Savyon () is an affluent

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the Central District of

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 ...

, bordering the cities of

Kiryat Ono Kiryat Ono () is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel. It is located east of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Modern Kiryat Ono is adjacent to the biblical Ono, which was located in what is now the area of Or Yehuda. The city also ...

and

Yehud Yehud may refer to: * Yehud, the Levantine province of the Neo-Babylonian Empire * Yehud Medinata, the Levantine province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire * Yehud, the modern-day Israeli city See also *Yahud (disambiguation) *Yehudi (disambiguatio ...

. Ranked 10/10 on the Israeli socio-economic scale, it is one of the wealthiest municipalities in Israel. In it had a population of .

History

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the area of Savyon belonged to the Nahiyeh (sub-district) of Lod that encompassed the area of the present-day city of

Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut 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 Highway 443. In the population was . The populati ...

in the south to the present-day city of El'ad in the north, and from the foothills in the east, through the Lod Valley to the outskirts 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 ...

in the west. This area was home to thousands of inhabitants in about 20 villages, who had at their disposal tens of thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land. Savyon was founded in 1955 by Africa Israel Investments for

elderly Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

South African Jewish immigrants. It was established on land that had formerly been the Palestinian town of Al-Abbasiyya, previously called ''Al-Yahudiya'' until the name was officially changed in 1932 because the inhabitants did not want the town to be associated with

Jews 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 ...

. In 1948,

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

had requested the destruction of Al-'Abbasiyya, among other Palestinian villages whose inhabitants fled or were expelled. Between 1948 and 1954 the Israeli sites of

, Magshimim, Ganne Yehuda, Ganne Tiqwa, and Savyon were established on the land of Al-'Abbasiyya. A number of South African Jews settled in Israel, forming a South African community in Savyon. Large houses were built in the style that the community was accustomed to from their life in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It took the Hebrew name of a common wildflower found in the Savyon region, the eastern groundsel. The shape of the wildflower was also used to model the territory of Savyon, thus causing their signature resemblance. Today, the flower is a signature of the town, being used in the logo of its governing council, Savyon Local Council. In 2003 the

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 ...

Ganei Yehuda was merged into Savyon.

Notable residents

Moshe Arens Moshe Arens (; 27 December 1925 – 7 January 2019) was an Israeli aeronautical engineer, researcher, diplomat, and Likud politician. A member of the Knesset between 1973 and 1992 and again from 1999 until 2003, he served as Minister of Defense ...

- defense and foreign minister * Aviv Bushinsky - businessman and journalist * Arye Carmon - co-founder of the Israeli Democracy Institute * Mikhail Chernoy - entrepreneur * Haim Cohen - chef * David D'Or - singer and composer * Maya Dunietz - recording artist * Shmuel Flatto-Sharon - businessman and politician * Jean Frydman - businessman * Dan Goldstein - founder of Formula Systems * Dan Margalit - journalist and television host * David Mor - businessman and politician * Dan Naveh - politician * Ofer Nimrodi - businessman and jurist * Yaakov Nimrodi - businessman and intelligence officer *

Yair Nitzani Yair Nitzani (; born August 22, 1958) is an Israeli musician, songwriter, TV host and comedian. Early life Yair Nitzani was born in Beersheba in 1958. He is of Italian-Jewish descent. After serving in the Israel Defense Forces as a broadcaster ...

- musician and comedian *

Gideon Patt Gideon Patt (; 22 February 1933 – 26 April 2020) was an Israeli politician who served in several ministerial positions between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Biography Born in Jerusalem during the Mandate era, Patt served in the Nahal brig ...

- politician * Al Schwimmer - engineer and businessman * Yair Shamir - politician, businessman, and military officer

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Local councils in Central District (Israel) Populated places established in 1951 1951 establishments in Israel South African-Jewish culture in Israel