Netanya, Israel

Netanya is a city in the Centre District of Israel and is the capital of the Sharon plain. It is located between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north. Its 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) of beaches have made the city a very popular tourist resort. Today the city houses a notably large population of English-speaking immigrants from the United Kingdom, USA, and Canada. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2007 the city had a total population of 176,500.[1] The city mayor is Miriam Feirberg. The city is expected to reach a population of 350,000 by 2020.[2] The city name has sometimes been spelled Nathania. The idea to create the settlement of Netanya was drawn up at a meeting of the Bnei Binyamin association in Zikhron Ya'aqov.[4] The location was decided upon near the ancient site of Poleg and it was decided for it to be named for the Jewish American philanthropist Nathan Straus who devoted much money to activities in Israel. In 1928, members of Bnei Binyamin and Hanote, an organisation set up after Strauss was informed of the establishment of the settlement, are said to have purchased 350 acres (1.4 km2) of Umm Khaled lands.[4] There remains today, however, considerable controversy amongst Palestinian and Israeli interpretation about whether land was sold (primarily from non-resident Arab land holders) during the British Mandate.On December 14, 1928 a team led by Moshe Shaked began digging for water at the site, finding it in February, 1929.[4] Subsequently, on February 18, 1929, the first five settlers moved onto the land, plowing and cultivating it for the first time.[4] The land was divided between the settlers in June, 1929 as slowly the vision of the settlement became reality.[4] Development was set back, however when the Tarpat riot and massacre caused the settlement to be abandoned for two weeks.[4] By September, however, development was back on track with the cornerstones for the first 10 houses being laid at Sukkot.[4] Initially, citrus crops were grown on the land.