Netanya - City of Israel

Netanya is a city in the Centre District of Israel and is the capital of the Sharon plain. It is located between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north. Its 14 kilometres of beaches have made the city a very popular tourist resort. Today the city houses a notably large population of English-speaking immigrants from the United Kingdom, USA, and Canada. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics . The city mayor is Miriam Feirberg. The city name has sometimes been spelled Nathania.

The idea to create the settlement of Netanya was drawn up at a meeting of the Bnei Binyamin association in Zikhron Ya'aqov.The location was decided upon near the ancient site of Poleg and it was decided for it to be named for the Jewish American philanthropist Nathan Straus who devoted much money to activities in Israel. In 1928, members of Bnei Binyamin and Hanote, an organisation set up after Strauss was informed of the establishment of the settlement, are said to have purchased 350 acres of Umm Khaled lands.There remains today, however, considerable controversy amongst Palestinian and Israeli interpretation about whether land was sold during the British Mandate.

Netanya was also very prevalent in the run up to Israeli Independence. On July 11, 1947, two British intelligence sergeants were kidnapped by the Etzel, later being hanged in a eucalyptus grove near the village of Even Yehuda, 4 kilometres from Netanya, in response to the hanging of three members of Etzel.Later that year, on November 30, 1947 an Egged bus which left Netanya for Jerusalem was attacked in Petah Tikvah. In 1948, following the withdrawal of British forces from Netanya and the Israeli War of Independence, a large military base was established in the city. When fighting calmed down, Netanya was designated, on December 3, 1948 a city, the first city to be designated in the newly established State of Israel.

As a tourist destination and large city, Netanya features a number of museums and galleries. The Well House is a museum telling the early history of Netanya located in a farm established in 1928, and as such one of the earliest buildings in Netanya. Also in the city are the Tribes of Israel Pearl museum of Yemenite Jewish Heritage, the Shlomo Dror Art Institute, and the Diamimon diamond museum.Furthermore, the Cliff Gallery, Gosher Gallery, Abecassis Gallery and Fourth Gallery are all located in the city.

In terms of higher education, Netanya has a private higher education institution, Netanya Academic College, which offers Bachelor's and Master's degrees in several subjects as well as the Ort Hermelin College of Engineering, the Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Lesley College, and The Tesler School for Nursing. Furthermore, the Wingate Institute, Israel's National Centre for Physical Education and Sport, is located just south of the city.