Holon has poured considerable amounts of energy and funds into child education and cultural activities, and has quickly become a hub for young families.
By ANN GOLDBERGHolon mediatheque 88 224(photo credit: Ann Goldberg)
If I were a young child, I'd beg my parents to move to Holon. The city is a dream for children of all ages. The transformation from a dull city of anonymous sand dunes to the bright, innovative children's paradise started around 15 years ago when Motty Sasson became mayor.
Having grown up in Holon, he wanted to put his hometown back on the map in a big way and halt - even reverse - the steady stream of young families leaving the city. Working with various municipal planning committees, Sasson has implemented revolutionary ideas for culture, education and design. The beginning of the 2008-9 school year saw the inauguration of the new state-of-the-art Shamir School, with its circular building and glass walls, which allow natural light to flood the hallways.
Metro caught up with Sasson in the midst of a typical, very busy working day and asked him what he considered the most important aspects of Holon today. "Quality of life for all our citizens," he said, then added, "of course, education and culture are extremely important."
What he didn't need to add was the self-evident emphasis the city puts on children: their needs, education, entertainment and future. "Almost all of the young families with children who left Holon and moved to Rishon Lezion or other cities have returned, and many new families have moved here," said Sasson. Exact numbers of new arrivals were not available, but a new school had to be built this year to accommodate the city's growing number of pupils, as well as six new kindergartens that have opened their doors.
Driving around Holon gives one the feeling of being in one large open-air museum.
Scattered all over the town are 13 "Story Gardens." These were developed after conferring with the city's librarians about which Israeli children's stories were the most popular. Artists and sculptors were then assigned to create appropriate environmental sculptures depicting these stories. Now children are taken to the parks and read the story (or have it read to them) and walk among the characters and scenes. These models - which the kids can touch and sometimes sit on or enter - gives an extra dimension to the story and helps them enjoy and absorb the poetry and grasp the moral of the story in a hands-on way. In these parks, even the seats are child-high, and rather than being supported by regular legs rest on cat and turtle shapes.
The Story Gardens are only one of many types of parks found all over the city for the enjoyment of children and adults alike. At the entrance to Holon is the Twin Cities Garden, dedicated to Holon's sister cities in the USA, Germany, China and France. The South Korea Garden continues the international theme with its assortment of totem poles, and the Japanese Garden includes traditional elements such as bamboo furniture, pergolas, and waterfalls. The Cactus Garden boasts a delightful collection of cacti and other desert plants in a beautifully landscaped setting.
Tel Gibborim Park is built on the old Arab look-out that threatened the Jews prior to the War of Independence and also serves as a memorial to fallen soldiers. Another "historical" park is the "Fillbox Park," named after the "Pillbox" observation post built by the British and mispronounced by Israelis. The municipality has taken care to preserve the historic elements with explanations of their significance and build a park around them that includes play and picnic areas.
Another favorite with the city's children is Herzl Park, which features not one but several enormous, multicolored, sculptured playgrounds. Indeed, art and sculpture are found all over Holon, some used in very creative ways. Large sculptures are used as signposts that guide visitors around the city and giant murals of happy children playing cover the schools' exterior walls.
At a time when library attendance nationwide is at an all-time low, Holon's Mediatheque, which first opened in 2004, is packed during leisure hours, weekends and holidays. For a modest one-time deposit, children and adults in all income brackets can borrow from a vast range of books and music DVDs from all over the world. The children's library section has low, comfortable kids' furniture that encourages them to sit around and sample books and music, and a computer room for their use with on-site advice. There are regular story-telling sessions, and authors often come to visit and meet their readers. Children from far beyond the city limits come to enjoy their free time in a fun, entertaining, non-pressured yet (don't tell them) educational environment.
But the library is only part of this amazing NIS 22 million center, which covers an area of 7,600 square meters. The other major section is a youth theater with areas and studios for rehearsal and performance. The idea of combining literature and theater is enhanced by "book performances," in which actors perform parts of beloved books for the children, engaging them and bringing their favorite characters to life.
Mediatheque's vast structure is painted in bright primary colors with an exterior and interior designed to attract the younger generation and entice them in to see what's going on - and there's always something new and fun. Sasson also plans to build a concert hall adjacent to the Mediatheque.
In addition to the library and theater, Mediatheque also houses the Israel Design Center, a venue for conferences, meetings, workshops and lectures - as well as productions - and a technology information center with exhibits of various industrial materials and a collection of design books and catalogues.
Another first for the country, the Israeli Museum of Caricature and Comics, opened its doors in Holon in November 2007. Only the 12th such institute in the world, this unusual museum takes visitors chronologically through the ages of developing caricatures and comics and also houses permanent and temporary exhibitions of famous cartoonists' work. The Jewish sense of humor, often black humor, is sometimes the only thing that has kept us going during difficult periods, and visitors to the museum can see what types of cartoons we have laughed at through various crises. An entire exhibition is devoted to the theme of "peace."
The Children's Museum in Peres Park is somewhat misnamed, because it's not like any other museum visitors may have been to - it's more a children's fun experience. As children enter, they are taken into the Activity Tent, where they are introduced to all sorts of games and crafts. Each age group (the "museum" is suitable for ages 4-12) has its own guided "story path" to travel. Along the way, they interact with characters and plot and help decide the outcome of events. (Visits have to be booked in advance at (03) 650-3005; children ages 4-8 need an adult escort)
The same facility houses two other activities not intended for young children. One, Dialogue in the Darkness, offers an opportunity to "see" life using every sense except sight. In pitch darkness, (a darkness so total it's almost painful) a blind guide takes a group of up to 10 people through various everyday experiences. Using only a stick to find their way, visitors stop at the "shuk," take a boat ride, a stroll through the park and finally order and pay for a drink or snack in a bar. The experience can be quite frightening at first. When Metro visited, one group member lost her sense of balance and the guide helped her move slowly around until she felt more secure. Gradually, by using the other four senses, it is possible to discover life in a different way.
A similar project, Invitation to Silence offers the experience of communication without hearing or speaking. Visitors cover their ears, and a deaf guide takes them through various games and interactions that necessitate the use of sign language, facial expressions and body language.
Invitation to Silence and Dialogue in the Dark are intended to help the visitor understand the world of the deaf and the blind, respectively, and dispel myths about their quality of life and give an - albeit limited - glance at how people live a full life even with these physical challenges. The projects originated in Europe and are franchised all over the world. Their popularity here has extended their stay in Israel many times. Advanced booking is needed for both exhibitions. No admission for children under nine. Both are heavily booked, so it is advisable to reserve days, even weeks in advance at (03) 650-3005, the same telephone number as for the Children's Museum.
Peres Park is also home to an attractive artificial lake with boats for hire, waterfalls and picnic areas. Sasson has many other plans for this park - including a big sports hall with facilities for many different sports, which he intends to serve as a venue for national championships. Swimmers, however, are already well served at Yamit 2000, built at the turn of the century, which houses an Olympic-size swimming pool, mega water slides and all the fun of a giant water park.
Sasson is sparing nothing in his attempt to provide his city's residents with a high quality of life and, as he puts it, a "European standard of living." The regularly updated municipal Web site, www.holon.muni.il, provides information on what's happening in town, from a local festival to the opening of a new stretch of road. The long-term mayor is proud that the tremendous developments in Holon have all been within the city's budget, and he has a long to-do list. Investment in high-tech enterprises is high priority for him.
Holon is also becoming more ecologically conscious, Sasson says. Contractors in the city are now starting to request green certificates, which indicate that their buildings haven't harmed the environment in any way and are constructed to encourage environmentally friendly living. Some of the requirements for a green certificate mandate that the building blueprint include trees and that individual recycling containers for separating various types of garbage be situated in the building's parking lot.
But wherever one drives around Holon, the sand dunes on which the city was founded over 60 years ago are never far. A city road can boast a luxury apartment block on one side and dunes on the other - all part of an environmental plan to retain Holon's character and preserve its wildlife.
Maybe the next generation of Israeli artists will emerge from the sand dunes of Holon.
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
