October 24 1905 – 25 Tishrei 5666
The first Hebrew-speaking school in history, Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in Jaffa, opened its doors. Known as the “Hebrew Gymnasium,” the school was set up at first in the home of Dr. Judah Leib Matmon and his wife Fania, though in 1909 it move to a new building on Herzl Street in Tel Aviv and changed its name accordingly to Herzliya, in memory of Theodore Herzl. Early cultural icons of the Zionist establishment, including poet Nathan Alterman, artist Nahum Gutman and author Aaron Megged, as well as literary critic Gershon Shaked and biblical scholar Sarah Yefet, all studied there. The school building was designed by architect Joseph Barsky in the Bezalel school’s new Hebrew style, but was demolished in 1959 both because it was in extremely poor condition and to make way for an extension of Herzl Street as far as the beach. The gymnasium’s original classic outline has been adopted as the emblem of the Building Preservation Council, partly as a result of the public outcry that accompanied the historic building’s demolition.
Feel free to share
