Wednesday, April 9, 2008

35 - Hadera, Israel

Halfway between Haifa and Tel Aviv. Wiki:

Hadera was founded in 1891, at the dawn of modern Zionism by Eastern European immigrants who were members of the Zionist group Hovevei Zion on land purchased by Yehoshua Hankin, who was known as the Redeemer of the Valley. The land was purchased from Christian effendi Selim Khuri. The purchase of the land was the largest so far in Palestine by Zionist groups, although was of low quality, with most of it being swampland. Before its purchase, the land had hardly any residents apart from a few families belonging to small tribes who were mainly shepherds raising water buffaloes and selling reeds. The town derives its name from the Arabic word khadra, meaning "green" in reference to the wild weeds which covered the marshes on which the town is built.[1] The initial settlers lived in a house known as the Khan which is next to the main synagogue of the city.

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