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Lod
Downtown Lod
Hebrew	לוֹד
Arabic	اَلْلُدّْ
Government	City
District	Center
Population	66,800 (2006)
Jurisdiction	10,000 dunams (10 km²)

Lod (Hebrew: לוֹד‎, Arabic: اَلْلُدّْ, pronounced al-Ludd, Greco-Latin Lydda) is a city in the Central District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Lod had population of 66,800 at the end of 2006. A historic city dating from the Greek and Roman eras, Lod is the hub of Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion International Airport, previously known as Lod Airport. The airport and related industries are a major source of employment for the residents of Lod. The Jewish Agency Absorption Center, the main facility for handling olim arriving in Israel, is also located in Lod.

Contents 1 Ancient history 2 Modern history 3 Demographics 4 Income 5 Education 6 Famous residents 7 External links 8 References

Present day Lod is situated at the site of the ancient Greek colony of Lydda, and the pre-1948 Arab town of al-Lud. The city of Lod appears mentioned on the list of Thutmose III at Karnak the 2nd millennium BC. ^[1] According to the Bible, it was abandoned during the Babylonian captivity and resettled upon the return of the Jews from their exile in Babylon.^[2][3] The place is mentioned as the scene of Peter's healing of a paralytic man in Acts 9:32-38.

As a city of the Roman Empire, Lod was named Diospolis (Colonia Lucia Septimia Severia Diospolis) ^[1] During the Kitos War, the Roman commander Lusius Quietus besieged the city, where the Jewish rebels were led by Pappus and Julian; most of the rebels were executed after the city's conquest. After destruction of the Temple, it became a major centre of Jewish learning, where according to the Talmud, Rabbi Akiva founded his yeshiva with 24,000 students (Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Gamliel were also active in the city).

During the Byzantine Empire, it took the name of Georgiopolis because of the famous shrine of St. George built there. ^[1] During the earliest period of Arab rule, Lydda served as the capital of the region of Palestine, after which the capital moved to Ramle. The city came under Crusader control in 1099, was briefly taken by Saladin and taken again by the Crusaders in 1191. For the English Crusaders, such as King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart), Lydda was a place of great significance, since it was believed to be the birthplace of England's patron saint, Saint George. The crusaders made it the seat of a Latin rite diocese,^[4] and it is still a titular see.^[5]

Under the 1947 UN Partition Plan, Lydda was included in the territory slated to became an Arab state, a plan that the Arabs rejected.

During the Israeli War of Independence the Haganah and Irgun captured Lydda in July 1948 in Operation Danny. Arab residents were expelled from the city in order to secure the strategically important road connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israeli historian Benny Morris writes: "All the Israelis who witnessed the events agreed that the exodus, under a hot July sun, was an extended episode of suffering for the refugees, especially from Lydda...Some were stripped by soldiers of their valuables as they left town or at checkpoints along the way. Hundreds of civilians died in the scorching heat, from exhaustion, dehydration and disease. ^{[6] [7]} On the other hand, Morris states that the expulsion was justified: "...in certain conditions, expulsion is not a war crime. I don’t think that the expulsions of 1948 were war crimes. You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs." ^[8]

In 1972, 28 passengers were gunned down at its Ben Gurion International Airport by members of the Japanese Red Army, who were acting in behalf of the PFLP. The founder of PFLP, George Habash, had been visiting Lydda in July 1948 when its entire civilian population was expelled by Israeli troops in what became known as the Lydda Death March.

According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic and religious makeup of the city was 80.3% Jewish and other non-Arab, and 19.7% Arab (18.6% Muslim and 1.1% Christian). There are 561 "olim", or new immigrants to Israel, included in these figures. See Population groups in Israel.

According to CBS, in 2001 there were 32,400 males and 33,700 females. The population of the city was spread out with 36.7% 19 years of age or younger, 16.4% between 20 and 29, 19.2% between 30 and 44, 14.5% from 45 to 59, 3.7% from 60 to 64, and 9.5% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 1.7%.

According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 23,032 salaried workers and 1,405 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 4,754, a real change of 2.9% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 5,821 (a real change of 1.4%) versus ILS 3,547 for females (a real change of 4.6%). The mean income for the self-employed is 4,991. There are 1,275 people who receive unemployment benefits and 7,145 people who receive an income guarantee.

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

• Saint George
• Tamer Nafar
• George Habash

• http://www.lod.muni.il (Hebrew)
• Lod is at coordinates 31°57′N 34°54′E / 31.95, 34.9Coordinates: 31°57′N 34°54′E / 31.95, 34.9

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Excursions in Terra Santa", Franciscan Cyberspot. Retrieved on 2007-02-22. 
2. ^ Ezra 2:33
3. ^ Nehemiah 11:35
4. ^ "Lydda". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company. 
5. ^ Lydda from catholic-hierarchy.org
6. ^ Benny Morris (1989). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949. Cambridge University Press, pg. 204-11. ISBN 0-521-33889-1. 
7. ^ http://www.ameu.org/summary1.asp?iid=64
8. ^ Survival of the Fittest, Interview with Benny Morris by Ari Shavit http://www.logosjournal.com/morris.htm

v • d • e Center District
Cities	Hod HaSharon | Kfar Saba | Lod | Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut | Ness Ziona | Netanya | Petah Tikva | Qalansawe | Ra'anana | Ramla | Rehovot | Rishon LeZion | Rosh HaAyin | Tayibe | Tira | Yavne | Yehud-Monosson
Local councils	Be'er Ya'akov | Beit Dagan | Bnei Ayish | El'ad | Elyakhin | Even Yehuda | Gan Yavne | Gedera | Giv'at Shmuel | Jaljulia | Kafr Bara | Kafr Qasim | Kfar Yona | Kiryat Ekron | Kokhav Ya'ir | Mazkeret Batya | Pardesiya | Ramot HaShavim | Savyon | Shoham | Tel Mond | Tzoran-Kadima | Zemer
Regional councils	Brenner | Gan Rave | Gederot | Gezer | Drom HaSharon | Hefer Valley | Hevel Modi'in | Hevel Yavne | Hof HaSharon | Lev HaSharon | Lod Valley | Nahal Sorek
Boroughs	Neve Monosson | Maccabim-Re'ut