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HaKirya, or The Kirya (, ), is an area in central
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, consisting of an urban military base north of Kaplan Street. HaKirya contains the
Tel Aviv District The Tel Aviv District (; ) is the geographically smallest yet also the most densely populated of the six administrative districts of Israel, with a population of 1.35 million residents. It is 98.9% Jewish and 1.10% Arab (0.7% Muslim, 0.4% Chris ...
's government center and the major
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF) base Camp Rabin (, ''Mahaneh Rabin''), named for
Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...
, also known as Hakirya Base. It was one of the first IDF bases and has served as the IDF's headquarters since its founding in 1948. The base serves mainly command, administrative, communications, and support functions.


History


Ottoman era

Much of the Kirya today is located on the lands of Sarona, a Templer settlement founded in the 19th century. Sarona was an agricultural colony, and kept this nature despite the expansion of Tel Aviv and attempts by the city to buy some of Sarona's lands.


British Mandate

In
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, British forces took control of Sarona and converted it into a prison camp for Germans. After the war, the German prisoners were deported, mostly to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and Sarona became a British military and police base. The base was the site of the first-ever unconcealed
Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
attack on a British installation. The base was taken over by the Haganah on December 16, 1947, and renamed Camp Yehoshua after (1905–1947), who was killed near Latrun while returning from a mission to
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. It was the first independent Jewish military base in modern history. The base was dubbed ''HaKirya'' because it contained the government offices in Tel Aviv, the provisional capital of Israel at the time, until Jerusalem was secured and declared the capital. The Haganah and then
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
also used the Templer buildings as their first headquarters, including the headquarters of the
Sherut Avir The Sherut Avir (, ''Air Service'') was the air force of the Haganah and the forerunner of the Israeli Air Force. Founding The Sherut Avir was founded on 10 November 1947, just two weeks prior to the passing of the 1947 UN Partition Plan on 29 ...
(later
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
) and the Kiryati Brigade. The Givati Brigade was also founded at the base.


State of Israel

Over the years, the military base's land area has been decreasing due to the high
land value Real estate appraisal, home appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of assessing the value of real property (usually market value). The appraisal is conducted by a licensed appraiser. Real estate transactions often require ...
and sale to private companies. In 2009, Camp Rabin was the base with the largest number of regular soldiers. Many of the civilian government offices once spread over the entire former Sarona colony were concentrated outside the military base in the Kirya Tower, which was completed in 2005 in the southern part of the Kirya. In 2012, there were reports that the IDF headquarters or parts of it would be moved to Jerusalem, or to the
Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...
, the Galilee and the city of Lod, while retaining the more recently built IDF facilities of the Kirya. In 2012, it was speculated that HaKirya could be targeted by enemy GPS-guided missiles, in particular the M-300 missiles installed in Syria. The Kirya today consists of a northern section, used for the military base, and the southern one, a business district which includes the Kirya Tower. These sections are separated by Kaplan Street. The military base is home to the Matcal Tower and Marganit Tower, and serves as the headquarters of the IDF's
General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
. There are plans to relocate parts of the northern section (military base), including the dining hall, in favor of the Tel Aviv Light Rail and private development. Plans also exist to build five new towers inside the base, including new structures for the Military Intelligence Directorate and
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
. In August 2013, The Tel Aviv Local Committee approved plans for the Keren HaKirya mixed-use complex, composed of 80 and 50-storey commercial towers, two 45-storey residential towers, on a base consisting of a two-storey retail mall, at the intersection of Menachem Begin and Shaul HaMelech Boulevards. Hakirya Bridge, a pedestrian bridge above
Begin Road Begin Road is a major thoroughfare in Tel Aviv, Israel. It begins at Allenby Street and runs to its northern end which is at Arlozorov Interchange on Ayalon Highway. There is one interchange along Begin Road, Kaplan Interchange, located near ...
, connects the district to the
Azrieli Center Azrieli Center (; ''Merkaz Azrieli'') is a complex of three skyscrapers in Tel Aviv. At the base of the complex lies a large shopping mall. The complex was designed by Israeli-American architect Eli Attia. After Attia and the developer of the ...
, a landmark high-rise commercial complex in Tel Aviv located to the east. Another pedestrian bridge connects the Azrieli Center with HaShalom railway station, which is also accessible at street level via Giva'at HaTahmoshet Street/HaShalom Road (an extension of Kaplan Street). There are two underground stations below Begin St. on the Red Line light rail line, one station nearby Shaul HaMelech and Moses Streets in the north of the district and one near Yehudit St. in the southern part of it. On 13 June 2025, during the Iranian strikes against Israel, an Iranian missile struck the part of Tel Aviv where the Kirya is located.


References


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirya Military installations of Israel Neighborhoods of Tel Aviv Military installations established in 1948 1948 establishments in Israel Joint military headquarters Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew