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On April 11, 1909 a few dozen people gathered on a sand dune to the northeast of Jaffa in order to allot plots of land for a new neighborhood called "Ahuzat Bayit". Akiva Aryeh Weiss, the chairman of the lottery vowed they would build the "New York of Eretz Israel". The founders of Tel Aviv were undoubtedly visionaries who dreamed large dreams despite the small odds.
Today, more than 100 years after the founding of Tel Aviv, the city is the gateway to Israel. It is an urban economic and cultural center on a global level. The city is now at the height of a groundbreaking strategic process to establish itself as one of the world's twenty leading cities.
A "global city" is a leading city that constitutes an international business center which directly and tangibly affects world affairs. Tel Aviv has been strategically positioned as "the Startup City", encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation in order to give it a relative advantage over other cities.
This move is the fruit of collaboration among the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, the government of Israel, the business sector, cultural and artistic institutions of Greater Tel-Aviv and most of all – the residents of Tel Aviv-Yafo. The goal is to improve the quality of life that the city offers its residents and visitors by attracting international resources and investments. The Tel Aviv Global Administration was founded as part of this strategy.
Tel Aviv-Yafo, the first Hebrew city and now a global city as well, will continue to be a profoundly Israeli city, all the while being a global leader in the fields of economics, tourism, culture and society. It serves not only as a source of pride for its residents, but also contributes greatly to Israel's global image, economy, financial stability and cultural, academic and social achievements.
Ron Huldai
Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo
