Bordered by Kfar Saba and Hod HaSharon on the east and Herzliya on the southwest, it had a population of 80,260 in 2022.[1] While the majority of its residents are Israeli-born Jews, a large part of the population consists of Jewish immigrants from the Americas, Europe and South Africa.
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Before the 20th century, the location of Ra'anana formed part of the Forest of Sharon, a hallmark of the region's historical landscape. It was an open woodland dominated by Mount Tabor Oak (Quercus ithaburensis), which extended from Kfar Yona in the north to Ra’anana in the south. The local Arab inhabitants traditionally used the area for pasture, firewood and intermittent cultivation. The intensification of settlement and agriculture in the coastal plain during the 19th century led to deforestation and subsequent environmental degradation known from Hebrew sources.[5]
In 1912, the Company for Jewish Settlement in Israel formed the "Ahuza A – New York" group to purchase land in Palestine for agricultural settlement. World War I delayed their plans, but in 1921, it was decided to establish a settlement. On April 2, 1922, two wagons left the corner of Lilienblum and Herzl Streets in Tel Aviv carrying four "Ahuza" members, three laborers and two armed watchmen. After a five-hour journey, they unloaded their baggage at the place destined to become Ra'anana.
In its early days, the settlement was called "Ahuza A – New York." The Arabs of the region called it "Little America" as most of its residents were English speakers and came from New York.[citation needed] Later it was renamed "Ra'anania" and finally the founding settlers chose "Ra'anana" as its official name.
The settlement was built along a main street, Ahuza Street, and six other streets, three to the north of Ahuza Street and three to the south. Between 1925 and 1927, the Community House, which would house a variety of public institutions, including the secretariat, clinic, synagogue, meeting place for local committee meetings, assembly hall, culture room, school, kindergarten, and post office, was built.[6] According to a census conducted in 1931 by the British Mandate authorities, Ra'anana had a population of 615 inhabitants in 182 houses.[7]
In 1936, it was given local council status. By 1948, the year of Israel's formation, Ra'anana was a town of 3,000 residents. In April of that year, the Israeli military depopulated the nearby Palestinian Arab village of Tabsur.[8] The city expanded over its ruins.[9] This had grown to 5,900 in 1949.
By the late 1960s, Raanana had a population of 8,500 spanning an area of 15 square kilometres (6 sq mi).[10]
Raanana in 1935
Ra'anana 1942 1:20,000
Ra'anana 1945 1:250,000
Raanana 1947
Raanana in 1964
Ra’anana car-ramming attack
The Ra’anana car-ramming attack was an attack against civilians in Israel that occurred on 15 January 2024 in Ra'anana. The police arrested two Palestinian men from Bani Na'im in connection with carrying out the attack.[11][12]
The attack began when one of the perpetrators stabbed a woman and took possession of her car. They then began ramming pedestrians with the vehicle, eventually losing control and crashing. The perpetrators took control of another vehicle and continued the attack until finally being stopped.[13][14]
Aerial view of the western neighborhoods of Ra'anana
Ra'anana's population consists mainly of native-born Israelis, but about 22% of the city's residents are immigrants to Israel (Ra'anana is ranked second in immigrant absorption in Israel, after Netanya). It is home to a large number of immigrants from English-speaking countries, a significant number of immigrants from Latin America, mainly Argentina, and also absorbed large numbers of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. In recent years the number of French immigrants is also on the rise.[17][18]
Aerial view of Ra'anana
Though the majority of Ra'anana residents are secular, there is a sizeable religious community, mainly consisting of Modern Orthodox Jews, many of whom are immigrants from the US, UK, South Africa and France. The religious community generally lives on the north side and the secular community on the southern side. There are nearly 100 synagogues in Ra'anana, ranging from small minyanim to large edifices, and including a wide range of traditions, including Reform, Sefaradi, Ashkenazi, Yemenite, Afghani and Libyan synagogues. Many of these synagogues cater to specific immigrant groups. There is also a small Hasidic community of Clevelander Hasidim, led by the Clevelander Rebbe of Ra'anana, Rabbi Yitzchok Rosenbaum. The orthodox chief rabbi of the city is Rabbi Yitzhak Peretz.[19]
Ra'anana has an industrial zone in the north of the city, which is home to Renanim shopping mall and many high-tech companies, including Emblaze, Hewlett-Packard, NICE Systems, SAP, NCR Corporation (formerly Retalix), Comverse, Red Hat, Waze (prior to Google acquisition), Texas Instruments, Arm Holdings and ZoomInfo. In addition, Microsoft's head office in Israel and Amdocs are located in an office complex at the eastern edge of the city, close to Ra'anana Junction, where Highway 4 meets Ahuza Street, Ra'anana's main boulevard. Ahuza Street runs through the city from east to west and is lined with shops, restaurants and a cultural center.
Education
Ra'anana has 12 elementary schools, 10 middle schools and 8 high-schools.
Educational programs for gifted students start in the third grade. A program for the encouragement of girls to study technological subjects has been developed as well as a technology-focused leadership development and information management program, the first of its kind in Israel. The program, created in conjunction with "Ness Technologies", uses advanced technology as a catalyst for developing skills.
Ra'anana has developed supplementary education programs for the afternoon and evening hours, which meet the needs of thousands of children, aged 5–18. These programs foster creativity, promote social involvement and cultivate leadership skills. The supplementary education projects include over 20 "Batei Talmid" citywide extracurricular programs, an afternoon daycare program, and music, dance, art and science centers. Other programs include summer camps and summer activities, university for youth, dance troupes, the Children's Parliament, an acting school, a school for the performing arts, and gifted children programs, that serve as a model for many other cities.
Ra'anana Park is the largest urban park in the Sharon region. It offers walking and bike paths, sports fields, a zoo and children's petting corner and a lake in a clover shape reminiscent of Ra'anana's coat of arms. There are two fountains in the lake and pedestrians can cross over it on the bridge. The lake is surrounded by special gardens, including the Seven Species garden, and shaded walking paths. There is also a restaurant and a small art gallery. The Founders Museum presents the story of Ra'anana's original settlers, from the arrival of the Ahuza Alef-New York Association until Ra'anana achieved local council status in 1936.[20]
Ra'anana is home to the Loewenstein Hospital Rehabilitation Center. Loewenstein was established in 1958 and is the only rehabilitation hospital operated by Clalit Health Services, Israel's largest health care provider. Its current multi-floor building is situated in a large gardened area and accommodates 240 rehabilitative beds for short and long-term hospital care.
As a national rehabilitative center, patients are admitted from all parts of the country, all health funds, from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Health, and general hospitals and clinics, both from Israel and overseas.[21]
The Loewenstein campus also hosts other Clalit services such as a child development center and a clinic for alternative holistic treatments partially subsidized by Clalit's insurance plan.
^Kadman, Noga (2015). Erased from space and consciousness: Israel and the depopulated Palestinian villages of 1948. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 8–33, 182, 184. ISBN978-0-253-01670-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^"Stedenband Opsterland-Ra'anana" [City Connection Opsterland-Ra'anana]. Stedenbanden.nl. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Vanaf 1960 onderhoudt de gemeente Opsterland contacten met de gemeente Ra'anana. Deze contacten zijn in 1963 officieel vastgelegd in een 'vriendschapsverdrag'. In maart 2000 is een delegatie naar Ra'anana gereisd om te praten over een meer themagerichte invulling van het verdrag.
^Being the first to twin, a central street in the Ra'anana is named "Opsterland"
^"Poznań – Miasta partnerskie". 1998–2013 Urząd Miasta Poznania (in Polish). City of Poznań. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
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