Tel Aviv Port is a recreation and shopping complex. Despite its name and although it has access to the sea, it has no port activity.
During the early 2000s, the municipality of Tel Aviv invested in the port’s transformation into a recreation and leisure complex open to the general public. The main goal of the project was to upgrade the area and the public landscape, “return the port to the public”, and turn it into a cultural and entertainment attraction.
Brief History of Tel Aviv Port
At the beginning of the great Arab uprising on April 19, 1936, a strike was declared in the port of Jaffa, and in order to prevent the collapse of the local orchard industry that would export its products through the port of Jaffa and on which the locality’s economy was based, it was decided to establish the first Hebrew port in Tel Aviv – despite opposition from the British government, which saw it as a surrender to the Arab strike. The British agreed to build a pier in the north of Tel Aviv, provided that the funding did not come from the Mandate Fund.
Plans to build a competing port in the Jaffa port began with the establishment of Tel Aviv. The plan to build the port at the end of today’s Allenby Street was inconsistent with the later city plan and did not materialize. Eventually, the port was established on the peninsula that forms the estuary of the Yarkon, in the northwest of the city of Tel Aviv.
In May 1936 a small pier was erected and on February 23, 1938, the port was officially opened. Unloading and loading work was stopped on November 3, 1965, in both the Tel Aviv Port and the Jaffa port, following the opening of the Ashdod port. The last ship docked at the Tel Aviv port on October 25, 1965.
Establishment of the Tel Aviv Port
With the Arab strike in 1936, the Zionist institutions applied for a license from the government to unload cargo at the Yarkon estuary. On May 15, the British High Commissioner granted the license and ordered the construction of a customs inspection post, and construction work on a small pier began immediately by a Jewish company.
A description of the start of operations at the Tel Aviv port was given by veterans of Hapoel’s Naval Company. The choice of the mooring location was made in an area where the water near the shore is deep enough to allow loaded boats to pass.
In order to establish the port, the “Otzar Mifalei Yam” company was established, and its shares were purchased by the Jewish public. The port was built by Jews from Greece (mainly from the Thessaloniki community), who had extensive experience in port work. The wooden pier, whose construction was celebrated in great splendor, collapsed the next day, but a new metal pier was built a month later.
The excavation of a permanent port began according to the plan of the city engineer Yaakov Shipman. Construction of the port was completed in February 1938, when the passenger port was opened. On February 23, an opening ceremony was held with the participation of the heads of the community. The construction of the first Hebrew port aroused great excitement in the locality and was considered by many to be another step on the road to the establishment of an independent state. Many Jewish locals purchased shares in Otzar Mifalei Yam to support the cause, and many songs were written in honor of the port – the best known is Leah Goldberg’s “Port Song”:
As far as the ships go,
A thousand hands unload and build
We occupy the wave beach
We are building a port here.
“The Port Song”, Leah Goldberg
The port breakwater was not built in the usual way, into the sea, but was built parallel to the shoreline. The mooring was excavated on private land east of the waterline. From the way of construction, it was clear that the port would be small and not a deep-water port, so ships could not enter it but anchor near it.
Operating the Port
At the time of its opening, the port was called Sha’ar Zion (Gate of Zion), because ships of new immigrants docked there. Today the street that leads to the main entrance of the port is called Sha’ar Zion Street.
The ships docked outside the port, with unloading and loading work done to barges that were brought into the port with the help of small tugs. New passengers and immigrants moved from ships in the middle of the sea to small boats (called “lunch boats”) that entered the harbor pool.
On May 19, 1936, the Yugoslav ship Chetvarti arrived on the shores of Tel Aviv, carrying a cargo of cement weighing about 25 kg per sack. This was a big deal, a ceremony was held and Mayor Meir Dizengoff himself (which Dizengoff Street is named after) spoke, and even took one sack of cement to the custody of the Tel Aviv Museum.
At the end of the general Arab strike in October 1936, there were Jewish merchants who argued that the port of Jaffa should be used again, but Ben-Gurion (the first prime minister of Israel) preferred national considerations over economic ones and the pier became permanent. After the end of the strike, Arab Jaffa port workers issued a statement in which they attacked the Mandatory government for approving the construction of the pier in Tel Aviv, thereby “depriving 2,000 Arab families of their livelihood.” The statement also criticized the Arab leadership and asked: “What are the preparations made by the noble leaders, who demanded that we persevere in the strike to the end in order to bring upon us this severe punishment?”.
During World War II the port was used as a military base for the British Army. During the War of Independence, it served as the main supply port of the State of Israel. Since the port of Haifa remained under British control.
Closing the Port
In the early years of Israel, plans were made to continue developing the port as another main port alongside the port of Haifa. The plans were delayed as it became clear that there was not enough space in the back of the port (which was already built) for its expansion, and that it will be difficult to build a railway and wide roads to the port through the city. Therefore, in the mid-1950s, it was decided to build a new port at the mouth of the Lachish River, later known as the port of Ashdod. In the meantime, the Tel Aviv port was used to import various goods, including oil and fuel to the Reading power plant, which is located on the other bank of the Yarkon River.
After its closure, the port served as an area for warehouses and workshops. During the Yom Kippur War, the port’s boats were transferred to the southern front and were used for the crossing of the Suez Canal, and later as a base for the bridge built by the IDF Engineering Corps over the canal. In the mid-1990s, it was decided by the Tel Aviv Municipality and the Otzar Mifalei Yam company to turn the port into a tourist and leisure commercial complex, and it was adapted for these uses.
Rehabilitation of Tel Aviv Port
During the 1990s, the first attempt was made in the process of rehabilitating the port, when the municipality began to renovate parts of the complex and try to connect it to the Tel Aviv promenade. During the 2000s, extensive renovations were made to the complex, and buildings were restored, including the establishment of the local Port Market.
Today, Namal Tel Aviv (the Tel Aviv Port) is one of the hottest places in town. During the day, the cafes and stores at the Port host some of the city’s richest and trendiest, whilst at night, Namal Tel Aviv transforms into one of Tel Aviv’s most popular nightlife venues.
The Tel Aviv Port is an area of culture, entertainment, and leisure activities. A huge wooden deck of 14 thousand square meters that is shaped like waves acts as a huge promenade running along the seafront. During the day the place is packed with families looking for great food and breeze, and in the evenings is filled with the younger crowd looking for the many bars and clubs there.
Shops at Namal Tel Aviv include popular Israeli fashion brands, sports shops, and smaller boutiques. Restaurants at Tel Aviv Port also range from full-service cuisine to cafes and coffee bars.
