{{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Pp-extended Template:Main other{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox settlement with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y | alt | anthem | anthem_link | area_blank1_acre | area_blank1_dunam | area_blank1_ha | area_blank1_km2 | area_blank1_sq_mi | area_blank1_title | area_blank2_acre | area_blank2_dunam | area_blank2_ha | area_blank2_km2 | area_blank2_sq_mi | area_blank2_title | area_code | area_code_type | area_codes | area_footnotes | area_land_acre | area_land_dunam | area_land_ha | area_land_km2 | area_land_sq_mi | area_metro_acre | area_metro_dunam | area_metro_footnotes | area_metro_ha | area_metro_km2 | area_metro_sq_mi | area_note | area_rank | area_rural_acre | area_rural_dunam | area_rural_footnotes | area_rural_ha | area_rural_km2 | area_rural_sq_mi | area_total_acre | area_total_dunam | area_total_ha | area_total_km2 | area_total_sq_mi | area_urban_acre | area_urban_dunam | area_urban_footnotes | area_urban_ha | area_urban_km2 | area_urban_sq_mi | area_water_acre | area_water_dunam | area_water_ha | area_water_km2 | area_water_percent | area_water_sq_mi | blank_emblem_alt | blank_emblem_link | blank_emblem_size | blank_emblem_type | blank_info | blank_info_sec1 | blank_info_sec2 | blank_name | blank_name_sec1 | blank_name_sec2 | blank1_info | blank1_info_sec1 | blank1_info_sec2 | blank1_name | blank1_name_sec1 | blank1_name_sec2 | blank2_info | blank2_info_sec1 | blank2_info_sec2 | blank2_name | blank2_name_sec1 | blank2_name_sec2 | blank3_info | blank3_info_sec1 | blank3_info_sec2 | blank3_name | blank3_name_sec1 | blank3_name_sec2 | blank4_info | blank4_info_sec1 | blank4_info_sec2 | blank4_name | blank4_name_sec1 | blank4_name_sec2 | blank5_info | blank5_info_sec1 | blank5_info_sec2 | blank5_name | blank5_name_sec1 | blank5_name_sec2 | blank6_info | blank6_info_sec1 | blank6_info_sec2 | blank6_name | blank6_name_sec1 | blank6_name_sec2 | blank7_info | blank7_info_sec1 | blank7_info_sec2 | blank7_name | blank7_name_sec1 | blank7_name_sec2 | caption | code1_info | code1_name | code2_info | code2_name | coor_pinpoint | coor_type | coordinates | coordinates_footnotes | demographics_type1 | demographics_type2 | demographics1_footnotes | demographics1_info1 | demographics1_info10 | demographics1_info2 | demographics1_info3 | demographics1_info4 | demographics1_info5 | demographics1_info6 | demographics1_info7 | demographics1_info8 | demographics1_info9 | demographics1_title1 | demographics1_title10 | demographics1_title2 | demographics1_title3 | demographics1_title4 | demographics1_title5 | demographics1_title6 | demographics1_title7 | demographics1_title8 | demographics1_title9 | demographics2_footnotes | demographics2_info1 | demographics2_info10 | demographics2_info2 | demographics2_info3 | demographics2_info4 | demographics2_info5 | demographics2_info6 | demographics2_info7 | demographics2_info8 | demographics2_info9 | demographics2_title1 | demographics2_title10 | demographics2_title2 | demographics2_title3 | demographics2_title4 | demographics2_title5 | demographics2_title6 | demographics2_title7 | demographics2_title8 | demographics2_title9 | dimensions_footnotes | dunam_link | elevation_footnotes | elevation_ft | elevation_link | elevation_m | elevation_max_footnotes | elevation_max_ft | elevation_max_m | elevation_max_point | elevation_max_rank | elevation_min_footnotes | elevation_min_ft | elevation_min_m | elevation_min_point | elevation_min_rank | elevation_point | embed | established_date | established_date1 | established_date2 | established_date3 | established_date4 | established_date5 | established_date6 | established_date7 | established_title | established_title1 | established_title2 | established_title3 | established_title4 | established_title5 | established_title6 | established_title7 | etymology | extinct_date | extinct_title | flag_alt | flag_border | flag_link | flag_size | footnotes | founder | geocode | governing_body | government_footnotes | government_type | government_blank1_title | government_blank1 | government_blank2_title | government_blank2 | government_blank2_title | government_blank3 | government_blank3_title | government_blank3 | government_blank4_title | government_blank4 | government_blank5_title | government_blank5 | government_blank6_title | government_blank6 | grid_name | grid_position | image_alt | image_blank_emblem | image_caption | image_flag | image_map | image_map1 | image_seal | image_shield | image_size | image_skyline | imagesize | iso_code | leader_name | leader_name1 | leader_name2 | leader_name3 | leader_name4 | leader_party | leader_title | leader_title1 | leader_title2 | leader_title3 | leader_title4 | length_km | length_mi | map_alt | map_alt1 | map_caption | map_caption1 | mapsize | mapsize1 | module | motto | motto_link | mottoes | name | named_for | native_name | native_name_lang | nickname | nickname_link | nicknames | official_name | other_name | p1 | p10 | p11 | p12 | p13 | p14 | p15 | p16 | p17 | p18 | p19 | p2 | p20 | p21 | p22 | p23 | p24 | p25 | p26 | p27 | p28 | p29 | p3 | p30 | p31 | p32 | p33 | p34 | p35 | p36 | p37 | p38 | p39 | p4 | p40 | p41 | p42 | p43 | p44 | p45 | p46 | p47 | p48 | p49 | p5 | p50 | p6 | p7 | p8 | p9 | parts | parts_style | parts_type | pop_est_as_of | pop_est_footnotes | population | population_as_of | population_blank1 | population_blank1_footnotes | population_blank1_title | population_blank2 | population_blank2_footnotes | population_blank2_title | population_demonym | population_demonyms | population_density_blank1_km2 | population_density_blank1_sq_mi | population_density_blank2_km2 | population_density_blank2_sq_mi | population_density_km2 | population_density_metro_km2 | population_density_metro_sq_mi | population_density_rank | population_density_rural_km2 | population_density_rural_sq_mi | population_density_sq_mi | population_density_urban_km2 | population_density_urban_sq_mi | population_est | population_footnotes | population_metro | population_metro_footnotes | population_note | population_rank | population_rural | population_rural_footnotes | population_total | population_urban | population_urban_footnotes | postal_code | postal_code_type | postal2_code | postal2_code_type | pushpin_image | pushpin_label | pushpin_label_position | pushpin_map | pushpin_map_alt | pushpin_map_caption | pushpin_map_caption_notsmall | pushpin_map_narrow | pushpin_mapsize | pushpin_outside | pushpin_overlay | pushpin_relief | registration_plate | registration_plate_type | seal_alt | seal_link | seal_size | seal_type | seat | seat_type | seat1 | seat1_type | seat2 | seat2_type | settlement_type | shield_alt | shield_link | shield_size | short_description | subdivision_name | subdivision_name1 | subdivision_name2 | subdivision_name3 | subdivision_name4 | subdivision_name5 | subdivision_name6 | subdivision_type | subdivision_type1 | subdivision_type2 | subdivision_type3 | subdivision_type4 | subdivision_type5 | subdivision_type6 | timezone | timezone_DST | timezone_link | timezone1 | timezone1_DST | timezone1_location | timezone2 | timezone2_DST | timezone2_location | timezone3 | timezone3_DST | timezone3_location | timezone4 | timezone4_DST | timezone4_location | timezone5 | timezone5_DST | timezone5_location | total_type | translit_lang1 | translit_lang1_info | translit_lang1_info1 | translit_lang1_info2 | translit_lang1_info3 | translit_lang1_info4 | translit_lang1_info5 | translit_lang1_info6 | translit_lang1_type | translit_lang1_type1 | translit_lang1_type2 | translit_lang1_type3 | translit_lang1_type4 | translit_lang1_type5 | translit_lang1_type6 | translit_lang2 | translit_lang2_info | translit_lang2_info1 | translit_lang2_info2 | translit_lang2_info3 | translit_lang2_info4 | translit_lang2_info5 | translit_lang2_info6 | translit_lang2_type | translit_lang2_type1 | translit_lang2_type2 | translit_lang2_type3 | translit_lang2_type4 | translit_lang2_type5 | translit_lang2_type6 | type | unit_pref | utc_offset | utc_offset_DST | utc_offset1 | utc_offset1_DST | utc_offset2 | utc_offset2_DST | utc_offset3 | utc_offset3_DST | utc_offset4 | utc_offset4_DST | utc_offset5 | utc_offset5_DST | website | width_km | width_mi | mapframe | mapframe-area_km2 | mapframe-area_mi2 | mapframe-caption | mapframe-coord | mapframe-coordinates | mapframe-custom | mapframe-frame-coord | mapframe-frame-coordinates | mapframe-frame-height | mapframe-frame-width | mapframe-geomask | mapframe-geomask-fill | mapframe-geomask-fill-opacity | mapframe-geomask-stroke-color | mapframe-geomask-stroke-colour | mapframe-geomask-stroke-width | mapframe-height | mapframe-id | mapframe-length_km | mapframe-length_mi | mapframe-marker | mapframe-marker-color | mapframe-marker-colour | mapframe-point | mapframe-shape | mapframe-shape-fill | mapframe-shape-fill-opacity | mapframe-stroke-color | mapframe-stroke-colour | mapframe-stroke-width | mapframe-switcher | mapframe-width | mapframe-wikidata | mapframe-zoom }}{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check | template = Infobox settlement | cat = Template:Main other | population; population_total | image_size; imagesize | image_alt; alt | image_caption; caption }}{{#if:

|

}}Template:Main other

Lod (Template:Langx, or fully vocalized {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), also known as Lydda (Template:Langx) and Lidd (Template:Langx, or Template:Langx), is a city Template:Convert southeast of Tel Aviv and Template:Convert northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The city had a population of Template:Israel populations in 2019.Template:Israel populations

Lod has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic period.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is mentioned a few times in the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Between the 5th century BCE and up until the late Roman period, it was a prominent center for Jewish scholarship and trade.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> Around 200 CE, the city became a Roman colony and was renamed {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Langx). Tradition identifies Lod as the 4th century martyrdom site of Saint George;<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> the Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr located in the city is believed to have housed his remains.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Following the Arab conquest of the Levant, Lod served as the capital of Jund Filastin; however, a few decades later, the seat of power was transferred to Ramla, and Lod slipped in importance.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Under Crusader rule, the city was a Catholic diocese of the Latin Church and it remains a titular see to this day.Template:Cn

Lod underwent a major change in its population in the mid-20th century.<ref name="Rabinowitz Monterescu 2008">Template:Cite journal</ref> Exclusively Palestinian Arab in 1947,<ref name="Rabinowitz Monterescu 2008"/> Lod was part of the area designated for an Arab state in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine; however, in July 1948, the city was occupied by the Israel Defense Forces, and most of its Arab inhabitants were expelled in the Palestinian expulsion from Lydda and Ramle.<ref name="Shapira">Shapira, Anita, “Politics and Collective Memory: the Debate Over the 'New Historians' in Israel,” History and Memory 7 (1) (Spring 1995), pp. 9ff, 12–13, 16–17.</ref><ref>Blumenthal, 2013, p. 420</ref> The city was largely resettled by Jewish immigrants, most of them expelled from Arab countries.<ref name="gibb">M. Sharon, s.v. "Ludd," Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed. Leiden: Brill, 1983, vol. 5, pp. 798-803; Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Morris, 2004, pp. 414-461.</ref>

Today, Lod is one of Israel's mixed cities, with an Arab population of 30%.<ref>Uploads (p. 18), Jerusaleminstitute.org. Accessed 1 November 2022.</ref> Lod is one of Israel's major transportation hubs. The main international airport, Ben Gurion Airport, is located 8 km (5 miles) north of the city. The city is also a major railway and road junction.<ref name=":0" />

Religious referencesEdit

The Hebrew name Lod appears in the Hebrew Bible as a town of Benjamin, founded along with Ono by Shamed or Shamer (1 Chronicles 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 7:37; 11:35). In Template:Bibleverse, it is mentioned as one of the cities whose inhabitants returned after the Babylonian captivity. Lod is not mentioned among the towns allocated to the tribe of Benjamin in Template:Bibleverse.<ref>Exell, J. S. and Spencer-Jones, H. (eds), Pulpit Commentary on 1 Chronicles 8, biblehub.com. Accessed 8 February 2020.</ref>

The name Lod derives from a tri-consonental root not extant in Northwest Semitic, but only in Arabic (“to quarrel; withhold, hinder”). An Arabic etymology of such an ancient name is unlikely (the earliest attestation is from the Achaemenid period).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In the New Testament, the town appears in its Greek form, Lydda,<ref>Bible Dictionary, "Lydda"</ref><ref>International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, "Lod; Lydda"</ref><ref>Palmer, 1881, p. 216</ref> as the site of Peter's healing of Aeneas in Template:Sourcetext.<ref>"Lod," Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009. "And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda", Acts 9:32–38</ref>

The city is also mentioned in an Islamic hadith as the location of the battlefield where the false messiah (al-Masih ad-Dajjal) will be slain before the Day of Judgment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

HistoryEdit

Neolithic and ChalcolithicEdit

The first occupation was in the Neolithic period.<ref> Yannai and Marder 2000</ref><ref>Brink 1999, 2002, Brink et al. 2015</ref> Occupation continued in the Chalcolithic.<ref>Brink 1999, 2002, Brink et al. 2015</ref><ref>Paz, Rosenberg and Nativ 2005:131–154</ref><ref> Yannai and Marder 2000</ref> Pottery finds have dated the initial settlement in the area now occupied by the town to 5600–5250 BCE.<ref>Schwartz, Joshua J. Lod (Lydda), Israel: from its origins through the Byzantine period, 5600 B.C.-640 A.D.. Tempus Reparatum, 1991, p. 39.</ref>

Early BronzeEdit

In the Early Bronze, it was an important settlement in the central coastal plain between the Judean Shephelah and the Mediterranean coast, along Nahal Ayalon.<ref>Amir Golani (2022) Early Bronze Age Remains at Tel Lod, 'Atiqot 108</ref> Other important nearby sites were Tel Dalit, Tel Bareqet, Khirbat Abu Hamid (Shoham North), Tel Afeq, Azor and Jaffa.

Two architectural phases belong to the late EB I in Area B.<ref>Keplan 1977</ref> The first phase had a mudbrick wall, while the late phase included a circulat stone structure. Later excavations have produced an occupation later, Stratum IV.<ref>Brink 1999, 2002; Brink et al. 2015</ref> It consists of two phases, Stratum IVb with mudbrick wall on stone foundations and rounded exterior corners. In Stratum IVa there was a mudbrick wall with no stone foundations, with imported Egyptian potter and local pottery imitations.

Another excavations revealed nine occupation strata. Strata VI-III belonged to Early Bronze IB. The material culture showed Egyptian imports in strata V and IV.<ref>Paz, Rosenberg and Nativ 2005:131–154</ref>

Occupation continued into Early Bronze II with four strata (V-II). There was continuity in the material culture and indications of centralized urban planning.

Middle BronzeEdit

North to the tell were scattered MB II burials.<ref> Segal 2012</ref>

Late BronzeEdit

The earliest written record is in a list of Canaanite towns drawn up by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III at Karnak in 1465 BCE.<ref name="Franciscan">Template:Cite news</ref>

Classical eraEdit

From the fifth century BCE until the Roman period, the city was a centre of Jewish scholarship<ref>Rozenfeld, 2010, p. 52</ref> and commerce.<ref name=EB>"Lod," Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009.</ref>

According to British historian Martin Gilbert, during the Hasmonean period, Jonathan Maccabee and his brother, Simon Maccabaeus, enlarged the area under Jewish control, which included conquering the city.<ref>Gilbert, Martin. Dearest Auntie Flori: The Story of the Jewish People. New York: Harper Collins 2002, p. 82; also see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 14: 208</ref>

Roman eraEdit

The Jewish community in Lod during the Mishnah and Talmud era is described in a significant number of sources, including information on its institutions, demographics, and way of life. The city reached its height as a Jewish center between the First Jewish-Roman War and the Bar Kokhba revolt, and again in the days of Judah ha-Nasi and the start of the Amoraim period. The city was then the site of numerous public institutions, including schools, study houses, and synagogues.<ref name=":2" />

In 43 BC, Cassius, the Roman governor of Syria, sold the inhabitants of Lod into slavery, but they were set free two years later by Mark Antony.<ref name="CE" /><ref>Josephus, "Jewish War", I, xi, 2; "Antiquities", XIV xii, pp. 2–5.</ref>

During the First Jewish–Roman War, the Roman proconsul of Syria, Cestius Gallus, razed the town on his way to Jerusalem in Tishrei 66 CE. According to Josephus, "[he] found the city deserted, for the entire population had gone up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. He killed fifty people whom he found, burned the town and marched on".<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6">Template:Cite book</ref> Lydda was occupied by Emperor Vespasian in 68 CE.<ref>Michael Avi-Yonah, s.v. "Lydda," Encyclopaedia Judaica. Accessed 1 November 2022.</ref>

In the period following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Rabbi Tarfon, who appears in many Tannaitic and Jewish legal discussions, served as a rabbinic authority in Lod.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

During the Kitos War, 115–117 CE, the Roman army laid siege to Lod, where the rebel Jews had gathered under the leadership of Julian and Pappos. Torah study was outlawed by the Romans and pursued mostly in the underground.<ref>Holder, 1986, p. 52</ref> The distress became so great, the patriarch Rabban Gamaliel II, who was shut up there and died soon afterwards, permitted fasting on Ḥanukkah. Other rabbis disagreed with this ruling.<ref>Ta'anit ii. 10; Yer. Ta'anit ii. 66a; Yer. Meg. i. 70d; R. H. 18b</ref> Lydda was next taken and many of the Jews were executed; the "slain of Lydda" are often mentioned in words of reverential praise in the Talmud.<ref>Pes. 50a; B. B. 10b; Eccl. R. ix. 10</ref>

In 200 CE, emperor Septimius Severus elevated the town to the status of a city, calling it Colonia Lucia Septimia Severa Diospolis.<ref>Cecil Roth, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1972, p. 619.</ref> The name Diospolis ("City of Zeus") may have been bestowed earlier, possibly by Hadrian.<ref>Smallwood, 2001, p. 241</ref> At that point, most of its inhabitants were Christian. The earliest known bishop is Aëtius, a friend of Arius.<ref name=CE/>

During the following century (200-300CE), it's said that Joshua ben Levi founded a yeshiva in Lod.

Byzantine periodEdit

File:La tomba di San Giorgio (Lod, Israele) 02.JPG
Tomb of Saint George, first mentioned about 530 by the pilgrim Theodosius<ref name=CE/>
File:Byzantine floor mosaic map at St. George Church Madaba P1090117.JPG
Madaba Map, 6th century CE, showing Lod above and left (NW) of the red "[ΚΛΗ]ΡΟϹ ΔΑΝ" ("the lot of Dan") inscription (left margin, touching on damaged area)

In December 415, the Council of Diospolis was held here to try Pelagius; he was acquitted. In the sixth century, the city was renamed Georgiopolis<ref>Yoram Tsafrir, Leah Di Segni, Judith Green, Tabula Imperii Romani Iudaea-Palestina: Eretz Israel in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods; Maps and Gazetteer, p. 171. Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994; Template:ISBN</ref> after St. George, a soldier in the guard of the emperor Diocletian, who was born there between 256 and 285 CE.<ref name=Frenkel>Frenkel, Sheera and Low, Valentine. "Why Lod, the other land of St George, isn't for the faint-hearted"Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore, The Times, 23 April 2009.</ref>

The Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr is named for him.<ref name="Franciscan"/> The 6th-century Madaba map shows Lydda as an unwalled city with a cluster of buildings under a black inscription reading "Lod, also Lydea, also Diospolis".<ref>The Madaba Mosaic Map, Jerusalem 1954, pp. 61–62</ref> An isolated large building with a semicircular colonnaded plaza in front of it might represent the St George shrine.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Early Muslim periodEdit

File:Haan Lod.jpg
Khan el-Hilu, Lod

After the Muslim conquest of Palestine by Amr ibn al-'As in 636 CE,<ref>Le Strange, 1890, p. 28</ref> Lod which was referred to as "al-Ludd" in Arabic served as the capital of Jund Filastin ("Military District of Palaestina") before the seat of power was moved to nearby Ramla during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik in 715–716. The population of al-Ludd was relocated to Ramla, as well.<ref>Le Strange, 1890, p. 303</ref> With the relocation of its inhabitants and the construction of the White Mosque in Ramla, al-Ludd lost its importance and fell into decay.<ref name=":1">Le Strange, 1890, p. 308</ref>

The city was visited by the local Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi in 985, when it was under the Fatimid Caliphate, and was noted for its Great Mosque which served the residents of al-Ludd, Ramla, and the nearby villages. He also wrote of the city's "wonderful church (of St. George) at the gate of which Christ will slay the Antichrist."<ref>Le Strange, 1890 p. 493</ref>

Crusader and Ayyubid periodEdit

The Crusaders occupied the city in 1099 and named it St Jorge de Lidde.<ref name=EB/> It was briefly conquered by Saladin, but retaken by the Crusaders in 1191. For the English Crusaders, it was a place of great significance as the birthplace of Saint George. The Crusaders made it the seat of a Latin Church diocese,<ref>Template:CathEncy</ref> and it remains a titular see.<ref name=CE>Lydda, Catholic-hierarchy.org. Accessed 1 November 2022.</ref> It owed the service of 10 knights and 20 sergeants, and it had its own burgess court during this era.<ref name=Pringlep11>Pringle, 1998, p. 11</ref>

In 1226, Ayyubid Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi visited al-Ludd and stated it was part of the Jerusalem District during Ayyubid rule.<ref>Le Strange, 1890, p. 494</ref>

Mamluk periodEdit

Sultan Baybars brought Lydda again under Muslim control by 1267–8.<ref name=Petersen203>Petersen, 2001, p. 203</ref> According to Qalqashandi, Lydda was an administrative centre of a wilaya during the fourteenth and fifteenth century in the Mamluk empire.<ref name=Petersen203/> Mujir al-Din described it as a pleasant village with an active Friday mosque.<ref name=Petersen203/><ref>Moudjir ed-dyn, 1876, Sauvaire (translation), pp. 210-213</ref> During this time, Lydda was a station on the postal route between Cairo and Damascus.<ref name=Petersen203/><ref>al-Ẓāhirī, 1894, pp. 118-119</ref>

Ottoman periodEdit

In 1517, Lydda was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire as part of the Damascus Eyalet, and in the 1550s, the revenues of Lydda were designated for the new waqf of Hasseki Sultan Imaret in Jerusalem, established by Hasseki Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana), the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent.<ref>Singer, 2002, p. 49</ref>

By 1596 Lydda was a part of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Ramla, which was under the administration of the liwa ("district") of Gaza. It had a population of 241 households and 14 bachelors who were all Muslims, and 233 households who were Christians.<ref>Petersen, 2005, p. 131</ref> They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3 % on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards, fruit trees, sesame, special product ("dawalib" =spinning wheels<ref name=Petersen203/>), goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and market toll, a total of 45,000 Akçe. All of the revenue went to the Waqf.<ref name="Hut and Abd">Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 154</ref>

In 1051 AH/1641/2, the Bedouin tribe of al-Sawālima from around Jaffa attacked the villages of Subṭāra, Bayt Dajan, al-Sāfiriya, Jindās, Lydda and Yāzūr belonging to Waqf Haseki Sultan.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The village appeared as Lydda, though misplaced, on the map of Pierre Jacotin compiled in 1799.<ref>Karmon, 1960, p. 171 Template:Webarchive</ref>

Missionary William M. Thomson visited Lydda in the mid-19th century, describing it as a "flourishing village of some 2,000 inhabitants, imbosomed in noble orchards of olive, fig, pomegranate, mulberry, sycamore, and other trees, surrounded every way by a very fertile neighbourhood. The inhabitants are evidently industrious and thriving, and the whole country between this and Ramleh is fast being filled up with their flourishing orchards. Rarely have I beheld a rural scene more delightful than this presented in early harvest ... It must be seen, heard, and enjoyed to be appreciated."<ref>Thomson, 1859, pp. 292-3</ref>

In 1869, the population of Ludd was given as: 55 Catholics, 1,940 "Greeks", 5 Protestants and 4,850 Muslims.<ref name=SWP252/> In 1870, the Church of Saint George was rebuilt. In 1892, the first railway station in the entire region was established in the city.<ref name=Shahinp260>Shahin, 2005, p. 260</ref> In the second half of the 19th century, Jewish merchants migrated to the city, but left after the 1921 Jaffa riots.<ref name=Shahinp260/>

In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Lod as "A small town, standing among enclosure of prickly pear, and having fine olive groves around it, especially to the south. The minaret of the mosque is a very conspicuous object over the whole of the plain. The inhabitants are principally Moslim, though the place is the seat of a Greek bishop resident of Jerusalem. The Crusading church has lately been restored, and is used by the Greeks. Wells are found in the gardens...."<ref name=SWP252>Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 252</ref>

British MandateEdit

From 1918, Lydda was under the administration of the British Mandate in Palestine, as per a League of Nations decree that followed the Great War. During the Second World War, the British set up supply posts in and around Lydda and its railway station, also building an airport that was renamed Ben Gurion Airport after the death of Israel's first prime minister in 1973.<ref name=Shahinp260/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

At the time of the 1922 census of Palestine, Lydda had a population of 8,103 inhabitants (7,166 Muslims, 926 Christians, and 11 Jews),<ref>Barron, 1923, Table VII, p. 21</ref> the Christians were 921 Orthodox, 4 Roman Catholics and 1 Melkite.<ref>Barron, 1923, Table XIV, p. 46</ref> This had increased by the 1931 census to 11,250 (10,002 Muslims, 1,210 Christians, 28 Jews, and 10 Bahai), in a total of 2475 residential houses.<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. 21</ref>

In 1938, Lydda had a population of 12,750.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1945, Lydda had a population of 16,780 (14,910 Muslims, 1,840 Christians, 20 Jews and 10 "other").<ref name="1945p30">Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 30</ref> Until 1948, Lydda was an Arab town with a population of around 20,000—18,500 Muslims and 1,500 Christians.<ref>"Lod," 2 January 1949, IS archive Gimel/5/297 in Yacobi, 2009, p. 31.</ref><ref name="Monterescup16" /> In 1947, the United Nations proposed dividing Mandatory Palestine into two states, one Jewish state and one Arab; Lydda was to form part of the proposed Arab state.<ref name="Sadip91">Sa'di and Abu-Lughod, 2007, pp. 91-92.</ref> In the ensuing war, Israel captured Arab towns outside the area the UN had allotted it, including Lydda.

In December 1947, thirteen Jewish passengers in a seven-car convoy to Ben Shemen Youth Village were ambushed and murdered.<ref>Jews and Arabs Die As Palestine Disorders Continue; Arab Legion Kills 12 Jews The Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 15 December 1947</ref><ref name=shavit/>In a separate incident, three Jewish youths, two men and a woman were captured, then raped and murdered in a neighbouring village.<ref name=shavit/> Their bodies were paraded in Lydda’s principal street.<ref name=shavit>Template:Cite book</ref>

State of IsraelEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

The Israel Defense Forces entered Lydda on 11 July 1948.<ref>For one account, interspersed with interviews with IDF soldiers, see Ari Shavit, My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2013, pp. 99–132.</ref> The following day, under the impression that it was under attack,<ref name=Tal311>Tal, 2004, p. 311.</ref> the 3rd Battalion was ordered to shoot anyone "seen on the streets". According to Israel, 250 Arabs were killed. Other estimates are higher: Arab historian Aref al Aref estimated 400, and Nimr al Khatib 1,700.<ref name=Morris>Sefer Hapalmah ii (The Book of the Palmah), p. 565; and KMA-PA (Kibbutz Meuhad Archives – Palmah Archive). Quoted in Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987.</ref><ref name=Morrisp205>Morris, 2004, p. 205 Morris writes: "[...] dozens of unarmed detainees in the mosque and church in the centre of the town were shot and killed."</ref>

In 1948, the population rose to 50,000 during the Nakba, as Arab refugees fleeing other areas made their way there.<ref name=Shahinp260/> A key event was the Palestinian expulsion from Lydda and Ramle, with the expulsion of 50,000-70,000 Palestinians from Lydda and Ramle by the Israel Defense Forces. All but 700<ref>The figure comes from Bechor Sheetrit, the Israeli Minister for Minority Affairs at the time, cited in Yacobi, 2009, p. 32.</ref> to 1,056<ref name="gibb"/> were expelled by order of the Israeli high command, and forced to walk Template:Convert to the Jordanian Arab Legion lines. Estimates of those who died from exhaustion and dehydration vary from a handful to 355.<ref name="here">Spiro Munayyer, The Fall of Lydda( اللد لن تقع), Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Summer, 1998), pp. 80–98. See also Yitzhak Rabin's diaries, quoted here [1].</ref><ref name=Holmesp64>Holmes et al., 2001, p. 64.</ref> The town was subsequently sacked by the Israeli army.<ref>Morris, Benny "Operation Dani and the Palestinian Exodus from Lydda and Ramle in 1948", Middle East Journal 40 (1986), p. 88.</ref> Some scholars, including Ilan Pappé, characterize this as ethnic cleansing.<ref>For the use of the term "ethnic cleansing", see, for example, Pappé 2006.

  • On whether what occurred in Lydda and Ramle constituted ethnic cleansing:
  • Morris 2008, p. 408: "although an atmosphere of what would later be called ethnic cleansing prevailed during critical months, transfer never became a general or declared Zionist policy. Thus, by war's end, even though much of the country had been 'cleansed' of Arabs, other parts of the country—notably central Galilee — were left with substantial Muslim Arab populations, and towns in the heart of the Jewish coastal strip, Haifa and Jaffa, were left with an Arab minority."
  • Spangler 2015, p. 156: "During the Nakba, the 1947 [sic] displacement of Palestinians, Rabin had been second in command over Operation Dani, the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian towns of towns of Lydda and Ramle."
  • Schwartzwald 2012, p. 63: "The facts do not bear out this contention [of ethnic cleansing]. To be sure, some refugees were forced to flee: fifty thousand were expelled from the strategically located towns of Lydda and Ramle ... But these were the exceptions, not the rule, and ethnic cleansing had nothing to do with it."
  • Golani and Manna 2011, p. 107: "The expulsion of some 50,000 Palestinians from their homes ... was one of the most visible atrocities stemming from Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing."</ref> The few hundred Arabs who remained in the city were soon outnumbered by the influx of Jews who immigrated to Lod from August 1948 onward, most of them from Arab countries.<ref name="gibb"/> As a result, Lod became a predominantly Jewish town.<ref name=Monterescup16>Monterescu and Rabinowitz, 2012, pp. 16-17.</ref><ref name=Yacobi29>Yacobi, 2009, p. 29.</ref>

After the establishment of the state, the biblical name Lod was readopted.<ref>Yacobi, 2009, p. 29: "The occupation of Lydda by Israel in the 1948 war did not allow the realization of Pocheck's garden city vision. Different geopolitics and ideologies began to shape Lydda's urban landscape ... [and] its name was changed from Lydda to Lod, which was the region's biblical name"; also see Pearlman, Moshe and Yannai, Yacov. Historical sites in Israel. Vanguard Press, 1964, p. 160. For the Hebrew name being used by inhabitants before 1948, see A Cyclopædia of Biblical literature: Volume 2, by John Kitto, William Lindsay Alexander. p. 842 ("... the old Hebrew name, Lod, which had probably been always used by the inhabitants, appears again in history."); And Lod (Lydda), Israel: from its origins through the Byzantine period, 5600 B.C.E.-640 C.E., by Joshua J. Schwartz, 1991, p. 15 ("the pronunciation Lud began to appear along with the form Lod")</ref>

The Jewish immigrants who settled Lod came in waves, first from Morocco and Tunisia, later from Ethiopia, and then from the former Soviet Union.<ref>"Polishing a Lost Gem to Dazzle Tourists", New York Times. 8 July 2009.</ref>

Since 2008, many urban development projects have been undertaken to improve the image of the city. Upscale neighbourhoods have been built, among them Ganei Ya'ar and Ahisemah, expanding the city to the east. According to a 2010 report in the Economist, a three-meter-high wall was built between Jewish and Arab neighbourhoods and construction in Jewish areas was given priority over construction in Arab neighborhoods. The newspaper says that violent crime in the Arab sector revolves mainly around family feuds over turf and honour crimes.<ref name="Econ">Pulled Apart. The Economist, 14 October 2010.</ref> In 2010, the Lod Community Foundation organised an event for representatives of bicultural youth movements, volunteer aid organisations, educational start-ups, businessmen, sports organizations, and conservationists working on programmes to better the city.<ref>Ron Friedman, Pushing for a better tomorrow in 8,000-year-old Lod, The Jerusalem Post, 8 April 2010. Accessed 25 March 2020.</ref>

In the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, a state of emergency was declared in Lod after Arab rioting led to the death of an Israeli Jew.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Mayor of Lod, Yair Revivio, urged Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu to deploy Israel Border Police to restore order in the city.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This was the first time since 1966 that Israel had declared this kind of emergency lockdown.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=StateOfEmergency>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> International media noted that both Jewish and Palestinian mobs were active in Lod, but the "crackdown came for one side" only.<ref>Jewish and Palestinian mobs dueled in Israeli towns — but the crackdown came for one side, Dalia Hatuqa, May 29 2021, The Intercept</ref><ref>Arab-Jewish coexistence in Israel suddenly ruptured, Isabel Kershner, May 13, 2021, The New York Times</ref><ref>‘This is more than a reaction to rockets’: communal violence spreads in Israel, Peter Beaumont, Quique Kierszenbaum and Sufian Taha, 13 May 2021, The Guardian</ref><ref>Far-right Jewish groups and Arab youths claim streets of Lod as Israel loses control, Oliver Holmes and Quique Kierszenbaum, 15 May 2021, The Guardian</ref><ref>How Israeli police are colluding with settlers against Palestinian citizens, Oren Ziv, May 13, 2021, +972 Magazine</ref>

DemographicsEdit

In the 19th century and until the Lydda Death March, Lod was an exclusively Muslim-Christian town, with an estimated 6,850 inhabitants, of whom approximately 2,000 (29%) were Christian.<ref>Palestine Exploration Fund, archive.org. Accessed 1 November 2022.</ref>

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the population of Lod in 2010 was 69,500 people.<ref>Israel Central Bureau of Statistics Annual Report 2010.</ref>

According to the 2019 census, the population of Lod was 77,223, of which 53,581 people, comprising 69.4% of the city's population, were classified as "Jews and Others", and 23,642 people, comprising 30.6% as "Arab".Template:Israel populations

EducationEdit

According to CBS, 38 schools and 13,188 pupils are in the city. They are spread out as 26 elementary schools and 8,325 elementary school pupils, and 13 high schools and 4,863 high school pupils. About 52.5% of 12th-grade pupils were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.Template:Citation needed

EconomyEdit

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }}

File:16-03-30-Ben Gurion International Airport-RalfR-DSCF7546.jpg
Reception hall, Ben Gurion International Airport

The airport and related industries are a major source of employment for the residents of Lod. Other important factories in the city are the communication equipment company "Talard", "Cafe-Co" - a subsidiary of the Strauss Group and "Kashev" - the computer center of Bank Leumi.

A Jewish Agency Absorption Centre is also located in Lod. According to CBS figures for 2000, 23,032 people were salaried workers and 1,405 were self-employed. The mean monthly wage for a salaried worker was NIS 4,754, a real change of 2.9% over the course of 2000. Salaried men had a mean monthly wage of NIS 5,821 (a real change of 1.4%) versus NIS 3,547 for women (a real change of 4.6%). The mean income for the self-employed was NIS 4,991. About 1,275 people were receiving unemployment benefits and 7,145 were receiving an income supplement.

Art and cultureEdit

In 2009-2010, Dor Guez held an exhibit, Georgeopolis, at the Petach Tikva art museum that focuses on Lod.<ref>Neta Halperin, There's Art Outside of Tel Aviv, You Just Have to Look, Haaretz, 3 April 2012. Accessed 25 March 2020.</ref>

ArchaeologyEdit

A well-preserved mosaic floor dating to the Roman period was excavated in 1996 as part of a salvage dig conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Municipality of Lod, prior to widening HeHalutz Street. According to Jacob Fisch, executive director of the Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority, a worker at the construction site noticed the tail of a tiger and halted work.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The mosaic was initially covered over with soil at the conclusion of the excavation for lack of funds to conserve and develop the site.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The mosaic is now part of the Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center. The floor, with its colorful display of birds, fish, exotic animals and merchant ships, is believed to have been commissioned by a wealthy resident of the city for his private home.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Lod Community Archaeology Program, which operates in ten Lod schools, five Jewish and five Israeli Arab, combines archaeological studies with participation in digs in Lod.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

SportsEdit

The city's major football club, Hapoel Bnei Lod, plays in Liga Leumit (the second division). Its home is at the Lod Municipal Stadium. The club was formed by a merger of Bnei Lod and Rakevet Lod in the 1980s. Two other clubs in the city play in the regional leagues: Hapoel MS Ortodoxim Lod in Liga Bet and Maccabi Lod in Liga Gimel.

Hapoel Lod played in the top division during the 1960s and 1980s, and won the State Cup in 1984. The club folded in 2002. A new club, Hapoel Maxim Lod (named after former mayor Maxim Levy) was established soon after, but folded in 2007.

Notable peopleEdit

Twin towns-sister citiesEdit

Lod is twinned with:

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

BibliographyEdit

Template:Refbegin

Template:Refend

External linksEdit

Template:Wikivoyage Template:Sister project

Template:Central District (Israel) Template:Largest Israeli cities Template:Towns depopulated during the First Jewish–Roman War Template:Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Template:Authority control