Holon

32°01′N 34°46′E / 32.017°N 34.767°E / 32.017; 34.767

Holon (Hebrew: חולון, pronounced [χoˈlon] ^ⓘ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. In 2023, it had a population of 192,980, making it the tenth most populous city in Israel. Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa.

The name of the city comes from the Hebrew word חוֹלוֹן‎ holon, meaning "(little) sand". The name Holon also appears in the Bible: "And Holon with its suburbs, and Debir with its suburbs" (Book of Joshua 21:15).

Holon was founded in 1935 on sand dunes six kilometers (3.7 miles) from Tel Aviv. The Łódzia textile factory was established there by Jewish immigrants from Łódź, Poland, along with many other industrial enterprises. In February 1936, the cornerstone was laid for Kiryat Avoda, a Modernist building complex designed by architect Joseph Neufeld to solve the shortage of housing for municipal workers.

In the early months of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Holon was on the front line, with constant shooting taking place on the border with the village of Tel al-Rish to its northwest—a suburb of Arab Jaffa—and clashes also in the direction of the town of Yazur to the east. An attack by the Holon-based Haganah militia units on Tel A-Rish was repulsed with considerable losses.

After the establishment of the state, Holon expanded to include Tel A-Rish (renamed Tel Giborim, "The Mound of the Heroes") and the orange groves of Yazur.

In February 2001, a Palestinian attack at a crowded bus stop in Holon killed eight Israelis and injured twenty-five. The image of Holon as a working-class dormitory community has changed over the years.

Through municipal efforts, the city has been rebranded as a child-friendly city. It offers family attractions such as the Yamit Water Park, the Israeli Children's Museum, and the Israel Museum of Caricature and Comics.