Rehovot (, / ) is a city in the

Central District Central District may refer to: Places * Central District (Botswana) * Central district, Plovdiv, Bulgaria * Central District, Xiamen, China, now Siming District, Fujian * Central, Hong Kong, also called Central District * List of Central District ...

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 ...

, about south 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 ...

. In it had a population of .

Etymology

Israel Belkind Israel Belkind (, ; 1861–1929) was a Jewish educator, author, writer, historian and founder of the Bilu movement. A pioneer of the First Aliyah, Belkind founded the ''Biluim'', a group of Jewish idealists aspiring to settle in the Land of Isra ...

, founder of the

Bilu Bilu may refer to: People * Bilú (footballer, 1900-1965), Virgílio Pinto de Oliveira, Brazilian football manager and former centre-back * Asher Bilu (born 1936), Australian artist * Bilú (footballer, born 1974), Luciano Lopes de Souza, Brazi ...

movement, proposed the name "Rehovot" () based on

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

26:22: "And he called the name of it ''Rehoboth''; and he said: 'For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land'." This

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

verse is also inscribed in the city's logo. The biblical town of '' Rehoboth'' was located in the

Negev Desert 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 ...

History

Rehovot was established in 1890 by pioneers of the

First Aliyah The First Aliyah (), also known as the agriculture Aliyah, was a major wave of Jewish immigration (''aliyah'') to History of Israel#Ottoman period , Ottoman Palestine (region) , Palestine between 1881 and 1903. Jews who migrated in this wave cam ...

on the coastal plain near a site called ''Khirbat Deiran'', an "abandoned or sparsely populated" estate, which now lies in the center of the built-up area of the city. According to Marom, Deiran offered "a convenient launching pad for early land purchase initiatives which shaped the pattern of Jewish settlement until the beginning of the British Mandate". Rehovot was founded as 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 ...

in 1890 by

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

immigrants who had come with the

, seeking to establish a township which would not be under the influence of the Baron

Edmond James de Rothschild Baron Abraham Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild (; 19 August 1845 – 2 November 1934) was a French member of the Rothschild banking family. A strong supporter of Jewish settlement in Palestine, his large donations lent significant support to ...

, on land which was purchased from a

Christian Arab Arab Christians () are the Arabs who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, bu ...

by the Menuha Venahala society, an organization in Warsaw that raised funds for Jewish settlement in

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definitions ...

. In March 1892, a dispute over pasture rights erupted between the residents of Rehovot and the neighboring village of

Zarnuqa Zarnuqa (), also Zarnuga,Reuter, 2004, pp956 was a Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine, Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated on 27–28 May 1948 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Location ...

, which took two years to resolve. Another dispute broke out with the Suteriya

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

tribe, which had been cultivating some of the land as tenant farmers. According to

Moshe Smilansky Moshe Smilansky MBE (; February 24, 1874 – October 6, 1953) was a pioneer of the First Aliyah, a Zionist leader who advocated peaceful coexistence with the Arabs in Mandatory Palestine, a farmer, and a prolific author of fiction and non-fict ...

, one of the early settlers of Rehovot, the Bedouins had received compensation for the land, but refused to vacate it. In 1893, they attacked the

. Through the intervention of a respected Arab sheikh, a compromise was reached, with the Bedouins receiving an additional sum of money, which they used to dig a well. In 1890, the region was an uncultivated wasteland with no trees, houses or water. The moshava's houses were initially built along two parallel streets: Yaakov Street and Benjamin Street, before later expanding, and

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s and

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

groves were planted, but the inhabitants grappled with agricultural failures, plant diseases, and marketing problems. The first citrus grove was planted by Zalman Minkov in 1904. Minkov's grove, surrounded by a wall, included a guard house, stables, a packing plant, and an irrigation system in which groundwater was pumped from a large well in the inner courtyard. The well was 23 meters deep, the height of an eight-story building, and over six meters in diameter. The water was channeled via an aqueduct to an irrigation pool, and from there to a network of ditches dug around the bases of the trees. The Great

Synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

of Rehovot was established in 1903, during the

period. In 1908, the Workman's Union ('' Hapoel Hazair'') organized a group of 300 Yemenite immigrants then living in the region of Jerusalem and Jaffa, bringing them to work as farmers in the colonies of Rishon-le-Zion and Rehovot. Only a few dozen Yemenite families had settled in Rehovot by 1908. They built houses for themselves in a plot given to them at the south end of the town, which became known as Sha'araim. In 1910, Shmuel Warshawsky, with the secret support of the

JNF The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

, was sent to Yemen to recruit more agricultural laborers. Hundreds arrived starting in 1911 and were housed first in a compound one kilometre south of Rehovot and then in a large extension of the Sha'araim quarter. The second Zarnuqa incident, that took place in July 1913 between the colonists and guards of Rehovot, and the Arab rural population, is considered by historians as a milestone in Zionist–Arab relations in late Ottoman Palestine. The incident, which started over simple accusation of theft of grapes from a Jewish-owned vineyard, became much more than a local incident, left one Arab and two Jews dead and resulted in tremendous hostility between the two sides. There are various narratives available to researchers today, including Jewish, Arabic sources and external sources. It is difficult to determine whose narrative is closer to historical reality, or to find out who started the fight and who is to be blamed. This incident illustrates the difficult task facing historians in analyzing the late Ottoman Palestine, the period of the early Zionist–Arab encounter and conflict. It is alleged that this was the moment when a previously peaceful co-existence among Jews and Arabs, united under the Ottoman Empire, instantly became an "us vs. them" divisiveness that has prevailed ever since. In February 1914,

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

visited Rehovot during the fourth of his five visits to the Land of Israel. That year, Rehovot had a population of around 955.

British Mandate

In 1920, the

Rehovot Railway Station Rehovot railway station (, ''Taḥanat HaRakevet Rehovot''; ) is an Israel Railways station located in the city of Rehovot. It serves the city, the Weizmann Institute of Science and the nearby science industries park, as well as the city of Ness ...

was opened, which greatly boosted the local citrus fruit industry. A few packing houses were built near the station to enable the fruit to be sent by railway to the rest of the country and to the port of

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

for export to Europe. According to a

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Rehovot had a population of 1,242 inhabitants, consisting of 1,241 Jews and 1 Muslim, increasing in 1931

to 3,193 inhabitants, in 833 houses.Mills, 1932, p
23
/ref> In 1924, the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

contracted the Palestine Electric Company for wired electric power. The contract allowed the Electric Company to extend the grid beyond the original geographical limits that had been projected by the concession it was given. The high-voltage line that exceeded the limits of the original concession ran along some major towns and agricultural settlements, offering extended connections to the Jewish towns of

Rishon Le-Zion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were pa ...

Ness Ziona Ness Ziona (, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a city in Central District (Israel), Central District, Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). Identification Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of the Arab ...

and Rehovot (in spite of their proximity to the high-voltage line, the Arab towns of

Ramla Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs. The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph S ...

and

Lod Lod (, ), also known as Lydda () and Lidd (, or ), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The ci ...

remained unconnected). In 1931, the first workers

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

, ''Kfar Marmorek'', was built on lands which were acquired from the village of

by the

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

in 1926, and ten

Yemenite Jewish Yemenite Jews, also known as Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ; ), are a Jewish diaspora group who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. After several waves of persecution, the vast majority of Yemenite J ...

families which were evicted from Kinneret were resettled there. Later, they were joined by thirty-five other families from Sha'araim. Today, they are both suburbs of Rehovot. The agricultural research station that opened in Rehovot in 1932 later became the Department of Agriculture of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. In 1933, a juice factory was built. In 1934,

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

established the Sieff Institute, which later became the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...

. In 1937, Weizmann built his home on the land purchased adjacent to the Sieff Institute. The house later served as the presidential residence after Weizmann became president in 1948. Weizmann and his wife are buried on the grounds of the institute. In 1945, Rehovot had a population of 10,020, and in 1948, it had grown to 12,500. The suburb of Rehovot, ''Kefar Marmorek'', had a population of 500 Jews in 1948.

State of Israel

On 29 February 1948, the Lehi blew up the Cairo to Haifa train shortly after it left Rehovot, killing 29 British soldiers and injuring 35. Lehi said the bombing was in retaliation for the

Ben Yehuda Street bombing A series of attacks were perpetrated or ordered by Palestinian Arabs, some of them acting as suicide bombers, on Jewish targets in Jerusalem's Ben Yehuda Street from February 1948 onwards. Ben Yehuda Street was a major thoroughfare. 1948 (49� ...

a week earlier. ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'' reported that both Weizmann's home and the Agricultural Institute were damaged in the explosion, although the sites were away. On 28 March 1948, Arabs attacked a Jewish convoy near Rehovot. In 1950, Rehovot, which had a population of about 18,000, was declared a city. Rehovot Police Station4

In the immediate years following the establishment of

, the ''Zarnuqa''

ma'abara Ma'abarot (, singular: Ma'abara ) were immigrant and refugee absorption camps established in Israel in the 1950s, constituting one of the largest public projects planned by the state to implement its sociospatial and housing policies. The ma' ...

(now named ''Kiryat Moshe'') was established on the Southern side of Rehovot to house Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe and Arab lands. On the Southwest, the neighborhood of ''Kfar Gevirol'' (now named ''Ibn Gevirol'', named after

Solomon ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah (, ; , ) was an 11th-century Jews, Jewish poet and Jewish philosopher, philosopher in the Neoplatonism, Neo-Platonic tradition in Al-Andalus. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical ...

, 11th Century Sephardi Jewish Philosopher) was founded on lands of the depopulated Palestinian village of Al-Qubayba. Over the years, ''Kiryat Moshe'' expanded over the lands of the depopulated Palestinian village of

. The mosque of the village, while abandoned, still stands. On the Southeast the neighborhood of Ramat Aharon were established. The city has since then expanded in all directions, geographically surrounding but not including the Kibbutz of

Kvutzat Shiller Kvutzat Shiller (), also known as Gan Shlomo, is a kibbutz in central 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 ...

and the Moshav of

Gibton Gibton () is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Rehovot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional Council. In it had a population of . History It was founded in 1933 as part of the Settlement of the Thousand plan. The plan aime ...

Demographics

Between 1914 and 1991, the town's population rose from 955 to 81,000, and its area more than doubled. Parts of Rehovot's suburbs are built on land that belonged to the village of

before 1948, population 2,620, including 240 Jews in

. In 1995, there were 337,800 people living in the greater Rehovot area. , the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8%

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

ish. There were 49,600 males and 52,300 females, of whom 31.6% were 19 years of age or younger, 16.1% between the ages of 20 and 29, 18.2% between 30 and 44, 18.2% from 45 to 59, 3.5% from 60 to 64, and 12.3% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate was 1.8%.According to

Israel Central Bureau of Statistics The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (, ''HaLishka HaMerkazit LiStatistika''; ), abbreviated CBS, is an Israeli government office established in 1949 to carry out research and publish statistical data on all aspects of Israeli life, including ...

dat

In Rehovot, there are mainly History of the Jews in Russia, Russian Jews,

Yemenite Jews Yemenite Jews, also known as Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ; ), are a Jewish diaspora group who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. After several waves of antisemitism, persecution, the vast majority ...

, and

Ethiopian Jews Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews, is a Jewish group originating from the territory of the Amhara and Tigray regions in northern Ethiopia, where they are spread out across more than 500 small villages over a wide territory, alongside predominant ...

, who are concentrated largely in the Kiryat Moshe and Oshiot areas. There is a growing community of religious

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...

-speaking people who primarily live in Northern Rehovot around the

. According to the 2019 census, the population of Rehovot was counted to be 143,904, of which 143,536 people, comprising 99.7% of the city's population were classified as " Jews and Others", and 368 people, comprising 0.3% as "

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

Education and culture

The city is home to the

, of the

, and the Peres Academic Center College. There are also several smaller colleges in Rehovot that provide specialized and technical training.

Kaplan Medical Center Kaplan Medical Center (, ''Merkaz Refu'i Kaplan'') is a district general hospital in Rehovot, Israel, located in the south of the city next to Bilu Junction. It is owned and operated by Clalit Health Services. History Kaplan Medical Center is a te ...

acts as an ancillary teaching hospital for the Medical School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. An independent township

The Minkov Orchard Museum was established in Rehovot with the assistance of the Swiss descendants of Zalma Minkov, whose husband planted the city's first citrus grove. Rehovot is also home to the annua
Rehovot International Live Statues Festival
which includes many international participants.

Economy

, there were 41,323 salaried workers and 2,683 self-employed. The mean monthly wage for a salaried worker was ILS 6,732, a real change of −5.2% over the course of the previous year. Salaried males had a mean monthly wage of ILS 8,786 (a real change of −4.8%) versus ILS 4,791 for females (a real change of −5.3%). The mean income for the self-employed was 6,806. There were 1,082 people receiving unemployment benefits and 6,627 people receiving an income guarantee. In 2013, Rehovot had the highest average net monthly income among households in Israel, at NIS 16,800. Rehovot is home to numerous industrial plants, and has an industrial park in the western part of the city. Among them are the

Tnuva Tnuva, or Tenuvah, (, ''fruit'' or ''produce'') is an Israeli food creation and marketing company. The company holds in Israel a significant market share in the field of drinking milk production, dairy products and its marketing. It was for its ...

dairy plant, the Yafora-Tavori beverage factory, and the Feldman ice cream factory. Kaplan_Medical_Center_Aerial_View

The Tamar Science Park, established in 2000, is a high-tech park of at the northern entrance of the city. The Tamar Science Park adjoins the older Kiryat Weizmann industrial park. Although the entire extended science park is largely conceived as an area of Rehovot, the Kiryat Weizmann part is actually under the municipal boundaries of neighboring Ness Ziona. Tamar Science Park is home to branches of leading hi-tech like

Stratasys Stratasys, Ltd. is an American-Israeli manufacturer of 3D printers, software, and materials for polymer additive manufacturing as well as 3D-printed parts on-demand. The company is incorporated in Israel. Engineers use Stratasys systems to mod ...

Imperva Imperva, Inc. is an American cyber security software and services company which provides protection to enterprise data and application software. The company is headquartered in San Mateo, California. French multinational Thales Group acquired the ...

Applied Materials Applied Materials, Inc. is an American corporation that supplies equipment, services and software for the manufacture of semiconductor (integrated circuit) chips for electronics, flat panel displays for computers, smartphones, televisions, and ...

El-Op Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based international military technology company and defense contractor. Founded in 1966 by Elron, Elbit Systems is the primary provider of the Israeli military's land-based equipment and unmanned aerial v ...

and bio-tech companies like

Aleph Farms Aleph Farms is a cellular agriculture company active in the food technology space. It was co-founded in 2017 by the Israeli food-tech incubator "''The Kitchen Hub''" of Strauss Group Ltd., and Prof. Shulamit Levenberg of the Faculty of Biomedical ...

Sports

During the 1980s, some local swimmers excelled, thanks to the local Weissgal Center Water Park.

Football

Rehovot has had three clubs representing it the top division of Israeli football:

Maccabi Rehovot Maccabi Rehovot F.C. () is an Israeli football club based in Rehovot. The club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949 and competed in the top division during the 1950s, but today plays in Liga Gimel, the fifth and lowest level of ...

between 1949 and 1956, Maccabi Sha'arayim between 1963 and 1969 and again in 1985, and Hapoel Marmorek in the 1972–73 season. It also has club Bnei Yeechalal which plays at

Liga Bet Liga Bet () is the fourth tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into four regional divisions. History League football started in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. However, the financial ...

South B. Today Maccabi Sha'arayim and Marmorek play in

Liga Alef Liga Alef () is the third tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into two regional divisions, north and south. History League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Howe ...

South, the third level; Maccabi Rehovot and Bnei Yeechalal play in

Liga Gimel Liga Gimel (, lit. ''League C'') is, since 2009, the fifth and bottom division of Israeli football league system, Israeli Football League. From Liga Alef and downwards, including Liga Gimel, each league is separated by region. History Liga Gimel ...

, the fifth and lowest division. List of Rehovot men's football clubs playing at state level and above for the 2023–24 season:

Basketball

Rehovot has one basketball club Maccabi Rehovot B.C. The team plays in the

Liga Leumit The Israeli Liga Leumit (, HaLiga HaLeumit, ) is the second division of the professional Israeli association football (soccer) league system. This second-tier league is placed directly below the Israeli Premier League. Structure There are 16 ...

Handball

Rehovot has one handball club

. The team plays in the

Ligat Ha'Al The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

Transportation

Public transportation

Rehovot railway station Rehovot railway station (, ''Taḥanat HaRakevet Rehovot''; ) is an Israel Railways station located in the city of Rehovot. It serves the city, the Weizmann Institute of Science and the nearby science industries park, as well as the city of Ness ...

is a suburban commuter railway station serving the city. It is a historic station that was abandoned in 1948 and reopened in 1990 with a suburban service to

, which is important because many Rehovot residents work in Tel Aviv. More reconstruction work began in 2000, which included the two new passenger terminals, a pedestrian tunnel under the railway, a bus terminal and two large parking lots. The station is situated on the Tel Aviv suburban line (

Binyamina Binyamina-Giv'at Ada () is a town in the Haifa District in northern Israel. It is the result of the 2003 merger between the two local councils of Binyamina and Giv'at Ada. In 2019 its population was 17,371. Before the merger, the population of ...

/Netanya – Tel Aviv – Rehovot/

Ashkelon Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The modern city i ...

Suburban Service). All trains in this service stop at Rehovot, and some trains terminate at the station. This line connects the city to

via

. The city will be served by 5 Metro Stations along one of the Southern Branches of Line M1 as part of the

Tel Aviv Metro Tel Aviv Metro (also MetroTLV) is a planned subway system for the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area. It will augment the Tel Aviv Light Rail and Israel Railways suburban lines and consist of three underground metro lines and 109 stations to form a rapi ...

Project. This line will connect the city to

via

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

. The city is served internally and connected to other cities by bus routes operated by Egged Bus Company.

Roads

Rehovot winter puddle panorama from the air

Rehovot is located between Highway 40 and Highway 42. Highway 40 connects the city to

Kiryat Gat Kiryat Gat () also spelled Qiryat Gat, is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and west southwest of Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The city hosts one of the most advanced semicondu ...

and

Beersheva Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the List of cities ...

in the South, while Highway 42 connects it to

Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...

. Highway 40 connects the city to

to the North, also providing connection to

Ben Gurion Airport Ben Gurion International Airport , commonly known by the Hebrew language, Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on outskirts north of the city of Lod and directly south of the city of Or Yehuda, i ...

, and bypassing Metro Tel Aviv along the eastern edge, whereas Highway 42 connects the city to

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

and the urban centre of Metro Tel Aviv. Rehovot also has access to the east–west Motorway 431, connecting the city to

Modi'in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( ''Mōdīʿīn-Makkabbīm-Rēʿūt'') is a city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Route 443 (Israel), Highway 443. In the population ...

as well as 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 ...

on the East. Route 412 (Weizmann Street) is a regional road that goes through the city centre in a Northwest-Southeast Direction, and connects it to neighbouring

Mayors

* 1950–1955: * 1955–1968: * 1968–1969: * 1969–1978:

Shmuel Rechtman Shmuel Rechtman (; 1924 – 23 July 1988) was an Israeli politician who served as mayor of Rehovot from 1970 until 1979, and as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1977 and 1979. Biography Born in Rehovot during the Mandate era, Rechtman ...

* 1978–1989: * 1989–1993: * 1993–1998: * 1998–2009: * 2009–2024: Rahamim Malul * 2024–present:

Twin towns and sister cities

Rehovot is twinned with: *

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, United States *

Bistrița (; , archaic , Transylvanian Saxon: , ) is the capital city of Bistrița-Năsăud County, in northern Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistrița River. The city has a population of 78,877 inhabitants as of 2021 and administers s ...

, Romania *

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, France *

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, Germany *

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

, Argentina * Rochester, United States *

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

, Serbia

Gallery

File:A Plan of Rehovot.jpg, Map of Rehovot in 1897 File:El Ramle 1945.jpg, Rehovot 1945 1:250,000 File:Rehovot 1948.jpg, Rehovot 1948 1:20,000 File:Israel_Hiking_Map_מגדל_קופלר.jpeg, Particle accelerator at the

File:בתי המליונרים - אתרי מורשת במרכז הארץ 2015 - רחובות (2).JPG, The "Millionaires' Houses" street in Rehovot File:Hebrew University Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot.jpg, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment (of the

) File:Rehovot librejo.jpg, Rehovot Library File:PikiWiki_Israel_13835_Yad_Labanim_House_in_Rehovot.JPG, Beit Yad LeBanim in Rehovot File:PikiWiki Israel 8225 old vinery in rehovot.jpg, Rehovot's old winery File:מכון איילון - אתרי מורשת במרכז הארץ 2015 - רחובות (1).JPG, The Ayalon Institute in Rehovot File:Tell Shalaf, Shfela, Israel תל שלף, שפלת יהודה - panoramio (2).jpg, Tel Shalaf (Eltekeh) biblical city remains in Rehovot File:Yemenite Jewish Heritage Center.jpg,

Yemenite-Jewish Yemenite Jews, also known as Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ; ), are a Jewish diaspora group who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. After several waves of persecution, the vast majority of Yemenite J ...

Heritage Center in Rehovot File:PikiWiki Israel 13811 Gate of Minkov orchard in Rehovot.JPG, Gate to the Minkov Orchard in Rehovot File:PikiWiki Israel 13823 Rehovot Mall and Municipality.JPG, Rehovot mall, municipality, and the cinema complex File:PikiWiki Israel 1262 House of Dr. Haim Weizman Rehovot - Israel בית הנשיא חיים ויצמן ברחובות.jpg,

Weizmann House The Weizmann House () was the home of the first President of Israel, Chaim Weizmann, and first First Lady, Vera Weizmann. The house sits atop a hill in Rehovot, and is now part of the Weizmann Institute of Science. The architect was Erich Mendel ...

Notable people

''For more information see: :People from Rehovot'' Aki_Avni

Nili Abramski Nili Abramski (; born 14 January 1970, Rehovot, Israel) is an Israeli long-distance runner. Career highlights ;Marathons :2004 - Athens, 42nd at 2004 Summer Olympics :2005 - Helsinki, 49th at World Championships :2006 - Gothenburg, 22nd at Euro ...

(born 1970) – Professional

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

Dan Almagor Dan Almagor (; born 13 July 1935) is an Israeli playwright, songwriter/poet and scholar who has adapted and translated over a hundred plays for the Hebrew stage, including Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors", "As You Like It", "Fiddler on the Ro ...

(born 1935) – Playwright *

Gali Atari Gali Atari (; born 29 December 1953) is an Israeli singer and actress. Atari won the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 which was held in Jerusalem, as part of Milk and Honey. Early life Atari was born as Abigail Atari (Hebrew: אביגיל עטרי) ...

(born 1953) – Singer, won the

Eurovision Song Contest 1979 The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Jerusalem, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Organised by the Euro ...

Aki Avni Yitzhak "Aki" Avni (; born ), is an Israeli actor, entertainer and television host. He appeared in the movie '' Free Zone'' (2005). He also played the character Mohsen in the second season of the television series '' 24''. Early life and marriage ...

(born 1967) – Actor *

Saar Badishi Saar Badishi (; born 2 May 1971) is an Israeli singer, actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Rehovot, Badishi started out in a musical organisation within the Northern Command. After being discharged, he founded a musical ensemble which pe ...

(born 1971) – Singer, actor and voice actor *

Shelly Bobritsky Shelly Bobritsky (; born 27 June 2001) is an Israelis, Israeli Olympic swimmer who competes in Artistic swimming. She competed in the 2020 Olympics in duet, was the European Champion in the free combination event in 2023, and was a three-time Eu ...

(born 2001), Olympic swimmer in

artistic swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming), also known as artistic swimming, is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by World Aq ...

Shawn Dawson Shawn Dawson (; born 12 December 1993) is an American-Israeli professional basketball player who last played for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the Basketball Champions League (BCL). He is the son of former basketball p ...

(born 1993) – Professional basketball player * Amos de-Shalit (1926–1969) – Nuclear physicist and Israel Prize laureate * Aryeh Frimer (born 1946) – Chemist and rabbi *

Shlomo Glickstein Shlomo Glickstein (; born 6 January 1958) is an Israeli former professional tennis player. He reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 22 in November 1982, and his career-high doubles ranking of World No. 28 in February 1986. Early ...

(born 1958) – Professional tennis player * Oscar Gloukh (born 2004) – Professional football player *

Eyal Golan Eyal Golan (; born Eyal Bitton; 12 April 1971) is an Israeli singer who sings in the Mizrahi music pop fusion genre and considered one of the most successful singers in Israel. Golan reported the highest income of all singers in Israel in 2011. ...

(born 1971) – Singer *

Gidi Gov Gideon "Gidi" Gov (; 4 August 1950) is an Israeli singer, TV host, entertainer, and actor. He was married to Anat Gov before her death in 2012 and they had three children. Biography Early life Gov was born in Rehovot to Daniel and Tzipora ...

(born 1950) – Singer *

Michal Hein Michal Barel Hein (; born February 11, 1968) is an Israeli former Olympic windsurfer. She was born in Rehovot, Israel. Windsurfing career Hein's club was Hapoel Tel Aviv, based in Tel Aviv, Israel. She finished 10th at the World Championships in ...

(born 1968) – Olympic windsurfer * Eres Holz (born 1977) – Composer *

Tzipi Hotovely Tzipura "Tzipi" Hotovely (; born 2 December 1978) is an Israeli diplomat and former politician who serves as the current Ambassador of Israel to the United Kingdom. She served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Diaspora Affairs ...

(born 1978) – Ambassador of Israel to the United Kingdom *

Aharon Isser Aharon Isser (; July 13, 1958 – April 9, 1995) was a leading Israeli aeronautical engineer. He contributed much to the modeling of aerodynamic effects on helicopter airfoils and on the flight dynamics of missile systems. Conducting research at ...

(1958–1995) – Aeronautical engineer *

Roi Kahat Roi Kehat (or Roei Kaat, ; born 12 May 1992) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Sumgayit in the Azerbaijan Premier League. Club career Maccabi Tel Aviv Kahat began his career in the youth system of Mac ...

(born 1992) – Professional football player *

Aharon Katzir Aharon Katzir (; born Aharon Katchalsky; September 15, 1914 – May 30, 1972) was an Israeli scientist who was known as a pioneer in the study of the electrochemistry of biopolymers. Biography Born 1914 in Łódź, Poland, he moved to Mandatory P ...

(1914–1972) – Biophysicist *

Ephraim Katzir Ephraim Katzir (; – 30 May 2009) was an Israeli biophysicist and Labor Party politician. He was the president of Israel from 1973 until 1978. Biography Efraim Katchalski (later Katzir) was the son of Yudel-Gersh (Yehuda) and Tzilya Katchals ...

(1916–2009) – Biophysicist and fourth

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the State of Israel *

Olga Kirsch Olga Kirsch (; 23 September 1924 – 5 June 1997) was a South African and Israeli poet. Biography Kirsch was born and brought up in Koppies in the then Orange Free State, South Africa. Her father had emigrated there from Lithuania and, though a Y ...

(1924–1997) – South African and Israeli poet * Nir Levine (born 1962) – Professional football player *

Shlomit Malka Shlomit Malka (; born ) is an Israeli fashion model and television host. Earlier in her career she was credited as Shiloh Malka, but she has since been credited as her birth name. She has appeared in major international campaigns for L'Oreal, ...

(born 1993) – Model * Rahamim Malul (born 1946) – Mayor of Rehovot from 2009 to 2024 *

Erez Markovich Erez Markovich (; born July 10, 1978) is an Israeli former basketball player who played the center position. He played in the Jeep Élite league, in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, and for the Israeli national basketball team. Biography ...

(born 1978) – Professional basketball player *

Arnon Milchan Arnon Milchan (; December 6, 1944) is an Israeli billionaire businessman, film producer and former spy. He has been involved in over 130 full-length motion pictures and is the founder of production company Regency Enterprises. Regency's film cre ...

(born 1944) – Hollywood film producer *

Matan Naor Matan Naor (; born 3 November 1980) is an Israeli former basketball player. Professional career Naor grew up in Maccabi's Rehovot youth department . He started playing in Irony Ramat Gan's adult team in the Premier League in 2000. 2001 was a ...

(born 1980) – Professional basketball player *

Afik Nissim Afik Haim Nissim (; born 31 January 1981) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. Standing at , he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions.Currently, he serves as the founder and CEO of theWin Assist non-profit organi ...

(born 1981) – Professional basketball player *

Chaim L. Pekeris Chaim Leib Pekeris (; June 15, 1908 – February 24, 1993) was an Israeli-American physicist and mathematician. He made notable contributions to geophysics and the spectral theory of many-electron atoms, in particular the helium atom. He was also ...

(1908–1993) – Israeli-American physicist and mathematician * Talia Rahimi (born 1978) – Author *

Hadar Ratzon-Rotem Hadar Ratzon-Rotem () is an Israeli actress. Early life Hadar Ratzon was born in Jerusalem, Israel, to a family of Mizrahi Jewish (Yemenite-Jewish) descent. She grew up in Hod HaSharon, Israel. Ratzon graduated from Yoram Loewenstein Performin ...

(born 1978) – Actor *

(1924–1988) – Mayor of Rehovot from 1970 to 1979, born in Rehovot *

Sergey Richter Sergey Richter (; ; born 23 April 1989) is an Olympic sport shooter. Born in Ukraine, he represents Israel internationally. He shares the junior world record in the 10 metre air rifle, and was the 2009 ISSF World Cup champion. He competed on ...

(born 1989) – Olympic sport shooter *

Danny Robas Danny Robas (; born December 24, 1957) is an Israeli pop-rock singer and songwriter. Daniel (Danny) Robas was born in 1957 in Kibbutz Shoval and grew up in Rehovot. He completed his military service in the artillery corps at the rank of lieut ...

(born 1957) – Singer * Zdenka Samish (1904–2008) – Czech-Israeli food technology researcher, director of the Department of Food Technology at the

Agricultural research in Israel Agricultural research in Israel is based on close cooperation and interaction between scientists, consultants, farmers and agriculture-related industries. Israel's climate ranges from Mediterranean (Csa) to semi-arid and arid. Shortage of irrigatio ...

Yossi Sarid Yossi Sarid (‎; 24 October 1940 – 4 December 2015) was an Israeli politician and news commentator. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, Ratz and Meretz between 1974 and 2006. A former Minister of Education and Minist ...

(1940–2015) – Politician and news commentator *

Eliezer Sherbatov Eliezer "Elie" Alexeevich Sherbatov (; born 9 October 1991) is an Israeli-Canadian ice hockey player who plays for the Jonquière Marquis of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey, after having played for HC Mariupol of the Ukrainian Hockey Leagu ...

(born 1991) – Canadian-Israeli ice hockey player *

Idit Silman Idit Silman (; born 27 October 1980) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as the Minister of Environmental Protection. Silman previously served as a member of the Knesset for Likud from 2022 to 2023, for Yamina from 2021 to 2022, and f ...

(born 1980) – Member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

party, and Minister of Environmental Protection *

Asaf Sirkis Asaf Sirkis (; born 1969) is an Israeli jazz drummer, composer and educator. He is a member of the jazz rock band Soft Machine. Early life Sirkis spent his teens and early twenties in Rehovot, Israel where he began drum lessons aged 12. His ear ...

(born 1969) – Jazz drummer, composer, and educator *

Haim Steinbach Haim Steinbach (; born 1944 in Rehovot, Mandatory Palestine) is an Israeli-American artist, based in New York City. His work consists of arrangements of everyday objects, presented in “Displays” and shelves of his own making. Life and work Si ...

(born 1944) – Artist * David Tal (born 1950) – Former member of the

for

Kadima Kadima () was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan in August 2005, and was soon ...

party *

Israel Tal Israel Tal (; 13 September 1924 – 8 September 2010), also known as Talik (Hebrew: טליק), was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) general known for his knowledge of tank warfare and for leading the development of Israel's Merkava tank. Biography ...

(1924–2010) –

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 ...

general, designer of Israel's

Merkava tank The Merkava (, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which are the backbone of the IDF's Armored Corps. Current iterations of this tank are considered broadly equivalent to the capabilities of t ...

Amir Weintraub Amir Weintraub (; born 16 September 1986) is an Israeli professional tennis player. In 2010, he won the Israeli Tennis Championship. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 161 in May 2012. Career overview In August 2006 at th ...

(born 1986) – Professional tennis player *

(1874–1952) – First

of the State of Israel *

Gadi Yevarkan Desta "Gadi" Yevarkan (; born 1 January 1981) is an Israeli politician. He was elected to the Knesset for Likud in 2020, having previously served as a Knesset member for the Blue and White alliance between 2019 and 2020. Biography Yevarkan was ...

(born 1981) – Former member of the

for the

party *

Raz Yirmiya Raz Yirmiya (; born 1956) is an Israeli behavioral neuroscientist and director of the Laboratory for Psychoneuroimmunology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. He is best known for providing the first experimental evidence for the rol ...

(born 1956) – Behavioral neuroscientist *

S. Yizhar Yizhar Smilansky (; 27 September 1916 – 21 August 2006), known by his pen name S. Yizhar (), was an Israeli writer and politician. Widely regarded as one of the preeminent figures in Israeli literature, he was awarded the Israel Prize in 1959 f ...

(1916–2006) – Writer *

Ada Yonath Ada E. Yonath (, ; born 22 June 1939) is an Israeli crystallographer and Nobel laureate in Chemistry, best known for her pioneering work on the structure of ribosomes. She is the current director of the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for B ...

(born 1939) –

Crystallographer A crystallographer is a type of scientist who practices crystallography, in other words, who studies crystals. Career paths The work of crystallographers spans several academic disciplines, including the life sciences, chemistry, physics, and m ...

at the

and first Israeli woman

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winner

References

External links

City council website

at the

Jewish Virtual Library The Jewish Virtual Library (JVL, formerly known as JSOURCE) is an online encyclopedia published by the American foreign policy analyst Mitchell Bard's non-profit organization American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). It is a website cove ...

English language guide to Rehovot
* *https://www.rehovot.muni.il/rehovot-map/ {{Authority control 1890s establishments in Ottoman Syria Cities in Central District (Israel) Cities in Israel Jewish villages in the Ottoman Empire Populated places established in 1890 Tegart forts Yemeni-Jewish culture in Israel