Some notes on Herzliya

Last updated on: April 22, 2019 at 4:34 pm by Dan Peterson

Some notes on Herzliya 2019-04-22T16:34:05-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A public domain political map of Israel showing both Tel Aviv and Herzliya, from the Nations Online Project

For the first part of our second upcoming tour of Israel, starting in the latter part of May, the group will be staying for several nights in the city of Herzliya, on the country’s central Mediterranean coast. I’ve passed by and through Herzliya many times before, but have never actually stayed in it. So, in preparation for that stay, I thought that I would write up a few notes for my own use (and for possible oral sharing with members of the tour group) about the area.

Herzliya from the Mediterrean in 2010

Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph by Yehudit Garinkol (יהודית גרעין-כל)

Obviously named after Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), the father of modern Zionism — on whom, see the two recent Hamblin/Peterson Deseret News columns “Theodor Herzl, from integration to segregation” and “Theodor Herzl and the Jewish dream of return” — Herzliya is an especially affluent area at the northern end of the greater Tel Aviv district or area. A number of corporate headquarters are located within its boundaries, as are several foreign embassies. (Until President Trump moved the Embassy of the United States to Jerusalem, the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Israel was located in Herzliyya. I don’t know whether it has been moved yet — there was some delay — but, if it hasn’t been, it will be.)

Evening in the Herzliya marina (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

It’s notable that, given its current status as the distinctly urban home of one of the wealthiest, most entrepreneurial, and demographically oldest populations in the State of Israel, Herzliya was founded by a young and quite adventurous group of Zionist idealists in 1924 as a semi-cooperative farming community or moshav. (Tel Aviv itself had been established only in 1909, in rather analogous fashion, as a colonizing agricultural party that went out from the very ancient pre-Israelite city of Joppa, or Jaffa, or Yafo. Those involved in the founding of Herzliya included both sabras, or Jews who had been born in Palestine, and new immigrants, mostly from Europe. (A moshav differs from a kibbutz in that, while the latter is entirely cooperative and jointly-owned and, in a sense, rather socialistic, the moshav emphasizes cooperation, shared equipment, and major facilities but is made up of a collection of individually-owned and individually-cultivated farms.)

Herzliya today remains somewhat more relaxed than Tel Aviv proper. It has a very good beach, as well as one of Israel’s two golf courses, with nine holes. The other golf course is further north up the coast, a beautiful place near the ancient ruins of Caesarea Maritima.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 22, 2019

Some additional information on the "Witnesses" film effort

Next Post

April 22, 2019 William of Ockham and the Multiverse

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group emphasizes speaking in tongues as evidence of faith?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Pentecostals Catholics Methodists Presbyterians