Herzliya Hebrew High School

The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium ( he, הַגִּימְנַסְיָה הָעִבְרִית הֶרְצְלִיָּה, ''HaGymnasia HaIvrit Herzliya'', Also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High School) is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel.

History

The original building

Gymnasia Herzliya was the country's first Hebrew high school. Founded in 1905 in Jaffa, considered part of the Ottoman Empire in those days, the cornerstone-laying for the school's new building on Herzl Street in the Ahuzat Bayit neighborhood (the nucleus of future Tel Aviv) took place on July 28, 1909. The building was designed by Joseph Barsky, inspired by descriptions of Solomon's Temple.Sergey R. Kravtsov, "Reconstruction of the Temple by Charles Chipiez and Its Application in Architecture," ''Ars Judaica'', Vol. 4, 2008

The building on Herzl Street was a major Tel Aviv landmark until 1962, when the site was razed for the construction of Shalom Meir Tower. The new tower was the tallest building in Israel those days, representing a significant architectural achievement.

The destruction of the Hebrew High School building sparked widespread recognition of the importance of conserving historical landmarks. The Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel was founded in the 1980s partly in response to the fate of Herzliya Hebrew High School.

The current building

Located today on Jabotinsky Street, it serves as a six-year secondary school. The modern campus is entered through a gate that is a replica of the facade of the 1909 building.

Principals

Former principals include Haim Bograshov, Baruch Ben Yehuda and Carmi Yogev. In 1992, former Air Force fighter pilot and Brigadier General Ron Huldai was appointed principal. He implemented many changes and modernizations later adopted by other schools. After leaving the school, he was elected mayor of Tel Aviv. The current principal is Ze'ev Dgannie.

Notable faculty

* Yosef Haim Brenner, writer
* Zvi Nishri, physical education pioneer
* Shaul Tchernichovsky, poet

Notable alumni

* Netiva Ben-Yehuda (1928–2011), Palmach commander, Hebrew scholar, and author
* Miriam Bernstein-Cohen (1895–1991), actress
* Aron Brand, pediatric cardiologist
* Yitzhak Danziger (1916–1977), sculptor
* Kosso Eloul (1920–1995), sculptor
* Nachum Gutman, (1898–1980), painter, sculptor, and author
* Ron Huldai, mayor of Tel Aviv since 1998 (as of June 2022)
* Yaron London, (1940–), media personality, journalist, actor, and songwriter
* Moshe Many, urologist; President of Tel Aviv University, and President of Ashkelon Academic College.
* Aharon Megged, (1920–2016), writer
* Moshe Menuhin, (1893–1983), author
* Yuval Neeman, (1925–2006), physicist
* Elyakum Ostashinski, first mayor of Rishon LeZion
* Moshe Sharett (1894–1965), second Prime Minister of Israel (1954–55)
* Avraham Shlonsky (1900–73), poet
* Giora Spiegel (born 1947), soccer player and coach
* Avigdor Stematsky (1908–89), painter
* Yemima Tchernovitz-Avidar (1909–98), author
* Yair Lapid, (1963–) prime minister of Israel, journalist, author, and politician; former Israeli Minister of Finance and chairman of the Yesh Atid Party
* Amos Luzzatto, (1928–), physicist
* Shemuel Yeivin (1896–1982), archaeologist

References

External links

School website (in Hebrew)

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High schools in Israel
Educational institutions established in 1905
Buildings designed to replicate Solomon's Temple
1905 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Jews and Judaism in Tel Aviv
Schools in Tel Aviv