Kefar Sava

Kefar Sava, city, west-central Israel, in the southern Plain of Sharon. The locality is not mentioned in the Bible but is referred to in the Talmud. Although the name appears in the Antiquities of the Roman-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (written about ad 90–100), scholars now believe the reference there is to another place in the vicinity.

Modern Kefar Sava, the first Jewish settlement of the southern Sharon, was founded in 1903 (six years before Tel Aviv), next to the Arab village of Kafr Sābā, which had retained the ancient name. The early colonizers planted almonds, olives, and some eucalyptus trees for swamp drainage. Numerous obstacles were placed in the settlers’ path by the Ottoman Turkish authorities. During the later stages of World War I, the western section of the front between the advancing British armies and the Turkish-German forces passed through Kefar Sava, but in September 1918 the Australian cavalry that was attached to Field Marshal E.H.H. Allenby’s command broke the front of the Turkish 8th Army, and Kefar Sava passed behind the British lines. The settlement, which had suffered severely during the war and again during the Arab riots of 1921, was reestablished in 1922. The modern city’s economy is based on citrus fruits, mixed farming, dairying, and light industry; citrus canning and aluminum processing are among the chief industrial undertakings. The city has a large hospital specializing in the treatment of lung diseases. Inc. local council, 1939; city, 1962. Pop. (2006 est.) 81,100.