RAANANA

Raanana is a thriving city in the heart of the Sharon region, 12km north of Tel-Aviv, stretching over 14,928 dunams. A young and educated city, most of its residents are native Israelis living alongside many immigrants from all over the world, many of whom come from English speaking countries. Raanana is proud of its many achievements in all areas of life, and is one of the most popular cities in Israel.

It is a city that preserves its history, its village-like atmosphere and its attributes as a city of and for the residents, along with being characterized by the dynamic growth of the 21st century. The city has seen marked growth in its development, the construction of new neighborhoods with sophisticated and modern community centers and public institutions, a thriving Hi-tech Park, for the enjoyment of its residents, children and youth has grown significantly.

Raanana, which has already won many awards for its activities, promoting environmental quality and quality of life, as well as the high level of its city infrastructure. It continues to take scrupulous care of its environment and to invest in the improvement of its resident's quality of life,
in the spirit of the international standard ISO-9002, which was awarded to the city on behalf of the Israeli Standards Institute.

RELIGIOUS RAANANA

The City of Raanana has an enormous amount to offer the Torah observant Jew. While it is not quite Yerushalayim yet, it has made remarkable strides in the last few years towards becoming a city that provides the institutions, atmosphere, programs and general Yiddishkeit which make living a fulfilled Torah Life eminently attainable.
Here are some of the facts:

• POPULATION 75,000
• RELIGIOUS POPULATION 20,000
• ENGLISH-SPEAKERS 11,000

Shuls

Approximately 80, ranging from Chareidi through Chabad to Yemenite, Sephardi, Carlebach and on to Modern Orthodox. Several shuls have large Anglo populations and some of those are served by English-speaking Rabanim:

KINOR DAVID(CARLEBACH)

RABBI ZVI KOREN

SHIVTEI ISRAEL

RABBI DANIEL BELLER

MERKAZ KLITA

RABBI KALMAN GROSS

KOLLEL MINYAN

RABBI DAVID SIMON

The MASORTI SHUL

Caters to approximately 100 families

The REFORM SHUL

Also caters to approximately 100 families

Educational Institutions

Kindergartens - Approximately 18. Ranging, once again, from Chareidi through Chabad and on to National Religious and Reform
Elementary Schools- 3 State Religious Schools (Mamlachti-Dati) and 3 Private Religious Schools
Junior High & High Schools

For Boys

Yeshivat Bnei Akiva
Yeshivat Kfar Batyah
High School for Science & Technology

For Girls

Amit Renanim
Ulpanat Tzvia (in nearby Herzlia)
Ulpanat Amana (in nearby Kfar Saba)

Youth Organizations

There are three religious Youth Movements, catering for boys and girls of school age. Probably the most popular is Bnei Akiva and there are also Ezra and Religious Scouts

Post High School Education

Yeshivat Hesder. Relatively new to Raanana, the Yeshiva caters for young men who have qualified to devote part of their extended Army Service to Yeshiva Limud.
There are four Kollelim in Raanana at present:

the Kfar Batya Kollel
the Rav Schiff Kollel
the Kollel of the Clevelander Rebbe and
the Raanana Community Kollel for English-speakers

Each Kollel tailors its learning program to the needs of the segment of the population that it serve

MaTan

Programs that cater for the ladies in the community. Once again the learning is tailored to the requirements of the 400-500 participants (Hebrew and English).
In addition to the above, most of the shuls have their own learning programs for men and women and these are supplemented by visiting lecturers brought in by the Municipality and other Organizations.
What about five years down the line? Without posing as prophets, there is every reason to believe that religious life in Raanana will improve qualitatively and quantitatively at an ever-increasing pace!

CULTURAL RAANANA

If your definition of Culture is the same as ours, then you're thinking of all those things that go to making life richer, more exciting and stimulating, things that give the trials and tribulations that are part and parcel of normal living an entirely new perspective. Bear in mind too, that the cultural commonalities between the Anglo-Saxon world and Raanana will help to make you're move a really pleasant experience. Raanana, a city of 70 000 people, offers a variety of cultural activities that would make many cities three times its size, envious. Starting with the environs that are obvious as soon as you enter the city. Lawns, trees and flowers are everywhere and the city's parks are famous countrywide. Pride of place goes to Raanana Park which boasts acres of green lawns, a really magnificent amphitheatre with an ongoing program of concerts with local, national and international artists, sports fields, a lake (with swans), and a small zoo.

Sports

Raanana residents young, and not so young enjoy a wide range of competitive and recreational sports most of them, courtesy of the City, others such as lawn bowls require membership of the local country club. While Israeli staples, soccer, basketball, volleyball and handball top the list, the Anglos in the community have introduced rugby, cricket, lawn bowls, tennis and netball, all played competitively. Swimming, athletics and Olympic gymnastics are all catered for, and there is a golf club just up the road (well almost) in Shefayim. The Raanana Marathon and the annual cycle rally are famous.

Theatre & Cinema

All the professional theatre companies visit the City, so if your Hebrew is up to it there is an absolute feast of classical, modern and indigenous drama awaiting you. If you prefer your plays in English then help is at hand in the form of professional and amateur companies, local and overseas, that perform here regularly. For those Anglos who enjoy treading the boards, there is also an active amateur theatre group. Cinemas here show the latest films from all over the world.

Music & Dance

Despite its size Raanana boasts a full-time professional Symphonette with a full calendar, and a standard repertoire, and innovative additions of all kinds (some of the soloists include the late Ray Charles, Manhattan Transfer, and Stevie Wonder!). Amateur music making is alive and well and living right here, in the form of choirs, dance groups, and instrumental ensembles, big and small. The City is also visited regularly by top-of-the-bill Israeli and Overseas artists.