Netanya, Israel
Tourism

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30 hotels, mostly in the middle and lower categories, and restaurants of corresponding quality.

History

Netanya was founded in 1928 amid the sand-dunes of the plain of Sharon by members of the organization named Bene Binyamin in honor of Baron Edmond (Binyamin) de Rothschild. Its name commemorates the American-Jewish philanthropist Nathan Strauss. Until the draining of the Hefer plain from 1930 onwards and the building of roads the settlement, at first no more than a village, could be reached only on foot or on horseback from the Tulkarm railway station, 17km/10.5mi east.

During the Second World War immigrants from Antwerp established a diamond-cutting workshop which made a contribution to the war effort and after 1945 worked mainly for the jewelry industry. Since then Netanya has developed into a flourishing town with a sound infrastructure, an economically important industrial zone and excellent tourist facilities.