pasha (Governor of Jaffa from 1810 to 1820), nicknamed 'Abu Nabut'  ('my father the cudgel');
according to tradition, he walked the streets of Jaffa with a billyclub in his hand, gradually but firmly establishing fear into the hearts of its residents.

Al-Bahr Mosque (Jaffa)

also known as The Maritime Mosque.

Probably Jaffa's oldest existing mosque, dates to at least as early as mid 17th century.
The mosque was used by fishermen and sailors frequenting the port of Jaffa and by nearby inhabitants of the surrounding area.

Carmel Market (Tel Aviv)

The Carmel Market (Shuk HaKarmel) is the largest market in Tel Aviv 

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Tel Aviv-Yafo

Also called “the city that never stops”


The Jewish community of Jaffa grew fivefold after the start of the First Alyah in 1882. Before the end of the century two new neighborhoods were founded: Neve Zedeq and Neve Shalom and several others followed before the Second Alyah began in 1904-1905; this new wave worsened the housing shortage.


In 1906 a group of Jews from Jaffa organized a voluntary Homebuilders Society to build a Jewish garden suburb outside the town. Soon they renamed their group Ahuzat Bayit - "Homestead". They purchased dunes northeast of Jaffa and divided the terrain in 60 plots.

In 1910 the name was changed to Tel Aviv, meaning "Hill of Spring". Their immediate inspiration was the title that Nahum Sokolov had given to his Hebrew translation of Herzl's utopian romance, Alt-neuland. Sokolov who borrowed the name from Ezekiel 3-15, thought of "tel" (a heap of ancient ruins), corresponding to alt (old); and of spring, conveying the idea of reborn talent in neu (new).

The population of Tel Aviv gradually increased, particularly in the late 1920's.

On May 12th, 1934, Tel Aviv officially received municipal status.

When the state of Israel was proclaimed in the home of the city's mayor Meir Dizengoff on May 14th, 1948, Tel Aviv was briefly the capital, because Jordan occupied Jerusalem. In 1949 the government was transferred to Jerusalem. In 1950 Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged and the city adopted the official name Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Today, Tel Aviv is Israel's second largest city (after Jerusalem) with a population of 360 000 inhabitants. It is also the country's business and cultural center. To get acquainted with the city walk along the Orange Route. The city has several museums like the Tel Aviv Museum on Sderot Shaul Hamelech, Haim Nahman Bialiks home (Israel's national Poet) and a small museum devoted to Nahum Gutman, one of Israel's well-known artists.

David Ben Gurions home has also been transformed into a museum (Sderot Ben Gurion). Ben Gurions library of 20000 volumes remained in tact and is filling much of the upper floor of the house.

On the campus of the Tel Aviv University is the Diaspora Museum - Beit Hatefuthsot. It contains exhibits of the history of the Jewish people.


Jaffa

Jaffa is the oldest of the ports along the coast of Israel. According to an old legend, Jaffa derives its name from Yefet, the name of Noah's, who settled in the region after the "Flood". According to a second legend, it gets its name from Jaffa: "The Beautiful". A third legend tells about Jonah who embarked at the port of Jaffa or Joppa on his way to Tarshish, running away when the Lord commanded him to preach in the wicked city of Nineveh. When a storm threatened to wreck the ship the sailors threw Jonah into the water. He was swallowed by a whale and remained there for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:3-17).

The New Testament records that it was in Jaffa that Simon Peter healed Tabitha the seamstress (Acts9:36-42).

Today Jaffa is a popular tourist destination, because of its restored old quarter filled with galleries, shops and restaurants.

Some places to see in Jaffa:

• The clock square, built in 1906 in honor of
  Sultan Abed Al-Hamid II's 25th anniversary.

• Abulafia in Yeffeth Street is a popular bakery.

• The Andromeda Rock; Andromeda was chained
   to that rock when Perseus rescued her.

• The Zodiac Alleys, an abundance of art galleries.

• Jaffa's Seaport with its restaurants.

 • Jaffa coastal cannon.

• The wishing Bridge.

The wishing Bridge, Jaffa

An ancient legend holds that anyone boarding this bridge, Holds it's Zodiac sign and look at the sea - their wish will come true!.

The Church of St. Peter and St. Tabitha, Jaffa

alson known as The Russian Orthodox Church of Tabitha.

Located on the supposed site of the tomb of Tabitha, who was raised from the dead by Peter (Acts 9:36-43).