Tel Aviv–Yafo

Tel Aviv was founded by Jews. In 1908, 5 hectares of sand dunes were bought northeast of Jaffa, on which the Ahuzat Bayit housing estate was built. On 11 April 1909, a second housing estate was established the Nahalat Binyamin. During the year were also built the main streets as well as water supply network and 66 houses. The official name for the new Tel Aviv housing estate was adopted on 21 May 1910.

The city was developing very fast, occupying more and more extensive areas stretching along the sea coast. In 1914 Tel Aviv already occupied over 100 hectares, on which there were several new housing estates. The successful development was interrupted in April 1917, when during the First World War the Turkish authorities expelled Jews from Jaffa. Then the British army entered the war, broke the Turks and occupied the entire province. In 1920 they created the British Palestine Mandate. On 1 May 1921, riots took place in Jaffa. Many Jews due the growing political friction between the Arabs moved to Tel Aviv, whose population had increased from 2 thousand in 1920 to 34 thousand in 1925. In 1934 “Spring Hill” received city rights. The following years brought intensive population growth mainly due the escape of Jews from Europe after the Nazis came to power in Germany. Arab riots in 1936-1939 in Palestine led to the construction in 1938 of new seaport and airport in Tel Aviv.

Right before announcing on 14 May 1948 the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel, the city’s population reached 200 thousand residents. In April 1949, the old port city of Jaffa was attached to Tel Aviv, creating one urban organism. In 1960, part of the old town buildings were demolished and the first skyscrapers in Israel were built. Among them was the Shalom Meir Tower (34 floors, 142 meters high). It remained Israel’s tallest building until 1999, when the Azrieli Center Circular Tower took over (49 floors, 187 meters high).

Tel Aviv has a lot to offer to art lovers. Eighteen of the top 35 Israeli cultural centers are located in Tel Aviv, including five out of nine large theaters. 55% of all performances in the country take place here. The most important theater is the Habima Israeli National Theater, which was founded in 1918 in Moscow and in 1931 moved to Tel Aviv.
Other theaters operating in the city are: Cameri Theater, Beit Lessin Theater (plays classics and drama), Gesher Theater (bilingual repertoire in Hebrew and Russian), Hasimta in Jaffa, Yiddish Theater, Puppet Theater at the Jarkon Park and the Orna Porat State Children’s and Youth Theater.

The most known cultural institutions are: Israeli Symphony Orchestra – one of the most eminent in the world, Art Museum – having in their collection the works of Renoir, Monet or Picasso, Israeli Opera – enjoying world-wide recognition. In Tel Aviv there are tree largest Israeli museums (Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the Jewish Diaspora Museum), which are visited by over million guests every year. The last-mentioned museum deserve for a special distinction. The exhibition devoted to Jewish Łódź is displayed there as well as numerous galleries and periodic artistic exhibitions, satisfy even the most demanding tastes. In numerous city cinemas one can watch premieres of Israeli and international films.

Tel Aviv hosts several films festivals, including Festival of Animation, Comedians and Caricatures, Student Film Festival or Film and Video Festival. In addition, the city maintains a network of community centers, with 24 choirs, 12 orchestras and 14 dance groups. Apart from the features of a modern city, in Tel Aviv one can find places with a typical oriental atmosphere. They include the exotic Carmel bazaar with a large variety of offered goods. However the most oriental character has the port city of Jaffa, on of the oldest in Palestine. A maze of narrow, winding, quiet streets with numerous restaurants and charming cafes with art galleries whose exhibitions are display outside, creates a unique atmosphere, making Jaffa a district of artists and art connoisseurs, and located nearby “flea market” adds specific charm to old Jaffa.

There are 24 libraries in the city. The main city library in the Shaaz Zion Library which was founded in 1922 in Jaffa and in 1977 it was moved to the new building at Beit Ariel. The library has a wide selection of books in different languages (Hebrew, English, French, German and others), also includes archived newspapers, comics, magazines and photographs. In addition to standard library services (borrowing books, conversations, children’s programs), Beit Ariela also organizes lectures, cultural events, exhibitions and workshops. Workshops and courses taking place in the cultural center of Beit Ariela present a wide range of attractive topics. The lectures are given by the best writers, scientists, researchers, journalists and cultural experts in the country. In addition, Beit Ariela organizes activities encouraging reading and writing among children and young people.

The University of Tel Aviv, which is gaining reputation, is the largest university in Israel. It has 9 faculties: art (it includes an architecture school), engineering, exact sciences (it includes the Astronomical Observatory at Mitzpe Ramon), humanities, law, nature, management, medicine and social sciences. The University was founded in 1956, when the Tel Aviv School of Law and Economic merged with the Institute of Natural Science and the Institute of Jewish Studies.

In 1963, a new university campus was built in the Ramat Aviv district, in the north of Tel Aviv. The city also focused on the education of people with disabilities. Nearly 16 special schools meet the needs of all important groups in the city. There are schools for children with cerebral palsy, for autistic children and adults, for the deaf people and for people with learning disabilities. In addition there are special classes for blind and tree schools for misbehaving children and youth. The city also provides care for pre-school children in treatment centers. It offers diagnoses and educational procedures such as preparation for first class, psychotherapy by licensed physiologists.

In November 2019 as a part of visit to Jerusalem, Ms. Hanna Zdanowska, the Mayor of Łódź paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and laid flowers at the Yad Vashem Institute. In addition, Ms. Zdanowska met with Mr. Zeev Baran, Consul of the Republic of Poland in Jerusalem, regarding the promotion of Łódź and Poland in Jerusalem and joint projects with the Organization of Former Residents of Łódź in Israel.

On 25 November, annual celebrations organized by the Organization of Former residents of  Łódź in Tel Aviv took place. Mayor Hanna Zdanowska met with the survivors of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, among others with Jehuda Widawski, Lolek Grynfeld and their families. During the ceremony, the participants were given the jubilee edition of the City of Łódź Chronicle, published on the occasion of the 75^th anniversary of the Liquidation of Litzmannstadt Ghetto. The chronicle contains information about the history and restoring memory of the events of the liquidation of Litzmannstadt Ghetto, it also contains a series of stories about the inhabitants of Łódź, diaries of Rywka Lipszyc or initiatives taken by the City of Łódź as part of cultivating memory.

Within the framework of the visit to Tel Aviv, meeting with Mr. Ron Huldai, the Mayor of Tel Aviv and representatives of the Tel Aviv City Hall and Israeli companies responsible for the construction of the Tel Aviv metro was organized. Representatives of the City of Tel Aviv declared content-based support in the construction of the underground connection between Łódź railway stations. Mayor Huldai also presented the green strategy adopted by the city of Tel Aviv and assured his willingness to cooperate within the framework of EXPO 2024 – Nature of the City, organized in Łódź.

During this visit, a series of economic meetings were also held, during which the economic and investment profile of Łódź, along with possibilities of economic cooperation were presented. Many companies were also interested in the revitalization process of tenement houses and post –industrial facilities in Łódź.

Further companies presented innovative solutions used in cities, for example: solution for smart taxes or clean air it the city. In addition, meetings were held with the IT and R&D industry regarding cooperation between Łódź and Israel startups and the life science industry.

From 17 to 20 September 2019 we promoted the economic, academic and cultural potential of Łódź in Israel. Over a dozen representatives of Łódź universities, business, municipal cultural institutions and Łódź City Hall visited Tel Aviv. The City of Łódź was a partner of the conference on woman’s entrepreneurship entitled HOW WOMEN DO BUSINESS IN POLAND AND ISRAEL...AND WHY THEY ROCK!, organized on 19 September at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation by the Polish Embassy in Tel Aviv. About 300 people, representing companies, business intermediary organizations, media and cultural institutions from Poland and Israel took part in the conference.

There were also Łódź accents at the conference. Professor Agnieszka Kurczewska, representing the University of Łódź, took part in a panel on the role of women in science. During the conference, we presented an exhibition of graduates of the Jewelry Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. The collection consisted of about 50 works.

Two Łodź IT start-ups took part in the mission to Israel: Exaco and Superhot. Their representatives participated in numerous business meetings with IT companies, which took place during the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival 2019.In parallel took place meetings between representatives of academic institutions. Professor Agnieszka Kurczewska from the University of Łódź, met with Professor Raanan Rein - Vice President of The University of Tel Aviv. During the meeting, the possibilities of cooperation with the University of Łódź in the area of student exchange and implementation of joint research and development projects were discussed. During the meeting with Yonatan Touval, Director of Development and International Cooperation at Coller School of Management of the University of Tel Aviv, representatives of the university exchanged experiences in the field of acquiring and accelerating student startups. The representatives of the Academy of Fine Arts met with the authorities of the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv. The possibilities of organizing joint exhibitions and academic exchange with Shenkar College of Engineering and Design were discussed.

The culmination of stay in Israel, was the presentation of Łódź film output, particularly the animation of a student of the Łódź Film School. Screening of the animation film the Grandfather by Marcjanna Urbańska, took place during the ceremonial reception at the residence of Mr. Marek Magierowski, Polish Ambassador in Tel Aviv.

From 27 to 30 August, we hosted Tel Aviv delegation in Łódź, headed by the Deputy Mayor Ofira Yochanan - Wolk, accompanied by the Chairman of the city council Mr. Leor Shapira. The Mayor Hanna Zdanowska met with the representatives of the sister city. Topics such as education, problems related to the construction of the underground railway were discussed.

The Polish inauguration of the 25^th anniversary of partnership took place on 28 August. Festive evening “Tel Aviv – the city that never sleeps” took place in the premises of the revitalized factory complex Piotrkowska 217, where the investor is the Israeli company OKAM. After that the delegation took part in the concert entitled “Tehorah” preformed by the Luxembourg artist Adrienne Haan, with the accompaniment of Benjamin Schaefer. The event  took place at the Nowy Theater.

On 29August 2019 (Thursday) the main celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto took place. Guests from Tel Aviv participated in ceremonies at the Jewish Cemetery and at the Radegast Station.

We kindly invite to participate in the opening of the “Intervals” exhibition, which will take place on 29 August 2019 at 7 pm in Galeria Wschodnia.

The exhibition is the result of a research process that took place during the artistic residency in Łódź and Galeria Wschodnia. It shows to what extent art is able to express an idea, which transmits through the medium, what is the place – a space saturated with history and identity in the anthropological sense of the word. The counterbalance space is free from these hidden relationships and works independently of all the places that make it up. On this basis, the artistic medium used in the exhibition functions as a space for passage, implying a study of its existence beyond the form imagined at the exhibition. The title ranges and the concept of the exhibition assume the exhibition facing the place in various ways, leading to multivariate, possible worlds, bringing closer individual experience of space, depending on the imagination of recipient. The definition of the place of passage is hidden in the original meaning of the word space, which is the time between two places. The existential place of passage is a work of creation and depends only on human though. The places of passage presented during this exhibition place landmarks in space in the form of a varied color, light or body of the person interacting with the work.

Delegation of Łódź to Israel was headed by Ms. Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of the City of Łódź. Economic mission to Israel (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem) gathered Polish companies from IT sector  as well as representatives of the Łódź Airport and the Łódź Tourist Organization. Participation in Our Crowd Global Investors Summit in Jerusalem. It was great occasion for economic promotion of Łódź and companies operating in the region and for establishing direct economic contacts with partners from Israel. Networking with consulting companies and potential investors took place.

The trip was carried out as part of the project "Economic internationalization of enterprises from the Łódź region through dedicated promotional activities and territorial economic marketing", co-financed from EU funds.

Mayor Hanna Zdanowska and Deputy Mayor Krzysztof Piątkowski took part in the Ecumenical Pilgrimage to Holy Land.

Prayers for the deceased who died in the Ghetto and extermination camps and the successive March of Remembrance from the Jewish Cemetery to the Radegast Station began the celebrations of the 73^rd anniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto and the 75^th anniversary of the General Curfew – the extermination of Jewish children.

The celebrations at the Radegast Station began with a performance of the Polish National Anthem sung by the Children’s Choir of the City of Łódź. Next, the gathered people listened to commemorative speeches. “We silently bow our heads as a tribute to the murdered people when we speak about their fate in order to prevent similar genocidal designs from repeating. (...) the obligation to guard the truth about what happened under German occupation rests upon our nation”, wrote the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, in the letter read out during the ceremony.

Leon Weintraub, one of the Survivors, recognised the contribution of the City of Łódź to the process of nurturing the memory of the tragic fate of the Jewish population of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto and, at the same time, appealed for retaining the memory about the Holocaust. 
This year’s celebrations were topped out with the opening of the exhibition “Our childhood was taken away from us 1939–1945” in the Museum of Independence Traditions in Łódź.

Like every year, the celebrations began with remembering the victims at the Jewish Cemetery in Bracka Street in Łódź. Later, the participants went in the March of Remembrance to the Radegast Station. There, as tradition required, the formal proceedings took place.
“This special moment of sorrow and immersion in reflection over suffering puts a stop to all discussions and intellectual divagations, because it is a moment created to enable meeting and conversation with God, to ask the Creator a question about the sense of all of this”, declared Dawid Szychowski, Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Łódź.
“It is a tribute to hundreds of thousands of people murdered in the past, and, at the same time, a warning for future generations”, said the Vice-President of Łódź, Krzysztof Piątkowski, at the Radegast Station.

“We were, we are, we will be...”, said Leon Weintraub, one of the Survivors, who also appealed for remembrance, peace and tolerance. After the formal part of the celebrations, concert “Shalom in the Survivors’ Park” took place in the Dialogue Center. Songs from the Ghetto as well as poetic texts of Abramek Koplowicz and Abramek Cytryn were performed by the Children’s Choir of the Grand Theatre in Łódź and students from the Primary School no. 33 in Łódź. The programme included also pieces presenting the four cultures of the City: Polish, Jewish, German and Russian.

Like every year, people prayed at the Jewish Cemetery in Bracka Street for those who died in the Ghetto and extermination camps. Jehuda Widawski, one of the Survivors, recited a kaddish. Prayers were also said by the Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski and Lutheran Bishop Jan Cieślar.
“We are equal here in the face of the victims of that crime that we cannot forget”, said Symcha Keller, the Head of the Jewish Religious Community in Łódź.  Representatives of the Survivors, authorities of the Republic of Poland and the City, led by the President of Łódź, deposited flowers under the monument dedicated to the victims of the Ghetto.

Apart from the representatives of City authorities, the Survivors, their families and the residents of Łódź who did not forget those tragic events took part in the March of Remembrance to the Radegast Station.

“Memory is not only a tribute but also an admonition for the future generations. (...) The Survivors are with us today. Łódź remembers your cause”, said the President of the City of Łódź, Hanna Zdanowska. In his letter, the President of the Republic of Poland wrote, among other things, “I take off my hat to the witnesses of history and together with them I pay tribute to those who were murdered here”.

As the Secretary of State of the Republic of Poland, Władysław Bartoszewski, reminded us, “We have a moral imperative to constantly and consistently resist discrimination”. In turn, the Ambassador of Israel to Poland, Zvi Rav-Ner, appealed to the gathered crowds to remember the misfortunes of war and not to let history repeat itself.

In the Survivors’ Park, the Brave Old World band performed their repertoire entitled “Songs from the Lodz Ghetto”. Next day, in that very same place, more trees of remembrance – symbols of life and tribute to the ones who survived the nightmares of the Ghetto – were planted. The Four Cultures Quartet played in the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonics, supported by the local string orchestra and choir. In turn, in the Synagogue at 28 Rewolucji 1905 r., two cantors gave their performances – Yaacov Motzen and Israel Rand. On 30 and 31 August 2014, church services were held for the intention of the people murdered in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto.

Among the events accompanying the 70^th anniversary of the liquidation of the Łódź Ghetto, we could find: vernissage of the exhibition “Saved from destruction – albums from the Łódź Ghetto” at the Gallery 87 (87 Piotrkowska Street), presentation of Maciej Świerkocki and Mariusz Sołtysik’s graphic novel “Nation of Perdition” in the Dialogue Center, film project “The hell of the promised land”, during which over 20 motion pictures dedicated to the Łódź Ghetto were presented, exhibition “Litzmannstadt Ghetto 1940–1944”, and an open-air show “They took us all, old men as well as infants...” at the Radegast Station, exposition “Ghetto in the 21^st century” in Monopolis and exhibition “Pearls from the Ghetto. Artistic creation in the face of tragedy” in the Museum of the City of Łódź. 

Celebrations of the 69^th Anniversary of the Liquidation of Litzmannstadt Ghetto, organized by the Marek Edelman Dialogue Center in Łódź took place. Within the framework of the Anniversary celebrations were held at the Jewish cemetery and at Radegast station in Łódź. In the Łódź seat of the Jewish community, the titles of Righteous Among the Nations were handed in.

The theme of the 69^th Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto was the Alte Szil synagogue.

In September celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Wielka Szpera and 68^th Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, organized by Marek Edelman, Dialogue Center in Łódź took place. As part of the celebrations were held at the Jewish cemetery and at Radegast station in Łódź and giving trees to the survivors of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto and handing out Survivos Park certificates. In addition, a Memorial March was held at the Radegast station.

On 12 October Łódź a two-day conference entitled “Culture and Tourism – A Common Way” has begun. This is the fifth meeting of experts in the field of current trends in cultural tourism in our city. The Institute of Geography and Tourism of the University of Łódź made its debut as a conference partner. The aim of the conference is to promote the natural and cultural heritage of the country on the example of the selected cultural routes. The program of the event also included European routes including Romanesque, Amber, Via Regia routes as well as regional routes: Lesser Poland Oscypki Trail, Technical Monuments Trail, Podlasie Stork Trail, Lubuski Wine and Honey Trail or the Łódź Fairytale Trail and a visionary project - The trail of modernist art named after Katarzyna Kobro and Władysław Strzemiński, walking in the footsteps of the Łódź avant-garde.

The Mayor of the City of Łódź, Ms. Hanna Zdanowska, along with the Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship, Witold Stępień, Ms. Joanna Podolska, Director of the Dialogue Center and representatives of universities from Łódź participated in the visit to Tel Aviv.

The Łódź delegation met with Mr. Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv. During the meeting cooperation between partner cities and plans for the coming years were discussed. The main topic of the talks was  the construction of the Dialogue Center with an interactive training center, in which the history of Łódź as well as history of Łódź Jews and the Holocaust will be presented.

The Mayor also met with Mr. Mordehaj Zisser, a businessman from Israel who co-finances the construction of the Dialogue Center in the Survivors Park, to discuss the details of the center construction.

Meetings at the University of Tel Aviv also took place. Talks with the rector concerned mainly on the biotechnology specialization, university research units and the hi-tech sector.

An integral part of the visit was also the annual solemn meeting with the Organization of Former Residents of Łódź in Israel.

Participation of the Vice Mayor of the City of Łódź, Mr. Łukasz Magin, at the annual meeting of the Organization of Former Residents of Łódź in Israel at the invitation of the Chairman of the Organization, Mr. Zvi Bergman. During the meeting the Vice Mayor met, among others with the survivors and their families, as well as with representatives of the City of Tel Aviv and representatives of the Government of Israel. This visit also included, a meeting with the Massuah Institute authorities, Institute of Holocaust Studies, during which the vision of future cooperation and exchange of experiences between the Institute and the Dialogue Center being built in Łódź were discussed.

The delegation from Tel Aviv participated in the celebrations of the 66th anniversary of the Liquidation of Litzmannstadt Ghetto.

Visit of the Mayor of the City of Łódź, Mr. Tomasz Sadzyński at the invitation of the Organization of Former Residents of Łódź in Israel and Mr. Mordechai Zisser, the co-founder of the Dialogue Center. During the meetings the construction process of the Center was discussed, which will be an interactive training center, and will present the history of the City of Łódź, the history of Łódź Jews and the Holocaust.

65th Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto in Łódź. A lot of distinguished guests came to the ceremony, from the country and abroad, including the president of Republic of Poland Lech Kaczyński and the Mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai. The celebrations were held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Kaczyński. President of Isreael Szymon Peres and Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed to be in the Honorary Committee.  

The main ceremonies took place at the Jewish cemetery, where prayers were said among others Kaddish as well as plaques commemorating Jews deported by the Germans to the Litzmannstadt Ghetto from Leer and Eden were unveiled, then a memorial ceremony at the Radegast Station Memorial and a March of Remembrance to the Survivors' Park where the main celebrations commemorating the liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto took place.During the ceremony in the Survivors Park Monument to Poles Saving Jews during World War II was unveiled, The President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczyński, awarded the Polish Righteous Among the Nations.

 A final chord at the end of the celebration was the Gala Concert at the Grand Theater in Łódź, at which Krzysztof Penderecki presented his compositions specially written for the 65th Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto: "Kaddish, dedicated to Abrahams of Łódź who wanted to live, to Poles who saved Jews", and the spectacular "Seven Gates of Jerusalem".  

The programme of the ceremony also included: exhibitions "Extermination of Jewish towns", "Ghetto. Terra Incognita. Fighting art of Ari Ben Menachem and Mendel Grosman, screening of documentary and feature films about the fate of Jews in Poland during the Second World War, unveiling of the Żegota obelisk in the Survivors Park commemoration of the Roma sub-camp, scientific conference “Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile and Government Delegation for Poland in the face of the extermination of Jews”.

Youth from Tel Aviv participated in the 1^st Youth Festival of Partner Cities in Łódź. The project is implemented by the Independent Students Association of the Łódź Region and the City of Łódź Office. The event was attended by young people from: Tel Aviv, Murcia, Barreiro, Rustavi, Tampere, Lyon and Minsk. The main goal of the Festival is to co-create alternative techniques and methods of action in non-formal education, learning about sister cities cultures, uniting young people, eliminating divisions. During the festival, the Łódź group encouraged our friends from partner cities to promote Łódź, as the best candidate for the European Capital of Culture 2016 title and encouraged deeper cooperation between our communities. Within the framework of the festival, among others: meeting with the Mayor of the City of Łódź and the Fair of Cultures took place – including a photo gallery, presentation of national dances, games and competitions for the public.

The purpose of the fair was to bring the cultures of our partner cities closer, and showing our national culture through traditional Polish dishes, national dances, the history of the city of Łódź and good international fun, uniting the youth of the partner cities. Guests also participated in a trip to the most interesting corners of Łódź.

Participation of Mayor of Łódź, Mr. Jerzy Kropiwnicki in the celebrations of the and the Conference of Mayors of partner cities. During the conference of partner cities, the Mayor of Łódź showed a presentation on sustainable development of Łódź. As part of preparations for the 65th Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto by the Germans in Łódź, a delegation from our city met with representatives of business, diplomacy and the Organization of Former Residents of Łódź in Israel. The Mayor also met with Szymon Peres, the President of Israel, whom he invited to Łódź to celebrate the anniversary of the liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto.

With the participation of representatives from Israel, cornerstone laying ceremony for the construction of the Dialogue Center took place in Łódź. 

Delegation from Łódź headed by Mayor Jerzy Kropiwnicki, took part in the socio-economic mission to Israel. On of the main points of the program was the meeting of the Mayor Kropiwnicki with Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv. Current cooperation and plans for the future were discussed. Participants of the mission met with the authorities of the University of Tel Aviv, where they discussed strengthening cooperation with the University of Łódź. Culture representatives had a number of meetings at The Cameri Theater of Tel Aviv and at The Gesher Theater. The meetings at the Federation of Israeli Chambers with economic partners ended fruitfully.

During the meeting with Former Residents of Łódź Living in Israel, honorary keys were given to the gates of the city of Łódź.