Ramat HaSharon (, ) is an affluent city located on

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's central coastal strip in the south of the

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

region, bordering the cities of

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 ...

to the south, Hod-HaSharon to the east, and

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...

and

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

Glil Yam Glil Yam () is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain between Ramat HaSharon and Herzliya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The kibbutz was established in 19 ...

to the north. It is part of 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 ...

, within the Gush Dan metropolitan area. In Ramat HaSharon had a population of and its citizens are nearly entirely

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

History

Ramat HaSharon, originally Ir Shalom (, City of

Peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

), was a

moshava A moshava (, plural: ''moshavot'' , ''colony'' or ''village'') was a form of agricultural Jewish settlement in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine (now Israel), established by the members of the Old Yishuv beginning in the late 1870s ...

established in 1923 by olim from Poland. It was built on 2,000 dunams () of land purchased for 5 Egyptian pounds per dunam. In the 1931 census, the village-esque town had a population of 312. YadLabanimRamatHasharon

In 1932, this Jewish community was renamed Kfar Ramat HaSharon ( The Highplain Village of the

egion. By 1950, the population was up to 900. Rapid population growth in the 1960s and 1970s led to construction of many new roadways, schools and parks. Several distinct neighborhoods evolved in the 1970s, including Morasha on the southern edge, one with many military and air force personnel in the eastern edge, and many successful professionals moved into the developing city. Ramat HaSharon became a highly desirable place to live in the 1980s as a very safe place, containing many gardens and wide boulevards, and attracting many upper middle class suburban families. While qualifying for city status by number of residents (with more than 30 thousand residents) from the 1980s, Ramat HaSharon's mayors preferred to maintain the local council designation and acted to maintain the character of the settlement by limiting development. Although, Ramat HaSharon was later granted

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

status in 2002.

Archaeology

In August 2021, Israeli archaeologists led by Yoav Arbel excavated a Byzantine and Early Islamic settlement at Khirbat el-‘Ora, prior to the establishment of a new neighborhood. The excavation revealed a wine press paved with a

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

along with a coin minted by Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

. According to coin expert Robert Kool, one side of the gold depicted the emperor and his two sons, while the other side depicted the hill of Golgotha in

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 ...

. A Greek or Aramaic

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

was engraved on the surface of the coins, probably with the name of the coin owner. According to Yoel Arbel, stone

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

and

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, used for triturating, crushing or, more specifically, grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a s ...

s were used to grind barley and wheat and very likely also to crush herbs and healing plants. File:Hash Sharon 1942.jpg, Ramat HaSharon 1942 1:20,000 File:Herzliya 1945.jpg, Ramat HaSharon 1945 1:250,000

Geography

The main portion of the city is located north of Highway 5, east of Highway 20 and

, to the west of the

Israel Military Industries IMI Systems, previously Israel Military Industries, also referred to as Ta'as (), was an Israeli weapons manufacturer. The company manufactured weapons, munitions and military technology mainly for the Israeli security forces (especially Israel' ...

factory and Highway 4, and to the south of

. The city's administrative boundaries extend in an L-shaped fashion to the south of highway 5 and bordering with

reaching until Highway 2 in the west. The Neve-Gan neighborhood is disconnected from the rest of the city and is located to the south of the main city, and is adjacent to Kiryat Shaul Cemetery Tel Aviv's Tel Baruch. The Israel Tennis Centers is also south of route 5. The Cinema City Glilot commercial complex is similarly disconnected from the city and is located on the intersection of highway 5 and 2. The majority of the population lives around the two main streets: "Sokolov" and "Usishkin". in the west. The east in the "Morasha" neighborhood, has no major commercial area, important locations or even a high school. Morasha has long been neglected because of political reasons, though the population hopes they will get more support after a small increase in later years

Economy

PikiWiki Israel 7459 Ramat Hasharon from the top of tops

PikiWiki Israel 32134 Used bottles container in Ramat Hasharon

Until the 1960s, it was primarily a farming community, known for its strawberry fields and citrus groves. Ramat HaSharon is also home to

, the manufacturer of weapons and small arms for the

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 ...

and the world market.

Education

Ramat Hasharon has seven elementary schools, two middle schools (Alumim, and Kelman), and two high schools (Rothberg, and Alon). Midrasha LoOmanut, an art teachers training college, and Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music are located in the city. The Geology Museum is located in a Bauhaus style building built in 1945.

Sports

Ramat HaSharon is home to the Israel Tennis Center, founded in 1975, which hosts and organizes international, national and regional tennis tournaments. The courts are also widely used during the

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...

. The ATP World Tour, which had been in Israel from 1987 to 1996, was scheduled to return to the Israel Tennis Center in September 2014 with the Negev Israel Open, but the event was cancelled because of the military conflict in the region. Along with tennis facilities, which include 24 illuminated courts, and stands which seat up to 4,500 spectators, the central management of the organization, which manages 13 other tennis centers around the country, is located in the town. It also is home to Canada Stadium, where most

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...

and other significant Israeli tennis matches have been played since the mid-1970s. Herbalife Ramat HaSharon is the city's women basketball team, one of the leading teams in the Israeli league and a former European champion. The city's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team, Hapoel Ramat HaSharon, plays in Ligat Ha'al, the premiere league of Israeli football. Alumim, one of the city's junior high schools, has won many trophies in sports, especially for achievements in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

Notable people

* Chava Alberstein, singer, lyricist, composer, and musical arranger * Mark Azbel, physicist and human rights defender *

Haim Bar-Lev Haim "Kidoni" Bar-Lev (; 16 November 1924 – 7 May 1994) was a military officer during Israel's pre-state and early statehood eras and later a government minister. Biography Born Haim Brotzlewsky in Vienna and raised in Zagreb, Bar-Lev made al ...

, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff and government minister * Naya Bienstock (born 2001), actress * Niv Berkowitz (born 1986), basketball player *

Gilad Bloom Gilad Bloom (; born 1 March 1967) is a former professional tennis player from Israel. Bloom trained at the Israel Tennis Centers. His career-high rankings were World No. 61 in singles (in 1990) and World No. 62 in doubles (in 1992). Personal li ...

(born 1967), tennis player * Mike Burstyn, Israeli-American actor * Amnon Dankner (1946–2013), newspaper editor and author * Shay Doron (born 1985), WNBA basketball guard (

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

) *

Amit Farkash Amit Farkas-Yonas (; born ) is a Canadian-born Israeli actress and singer. She is best known as the protagonist of the Israeli television series ''Split (TV series), Split''. Biography Melissa Amit Farkas was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to ...

(born 1989), Canadian-born Israeli actress and singer *

Yehoram Gaon Yehoram Gaon (; born December 28, 1939) is an Israeli singer, actor, director, comedian, producer, TV and radio host, and public figure. He has also written and edited books on Israeli culture. The son of Sephardic Jewish parents—a Bosnian f ...

, singer, actor, director, producer, and TV and radio host * Julia Glushko (born 1990), tennis player * Gidi Gov, singer, TV host, entertainer, and actor * Rami Kleinstein, singer and composer *

Uri Levine Uri Levine (; born February 1965) is an Israeli entrepreneur and author. He co-founded Waze, a traffic and navigation app that was acquired by Google in June 2013 for more than $1.1 billion. He was the first board member and investor in Mo ...

(born 1965), entrepreneur who co-founded Waze *

Harel Levy Harel Levy (; born 5 August 1978) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player, and the current captain of Israel's Davis Cup team. He reached the final of the 2000 Toronto Masters and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 30 ...

(born 1978), tennis player and Davis Cup team captain; highest world singles ranking # 30 * Sivan Levy (born 1987), singer-songwriter, filmmaker, and actress * Gigi Levy-Weiss, businessman * Amos Mansdorf (born 1965), tennis player; highest world singles ranking # 18 * Doron Medalie (born 1977), songwriter, composer and artistic director * Gal Mekel (born 1988), played for the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, former

NCAA basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athletic bodies, including the National Collegiate Athletic ...

player at

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

, 2-time (2011, 2013) Israeli Basketball Super League

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

* Haim Moshe (born 1955), singer * Mikaella Moshe (born 2003), Olympic archer *

Yael Naim Yael Naim (; born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "New Soul" was used by Apple Inc., Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song peaked at N ...

, French-born singer *

Orna Ostfeld Orna Ostfeld (; born December 23, 1952) is an Israeli former basketball player and current basketball coach. Early life and non-basketball activities Ostfeld is Jewish, and was born in Jerusalem, Israel. She is a graduate of Wingate Institute, ...

(born 1952), basketball player and coach * Svika Pick, singer and composer *

Haim Ramon Haim Ramon (; born 10 April 1950) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1983 and 2009, and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy. Biography ...

, member of the Knesset and Vice Prime Minister * Lihie Raz (born 2003), American-born Israeli Olympic artistic gymnast * Lior Raz (born 1971), actor and screenwriter * Rita (born 1962), singer and actress *

Anna Smashnova Anna Aleksandrovna Smashnova (, ; born July 16, 1976) is a Soviet-born Israeli former tennis player. She retired from professional tour after Wimbledon 2007. Smashnova reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 15 in 2003. She reached ...

(born 1976), tennis player * Guy Solomon (born 1977), football goalkeeper * Dudu Topaz, comedian, actor, author, and TV and radio host *

Ezer Weizman Ezer Weizman (, ; 15 June 1924 – 24 April 2005) was an Israeli major general and politician who served as the president of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air ...

, commander of the Israeli Air Force, Minister of Defense, and President of Israel * Shelly Yachimovich (born 1960), politician * Eli Yatzpan, TV host and comedian * Rehavam Zeevi, general, politician, and historian * Yuval Zellner (born 1978), politician * Naor Zion, comedian, actor, writer and director

Twin town and sister cities

Ramat HaSharon is twinned with: *

Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(since 15 September 1997) *

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Saint-Maur-des-Fossés () is a Communes of France, commune in Val-de-Marne, the southeastern suburbs of Paris, suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. History Abbey Saint-Maur-des-Fossés owes its name to Saint-Maur A ...

, France * Georgsmarienhütte,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Tallahassee,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

References

External links

Ramat HaSharon Municipality

Li-Ron Studios
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramat Hasharon Cities in Tel Aviv District Cities in Israel Sharon plain Populated places established in 1923 1923 establishments in Mandatory Palestine