Neve Tzedek

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Neve Tzedek (Hebrew: נווה צדק) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the City of Tel Aviv. It was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the walls of the ancient port of Yafo. For years, the neighborhood prospered as Tel Aviv, the first modern Hebrew city, grew up around it. Years of neglect and disrepair followed, but today Neve Tzedek has become one of Tel Aviv's latest fashionable districts.

Neve Tzedek was established in 1887, 22 years before the 1909 founding of Tel Aviv, by a group of Jewish families seeking a more peaceful life outside of the Yafo's teeming streets. Other neighborhoods sprung up around Neve Tzedek, which were incorporated into the contemporary boundaries of the neighborhood.

The residents constructed mostly colorful, short buildings along narrow streets. Residents' homes featured many contemporary luxuries like private bathrooms and kitchens.

At the beginning of the 1900s, many artists and writers made Neve Tzedek their residence. Most notably, Nobel prize laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon, as well as Hebrew artist Nahum Gutman, used Neve Tzedek as both a home and a sanctuary for art.

As time went on, Neve Tzedek, its buildings abandoned or neglected, fell into disrepair. By the 1960s, city officials deemed Neve Tzedek incompatible with bustling Tel Aviv. However, their plan to demolish the historic neighborhood to make way for high rise structures was ultimately cancelled as many Neve Tzedek buildings were placed on preservation lists. The old, worn-out neighborhood became a patch of the pastoral amidst the greater urban center.

But by the end of the 1980s, efforts began to renovate and preserve Neve Tzedek's century-old structures. New establishments were housed in old buildings, most notably to the Suzanne Dalal Dance and Theater Center and the Nahum Gutman Museum, located in the artist's home.

The well-needed gentrification led to Neve Tzedek's rebirth as a fashionable residence for Tel Avivians. Its main streets became lined with once again with artists' studios alongside trendy cafes and bars. The Tel Aviv Subway, which is expected to pass near Neve Tzedek, will make the neighborhood even more accessible for visitors and residents alike.