If I told people today that one side of my family is from Bnei Zion, dollar signs would likely pop in their mind’s eye. Some of the richest people in the country live there today, and rent is high.
Yet this once-upon-a-time village was built by farmers, by released English military soldiers – and by people, like my grandparents, who left their European homes, families and friends to come to the desert called Israel and built the country.
My mom still remembers where her house was located, where the other neighbors lived, where the grocery store was and how her father had to drive her outside of Bnei Zion so she could catch the bus, since no bus went through the village.
Located in the HaSharon region, it was originally called Ra’anana Hills, perhaps because it is merely a 20 minute drive north from the city of Ra’anana. Ra’anana, too, was a place for farmers in the past. If you happen to visit Netanya for the electricity cabinets street art or for the sunset colors, you can drive 30 minutes south and find yourself in Bnei Zion. The village’s name was changed from Ra’anana Hills to Bnei Zion after an organization by the name of Bnei Zion donated funds for the further development of the village.
The name Bnei Zion means Sons of Zion, of Israel, and it goes well with this precious street name – HaManim Street. The name was given to this street when my wonderful grandpa was in his 80s or 90s. The street is dedicated to various people who participated in building Bnei Zion. These people, my grandpa among them, had different last names – yet they all ended with “man” (for example, Weitzman). Therefore, if we literally translate it to English, the meaning would be the Street of the Men, even if it wasn’t the exact intention.
It is the street on the right:
And this is how it looks like:
The names Bnei Zion and HaManim Street could make you believe only men worked there, but don’t let these names deceive you: women, too, like my wonderful grandma, worked from morning to night to build Bnei Zion, to build the country.
Sunset over Bnei Zion
Hopefully, later this year, I’ll get to show you a place my other set of grandparents built.
Where are your routes?
Interesting history
Why did it become such an exclusive area?
-Rich
Rich Polanco recently posted..You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Stay at The Most Beautiful Lake in The World
It’s a beautiful, peaceful place, relatively close to Israel’s central area of business and culture. Everything that surrounds it has grown more and more expensive throughout the years. I think people saw the opportunity for a good investment and saw the beauty of the place and bought territories there, and it gradually became more exclusive. My grandparents, for example, felt they were getting older and that they soon won’t be able or want to take care of a large area, so they sold their place and moved to a nearby city.
I’ve never heard of Bnei Zion! It’s so interesting that people who are still living were there for the establishment of Israel. Such an incredibly young country with such an ancient history is quite the dichotomy – and quite an intriguing aspect of our world.
Oh yes, I guess I didn’t mention it. My grandparents are not technically alive anymore, which is a big shame because they were very fantastic grandparents, but my grandpa was still here two years ago, he passed away at age 95. And yes, it is very incredible. I grew up listening to their stories – of my grandparents of both sides – and looking at their photos, never truly realizing how amazing their life stories were until I was older.