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Neve Sha'anan ( he, נווה שאנן, eng. "Peaceful Abode") is a neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Israel, founded in 1923.


History

Neve Sha'anan takes its name from a verse in the
Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC ...
: "Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode" (Isaiah 33:20). The neighborhood was established as a mixed residential and commercial zone north of
Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
. Today the main street, Neve Sha'anan Street, is a pedestrian mall. Many foreign workers live in Neve Sha'anan. In 1999, nearly 70 percent of the population was made up of refugees and migrants. Levinsky Street is named after Elhanan Leib Lewinsky, a member of the
Bilu Bilu may refer to: People * Bilú (footballer, 1900-1965), Virgílio Pinto de Oliveira, Brazilian football manager and former centre-back * Asher Bilu (born 1936), Australian artist * Bilú (footballer, born 1974), Luciano Lopes de Souza, Brazi ...
Zionist movement in the Russian Empire, who travelled to
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
in the early 1880s. In 1896, he was appointed manager of the southern and western Russian branches of the Carmel company, marketing wine produced in Palestine. Levinsky Park has become the social hub of the neighborhood. The Levinsky market, which extends into numerous side streets, is a colorful market brimming with spices, herbs, and teas founded by Jews from
Thessalonica, Greece Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. The Greek Jews were followed by an influx of Iranian Jews and immigrants from other countries where herbal remedies and spicy foods are common. The neighborhood was the site of a number of terrorist attacks. In July 2002, two Palestinian suicide bombers set off two explosions in rapid succession along a shopping strip in Neve Shaanan. Two of the three victims of the attack were immigrant laborers, who also made up a large portion of the 40 injured. In January 2003, 23 people—15 Israelis and 8 foreign nationals—were killed, and 120 wounded when two Palestinian suicide bombers blew themselves up on the pedestrian mall adjacent to the old central bus station. The mall was packed with shoppers and laborers returning home from work. In April 2006, during the Passover holiday, a Hamas suicide bomber blew himself up at the Rosh Ha'ir shwarma restaurant in Neve Sha'anan, killing 11 people and wounding 50.


Landmarks


Bus stations

The Tel Aviv Central Bus Station is located in Neve Sha'anan. The original Central Bus Station, in the heart of the neighborhood, was built in the 1940s.


Levinsky Garden Library

Located in Levinsky Park, the Garden Library consists of two open-air bookshelves (one for adults and one for children). The library services the whole community, but was originally designed with the refugee and migrant population in mind. The library was established in 2009 by the non-governmental organization ARTEAM. In addition to the free books, the library space also offers after school programs for children, art classes and workshops, and language lessons The library offers approximately 3,500 books in 16 different languages. It is located at 98 Lewinsky St. (corner of Lewinsky & Har Zion). The bookshelves are illuminated for easier browsing at night.


Notable residents

* Hanoch Levin (1943–99), dramatist, theater director, author and poet * Shulamit Aloni


See also

* Neighborhoods of Tel Aviv


References

{{Authority control Ethnic enclaves in Israel Greek-Jewish culture in Israel History of Tel Aviv Iranian-Jewish culture in Israel Neighborhoods of Tel Aviv