Ramat Gan was established in 1921 as a moshava, a communal farming settlement. In 2022 it had a population of almost 200,000.
History
Ramat Gan in 1936
Ramat Gan was established by the Ir Ganim[2] association in 1921 as a satellite town of Tel Aviv. The first plots of land were purchased between 1914 and 1918.[3] It stood just south of the Arab village of Jarisha.[citation needed] The settlement was initially a moshava, a Zionist agricultural colony that grew wheat, barley and watermelons.[4] The name of the settlement was changed to Ramat Gan (lit: Garden Height) in 1923. The settlement continued to operate as a moshava until 1933, although it achieved local council status in 1926. At this time it had 450 residents. In the 1940s, Ramat Gan became a battleground in the country's language war: A Yiddish language printing press in Ramat Gan was blown up by Hebrew-language extremists.[5]
Ramat Gan in 1948
Over the years, the economy shifted from agriculture to commerce and industry. By 1946, the population had grown to 12,000.[3] In 1950, Ramat Gan was recognized as a city. The city's population was greatly boosted by an influx of Iraqi Jews into Israel during Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. So many Iraqi immigrants settled in Ramat Gan that it became known as "Little Baghdad."[6] In 1955, it had a population of 55,000. The first mayor was Avraham Krinitzi who remained in office for 43 years. In 1961, the municipal area of Ramat Gan expanded eastward, to encompass the area that includes the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and Bar Ilan University. In 1968, the world's largest diamond exchange opened in Ramat Gan.[3] The Sheba Medical Center and the Israel Diamond Exchange are located in Ramat Gan.
Ramat Gan experiences an average of 560 mm (22 in) of rainfall per year and is located, on average 80 m (260 ft) above sea level.[4] It is built on limestone hills.[7] Ramat Gan parks include The National Park (Park Leumi) which covers some 1,900 dunams, and David Park in the Merom Naveh neighborhood.[8] 25% of Ramat Gan is covered by public parkland.
Ramat Gan neighborhoods include: Shchunat Hageffen, City Center, Nachalat Ganim, Kiryat Krinitzi, Ramat Shikma, Ramat Yitzhak, Shchunat Rishonim, Tel Yehuda, Givat Geula, Neve Yehoshua, Kiryat Borochov, Merom Naveh, Ramat Amidar, Ramat Chen, Shikun Vatikim, Shchunat Hillel, Elite and Diamond Exchange District and Tel Binyamin.[3]
According to the 1931 census, Ramat Gan had 975 inhabitants, in 253 houses.[10]
As of 2006[update], Ramat Gan had 129,700 residents, in an area of 12,000 dunams (12 km2).[11] The population was growing at a rate of 1.0% per annum with 90% of this growth coming through natural increase.[11] The population density of the city is 9,822.6 per square kilometer, one of the highest in Israel.[9] In terms of the origin of Ramat Gan's residents, 42,900 originate from Europe and America, 10,200 from Africa, 29,200 from Asia, and 40,600 from Israel.[12] 86,200 of the residents of Ramat Gan were born in Israel, whilst 36,600 were born abroad.[12]
According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, as of 2001, Ramat Gan's socioeconomic ranking stood at 8 out of 10. 70.9% of twelfth grade students received a matriculation certificate in 2000. That year, the average wages in Ramat Gan were 6,995 NIS. As of 2006[update], 32,100 of the city's households had people who were not in the labour force, with 23,300 of these retired.[13] 1,900 of the households had unemployed household members.[13] 43,000 households were fully employed.[13] The largest sectors of jobs for those employed in Ramat Gan were business activities, which accounted for 18.1% of jobs; education (15.1%); wholesale and retail trade and repairs (14.2%); manufacturing (10.8%); and health, welfare, and social work services (10.0%).[14]
Ramat Gan is also an important center for industry and manufacturing with major fruit and vegetable canning plants, textile mills, metal production plants, electrical manufacturers, furniture makers, and food producers based there.[16] Currently, the Elite Tower, set to exceed the Moshe Aviv Tower in height, is being built on the site of the historic Elite Candy factory. As a tribute to the history of the site, the lower floors of the tower will house a chocolate museum.[17] At the end of 2006, Ramat Gan had three hotels, with a total of 408 rooms and 150,000 person-nights over the course of the year, which represented a 64% room occupancy rate.[18]
The Sheba Medical Center, located in southeastern Ramat Gan and Tel HaShomer, is Israel's largest hospital.[23] It includes the Safra Children's Hospital and Padeh Geriatric Rehabilitation Center. The city has 32 medical centers run by health authorities and 10 child-care clinics operated by the municipality.[24] The city is also served by Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, a Haredi hospital in nearby Bnei Brak.[25]
Cultural venues in Ramat Gan include the Ramat Gan Theater, the Diamond Theater and the Russell Cultural Center. The Beit Zvi School of Performing Arts is based in Ramat Gan. Ramat Gan operates two cinema complexes: the Lev-Elram Cinema and the "Yes Planet" megaplex. Ramat Gan also has a safari park. The 250-acre site consists of both a drive-through African safari area and a modern outdoor zoo.[27]
Museums
Beit Avraham Krinitzi, home of the first mayor, is now a museum of the history of Ramat Gan. Man and the Living World Museum is a natural history museum and the Maccabi Museum is a museum which focuses on the history of Jewish sports since 1898.[28] The Ramat Gan Safari, a 250-acre (1.0 km2) zoo housing 1,600 animals, is the largest animal collection in the Middle East.[8][dubious – discuss] Other museums in the city include the Museum of Israeli Art, Kiryat Omanut, which houses sculpture galleries and a ceramics studio, the Museum of Russian Art, the Museum of Jewish Art, and the Yehiel Nahari Museum of Far Eastern Art.[citation needed]
^Pilowsky, A: "Yiddish Alongside The Revival of Hebrew Public Polemics on the Status of Yiddish in Eretz Israel, 1907–1929", Readings in the Sociology of Jewish Languages, page 123. Joshua Fishman ed, Leiden – E.J. Brill, 1985.
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