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Neve Sha'anan (Hebrew: נווה שאנן, eng. "peaceful abode") is a neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Israel, founded in 1923
Contents
Map of Neve Sha'anan, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
History
The Neve Sha'anan neighborhood is a major transportation hub, with both the new and old Tel Aviv Central Bus Stations located there. It is named after the Bible (Isaiah 33:20: "Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode".)
The main street, Neve Sha'anan Street, is a pedestrian mall. Many foreign workers live or work in Neve Sha'anan. Levinsky park is the social heart 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, over 80 years ago, the Levinsky market is tucked under and between dilapidated three-story buildings.
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 street itself is named after Elchanan Leib Levinsky, a member of the Bilu Zionist movement in Lithuania, who emigrated to Palestine in the early 1880s.
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.
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 of the Neve Sha'anan neighborhood 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, artistic 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.