Raanana

Sister cities

• Tainan
• Atlanta
• Bramsche
• Rio de Janeiro
• Lagos
• Verona
• Poznań

History

Before the 20th century, the location of Ra'anana formed part of the Forest of Sharon, a hallmark of the region's historical landscape. It was an open woodland dominated by Mount Tabor Oak (Quercus ithaburensis), which extended from Kfar Yona in the north to Ra’anana in the south. The local Arab inhabitants traditionally used the area for pasture, firewood and intermittent cultivation. The intensification of settlement and agriculture in the coastal plain during the 19th century led to deforestation and subsequent environmental degradation known from Hebrew sources. In 1912 the Company for Jewish Settlement in Israel formed the "Ahuza A – New York" group to purchase land in Palestine for agricultural settlement. World War I delayed their plans. On 2 April 1922, four settlers, three laborers and two armed watchmen arrived at the site that became Ra'anana. In its early days, the settlement was called Ahuza A – New York. Local Arabs called it Little America as most of its residents were English speakers and came from New York. Later it was renamed Ra'anania and then Ra'anana. The settlement was built along a main street, Ahuza Street, and six other streets, three to the north of Ahuza Street and three to the south. Between 1925 and 1927, the Community House, which would house a variety of public institutions, including the secretariat, clinic, synagogue, meeting place for local committee meetings, assembly hall, culture room, school, kindergarten, and post office, was built. According to a census conducted in 1931 by the British Mandate authorities, Ra'anana had a population of 615 inhabitants in 182 houses. In 1936, it was given local council status. In November 1947 British soldiers attacked a house in Raanana where a Lehi training course for young people was being…

Most-observed species

• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,595
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  15,481
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  13,674
• White-spectacled Bulbul

  Pycnonotus xanthopygos (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833) · Aves
  12,364
• Laughing Dove

  Spilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  12,238
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  11,953
• Graceful Prinia

  Prinia gracilis (Lichtenstein, 1823) · Aves
  11,043
• Monk Parakeet

  Myiopsitta monachus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  11,008

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2023-02-07
  Dead Sea region
• M 3.7 — 2022-01-23
  4 km ENE of Kafr Mi?r, Israel
• M 4.1 — 2022-01-22
  4 km E of Taiyiba, Israel
• M 4.5 — 2020-02-06
  26 km W of Atlit, Israel
• M 2.9 — 2018-07-27
  1 km ESE of Migdal, Israel
• M 2.9 — 2018-07-22
  9 km E of Tiberias, Israel