Chicago Community Center & Mosaic Multicultural Center in Lod
History of LodThe city of Lod has an extremely rich and deeply-entrenched history running through its veins. The city’s demographic makeup consists of a Jewish majority (around 70%) and an Arab minority (around 30%). The neighborhood of Ramat Eshkol has an inverse population with an Arab majority and a diverse Jewish minority. As you walk around the old city in Ramat Eshkol, you might hear different pronunciations of the city’s name. This is because it is known by different names to different populations. Originally, it was known by the name of the Greek tribe that had settled here — Lydda. This is the classical and Biblical name. During the Roman period, it was known as Diospolis. Under Muslim Arab rule, the city was known as Al-Lydd or All-Lud. After 1948, it was changed by Jewish Zionists to Lod, utilizing a more ‘Hebraic’ title.Lod is an ancient city that has been continuously inhabited for 6000 years. It was a historical center for Jewish scholarship, a Roman legion encampment, the home and final resting place of the Christian Saint George, and a populous Arab city on the roads from Jaffa to Jerusalem as well as Cairo to Damascus. Lod’s significant as a city on the crossroads of four major Middle Eastern hotspots, urban centers, and holy spaces of religiosity led to its notoriety as a city on the road, a place for travelers to stop and rest, perhaps buy local handmade soaps and peruse the weekly shuk. Under the Ottoman rule, Lod was in touch with the bustling soap and olive oil industries. Groves of olive trees and lush orchards surrounded the city. Even when the earliest Zionist settlers entered the Lydda valley in 1903, the accounts of inter-community interactions are noted as peaceful; Jews and Arabs are noted to have worked together on olive oil production.Turmoil, however, would unfortunately ensue and the tensions caused by traumas of the past still linger today. Following Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, Lod became the site of the biggest Arab exodus during the war, with 25,000 Arabs leaving Lod in one day. After 1948, Lod experienced a huge influx of Jewish immigrants — first from Morocco and Tunisia, later from Ethiopia, and more recently from the former Soviet Union. Many of these immigrants were moved here by the Israeli government.Following the collapse of Lod’s municipality in the 1990s (more on this below), many Jewish families left the area. Disinterest and disinvestment in the area meant lower housing prices. This enabled Arab families to buy apartments in the area and once again become the demographic majority. Lod has since become home to Israel’s marginalized communities, including Bedouin, Muslim, and Christian Arabs and more Jewish immigrants from Arab countries, Ethiopia, and the former Soviet Union. As a result of these layers and influxes of very different populations (and as a part of the Judaization of Lod), the city’s logo and coat of arms are inscribed with Biblical words from Jeremiah 31:17: “The children will return to their country”.More recently, religious-nationalist Jews have been moving to the city in an attempt to strengthen it, and maintain its Jewish identity. Despite these communities appearing to have diametrically opposing viewpoints, the newer (often Ashkenazi) Jewish communities and the older Arab and Mizrahi communities work side-by-side in present-day Lod. There are many shared spaces in Lod, such as Liz Bakery or the Chicago Community Center, where they can come together, meet, interact, and simply be as they are, each with their own multiplicity of identities, voices, opinions. This is the beauty and strength of Lod that many other Israeli cities are lacking. Not only are they lacking encountering these elements of shared society firsthand, but they are not hearing voices from mixed-cities like Lod; Lod is still a city on the periphery. This tour and the initiative you will read about below are working to change that.Chicago Community CenterThe Chicago Community Center in Lod was founded in the 1970s through donations from the Jewish Federations of Chicago and St. Louis. Lod was predominantly Jewish at this time, and the Center was thus mainly for the Jewish population. Its main activities were events and shows in the auditorium space, and use of the building as a library. The Chicago Center quickly became a hub for families and cultural celebrations in Ramat Eshkol.The Municipality of Lod collapsed in the early 2000s, mostly due to debts the city was unable to pay. At the same time, the State of Israel settled a large population of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Lod. The lack of infrastructure to support their transition contributed to municipal deterioration. After the collapse, the city was run by a committee appointed through the government. Under this supervision, most families who had the financial means to exit the city quickly did so, moving to newer cities such as Modi'in. Families who were able to leave Lod for better opportunities in newer cities were predominantly Jewish, resulting in a demographic shift in Lod becoming more heavily Arab. The Chicago Community Center was directly affected by the demographic shift --community center budgets are directly informed by the municipality budget and what citizens are able to pay for. Since the government could not deliver money through a nonexistent municipality, and the citizens still in Lod at this time were not able to afford community center activities out of pocket, the Chicago Community Center was eventually closed from 2005 to 2013. The building was still used partially as an afternoon club for Ethiopian Jewish families in the area, who had come to rely on this space and program.In 2010, Orthodox Jewish (Garin Tourani) families worked with the Jewish Agency to formally reopen the center. At this time, the Chicago Center was specifically for Jewish families in the area -- the afternoon programs to serve Ethiopian Jewish families were continued and a fellowship group for elderly people in the Jewish community was established. The struggle for Arab society to participate in events at the community center began in 2011-2012, particularly as a clear Arab majority of residents emerged in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood. Faten al-Zanati, now the manager of the Chicago Community Center, was a leader in finding community services for the Arab community. Prior to her involvement with Chicago, she had been organizing an informal “street” community center outside to provide activities for Arab families and children. In 2012, the municipality decided to change the status of the community center and formally asked the Israel Association of Community Centers to take responsibility for its operation.In 2014, Faten was selected by the Israel Association of Community Centers to manage the center and it was officially fully reopened as the first Jewish-Arab community center in Israel. When Faten accepted this role, the community center was still physically segregated -- programs for Arab citizens were on the first floor and Jewish programs were on the second. The 2016 opening of the Center for Early Childhood, accomplished through cooperation between the Arab and Garin Tourani communities, was the first step of a change in the relationships between the communities. Faten, manager of the Chicago Community Center, and Noam Dreyfus, head of the Jewish orthodox community, worked together to find funding, eventually getting support from Bank Mizrahi and the Lod Foundation. The Center for Early Childhood provides parenting workshops and community-building programs for new parents. In 2017, formal activities geared towards bringing together different communities began at the Chicago Center. Leaders from different communities began to work together in activities promoting dialogue between groups and designing projects that improve neighborhood life for everyone. This work includes building committees, neighborhood cleaning initiatives, and projects working with the Municipality.From 2010-2012, a documentary was being filmed about Lod. When this was screened nationwide on Channel 8, the Chicago Community Center began receiving more attention regarding its unique work. People began to visit the area to learn more about its history and how leadership is trying to positively impact each citizen. In response to this and because Faten felt that they had a unique story to tell, the Chicago Center designed tours for visitors that would provide a stronger understanding of Lod. Visiting groups have become a staple of the Chicago Center.Lod is one of Israel’s few mixed Arab-Jewish cities and, as such, is an important place to learn how Arabs and Jews can live and work together. Today's Lod reflects its incredible growth as it moves forward from a tumultuous history. With a once-again thriving municipality and countless organizations where residents explore how to improve the community, Lod is a place of hope. We are proud that our work, from the bustling Chicago Community Center to exciting visits from international visitors, can be a part of this city's positive trajectory.Our multicultural learning initiatives are currently housed at the Chicago Community Center. Mosaic's work is an initiative of both people from the Chicago Community Center and the surrounding neighborhood. As one of the few community centers in Israel which serves both Jews and Arabs, its work has directly informed our educational programming and community building activities. Currently serving around 5,000 residents of Lod, from early childhood programs through senior citizen fellowship, the Chicago Community Center is undeniably at the heart of Ramat Eshkol. Programs are available for the Ethiopian-Jewish, Arab, and religious Jewish communities, with particular focus on youth movements to build leadership and women-centric programs to build education and employment. Its story is representative of demographic and ideological shifts in Lod, and is thus an integral part of the narrative we hope for visitors to explore.
Arches Compound
Hasuna Olive Oil Press
Olive oil production was a flourishing industry in this area throughout the 19th century and up until the early 20th century. Olive groves have speckled this ancient land long before the State of Israel or the foundation of the city of Lod (and the latter says a lot, as local pottery finds — which indicate settlement — date back 5600-5250 BCE).In the 1876 July issue of The Atlantic, writer Charles Dudley Warner states, in a piece titled ‘From Jaffa to Jerusalem’, “we come in sight of Ramleh, which lies on the swelling mounds of the green plain, encompassed by emerald meadows and by groves of orange and olive, and conspicuous from a great distance by its elegant square tower, the most beautiful in form that we have seen in the East.” We know Ramleh as Lod’s sister city as they are often coupled together; the 6-kilometer space between them is even called ‘Ramlod’.In the mid-19th century, a missionary named Dr. William M. Thompson visited the city and described it in his 1859 book titled The Land and the Book. He writes that Lod (Lydda) is a “flourishing village of some 2,000 inhabitants, imbosomed in noble orchards of olive, fig, pomegranate, mulberry, sycamore, and other trees, surrounded every way by a very fertile neighbourhood. The inhabitants are evidently industrious and thriving, and the whole country between this and Ramleh is fast being filled up with their flourishing orchards. Rarely have I beheld a rural scene more delightful than this presented in early harvest ... It must be seen, heard, and enjoyed to be appreciated.”The Hasuna family olive-oil press was built at the end of the Ottoman period and remained active until 1948. The traditional production facilities inside the press are still intact; this includes the olive oil extraction area, a space for the production of tahini and other sesame products, and an area for making olive-oil soap. Most of the machines inside were operated by a central diesel engine, which also remains intact inside.The olive harvests were separated according to the different groves. This ensured that landowners could keep track of the oil that was produced from his olives and track the product quality. Peasants from nearby villages also brought their olives and sesame to the factory, where they were able to see their produce turned into consumable goods. The payment was made by taking a percentage of the oil and tahini produced.Olives were put into the crushing machine where the olive ‘meat’ and the fat-rich pits are crushed together. The olive paste would then be put into round, car-tire shaped, fiber bags, called ‘aqal in Arabic. The ‘aqals were then stacked inside a press that extracted the oil from the crushed olives using immense pressure. Ensuring this pressure used to be achieved by a long wooden beam with weights hung from its end. Later on, they used a large screw that was gradually turned in order to increase the pressure.It is apparent that this old olive press was incredibly significant to the urban landscape of old Lydda. The remnants of this structure tell us about the productive nature of old Lod, this is matched by Thompson's description. We can see that the city’s story is interwoven and intricately connected to its surrounding nature. We can almost feel how important and bustling this site would have been. The local organization Jindas plans to preserve this olive press in their urban revitalization process; they see this historic site as a vital detail in the retelling of Lod’s narrative and hope that this site will remain ingrained in our collective memory as a way of preserving Lod’s history.
Khan El-Hilu
The structure you see before you is an impressive 19th century Khan. ‘Khan’ is Arabic for inn or caravansary. ‘Hilu', or ‘Khilu’, is Arabic for sweet and is named after the sweet turmus (Lupinus) seeds. This name was given during the British Mandate period when the seeds were stored in the building. The turmus seed is toxic but can be used as a medical treatment. During ancient times, the seeds were boiled by farmers and prepared as snacks.No structure on this tour better represents Lod’s significant location on the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem than the Khan. This structure dates back to the Ottoman period, built in the early 19th century to serve as a resting station along the road. It was also a bustling commercial center to buy and sell goods. The Khan and much of the old city surrounding it were mostly destroyed in the 1950s to pave the way for the process of modernization and new housing structures in Lod.More recently, the site has been excavated and conserved as part of an archeological community project. This project was started in 2007. This community initiative involved students from local schools who were encouraged to participate in the excavation process and immerse themselves in their city’s history, learning about Lod from the ‘ground-up’. The site was previously a dump yard filled with debris before this community project worked to conserve the structure.The future of the Khan has been an ongoing discussion among local leaders and activists in Lod since this conservation effort took off. There have been discussions regarding repaving the courtyard, restoring the structural walls, and eventually bringing the Khan back to its original state. Until then, this site has seen gatherings, cross-community night markets, and shared society collaborations. The Khan is also part of a larger urban revitalization plan overseen by the local organization Jindas. The idea is to envision this space as a tourist attraction, one that highlights Lod’s history in a way that benefits the strong and special communities here. If this site — which will become an anchor, linking to the rest of Lod’s ancient sites — does indeed flourish as projected, it will play a vital role in changing the narrative of Lod to one that is positive and reflects the parts of Lod that serve as a model for shared society.Mosaic and the Chicago Community Center are excited to be making progress on plans for a multicultural learning center, which will be a part of the Khan’s renovations, to provide a home for our community programs and educational tours. This project is a manifestation of our goal to build infrastructure for community relationship building and celebration of the various communities living in Lod. It will serve as the center for hospitality and tourism in Lod, with plans to build an authentic Ethiopian mud house with coffee ceremonies and a cafe with local Arab food. We are excited to share the narratives of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants alongside the story of their Arab neighbors. We hope that the Khan will serve as a home for the various communities living in the city, as well as for visiting groups who are interested in learning about Lod as a mixed city.
Triangle of Religions
Church of St. George
While standing before this structure in the triangle of religions, we are looking at an impressive historical structure inside an even more historic city, a city that has seen Roman, Byzantine, Early Muslim, Christian Crusader, Ayyubid, Mamluk, Ottoman, British Mandate, and now Israeli control. The Church of St. George is one of two major shrines dedicated to the important Saint George. Dating back to the fourth century, this dragon-slaying solider-saint is buried in the crypt of this Greek-Orthodox church, in the same city where he died. The building you see before you was completed in 1870, and shares a wall with the El-Omri Mosque.The church was first constructed in the Byzantine era. It was rebuilt by the Crusaders and later reconstructed as we see it now in the late Ottoman period. Completed in the late 19th century, there are embedded elements from the earlier Crusader’s period fortified church, which was built over the ruins of the original Byzantine church. This structure helped protect the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem.The tomb of Saint George was also once the resting place of his Holy Relics, however, now it remains empty as the Holy Relics have been dispersed around the world. Such relics included the chains that were used to secure Saint George while in jail. The Tomb is revered by both Christians and Muslims. The Church of Saint George sees numerous people every year flocking to this significant religious site. In religious ceremonies, oil and myrrh are poured over the tomb as a Tama (a votive offering) to Saint George and they are given out as a form of blessing to pilgrims. As you step inside the church you will find two sets of the iconostasis (a wall of icons and religious paintings) and alter tables.
El-Omri Mosque
The second holy site in the triangle of religions is the El-Omri Mosque. This holy space is complex and full of a history that intertwines with the Church of Saint George as well as Saint George himself. During the Byzantine Period, this site served as a basilica to St. George. It was destroyed, however, during the city’s destruction by the Umayyad Caliph Abd el-Malik. It was then rebuilt alongside the Crusader reconstruction of St. George in the 12th century and once more destroyed in the 13th century by the Mamelukes. They took the rubble and stone and built a mosque on site in 1268 as was ordered by Sultan Rukn al-Din Baybars. This mosque was also claimed to be dedicated to St. George, but he was proclaimed an Islamic holy figure rather than a Christian saint. It is named after Omar Ibn el-Khattab (577-644), the Caliph who conquered Jerusalem in 637 AD and expanded the Islam Caliphate.While non-Muslims are not allowed inside the mosque today, it might be possible to view the beautiful fountain inside when the doors are open. If you can go in, you will see an apse that remains from the ancient Byzantine basilica at the north end of the prayer hall. On the east side you can find a column with Greek inscriptions that were taken from the church as well.The original minaret of the mosque collapsed in 1927 after an earthquake, and in 1938, the mosque was used as a place for Lod’s revolutionary leaders to gather and use as a headquarters. A dazzling new white minaret stands tall today and has now become a symbol among Ramat Eshkol’s skyline.
Al-Far Soap Factory
Soap was a booming industry in the region; it was being manufactured on an industrial scale in Jaffa, Jerusalem, Gaza, and Lod, with the production center located in Nablus (now a Palestinian town in the West Bank where two soap factories operate today). The Al-Far soap factory, now ruinous, tells us about pieces of Lod’s history and is symbolic of the contrasting narratives vying for Lod’s memory. There are two main histories of these ruins; both will be presented here for you to ponder and reflect on in the face of these weed-riddled sandy stones.The factory was constructed in the early 19th century in stone under the Ottomans. Soap was made here by crushing olives and then cooking them with ash from plants and other oils. They would have been formed into bars and hammer-stamped with an emblem and the name Al-Far. This process required a single worker to individually stamp each bar, walking from bar to bar with his back bent over the soaps until thousands of bars were stamped.After this process, bars were formed and left to dry before being cut up and packed away into boxes, ready to be sold on the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem. The drying process would have been an impressive sight; the soaps would be rounded and piled into a tower formation one meter long and more than two meters tall, with each row slightly more narrow than the one below in order to maintain structural integrity. The bars of soap would have been left like this over the course of multiple days until they were completely hardened.After they were dried, the bars would have been wrapped in paper that was also stamped with the Al-Far name. This part of the process was generally left for women, as they were said to contain the patience to wrap, stamp, and pack thousands of soap packages. Soaps were sent out by the crate-load, ready to be sold in Lod’s various markets which were crucially located on the central intersections of Jaffa—Jerusalem, and Damascus—Cairo.The factory structure is located on the corner of the city market and west of the Church of Saint George and the El-Omri Mosque. It belonged to the Al-Far family, who were forced to flee Lod in 1948. After the war, the site was expropriated by the Israeli Government and is today managed by the State of Israel. ‘Masbane’ is the term for a traditional olive oil soap factory in Arabic. Many of these factories also included olive-oil presses where farmers would have brought their olives. It is undetermined if there was an olive-oil press on this location or if the Hasuna olive press was the central olive press in Lod.The architecture of the soap factory dates back to the 19th century, most likely the earlier half. The lower-grade olive-oil from the presses was sent over to the soap-making processes. Most of the soap products that were used in traditional societies were oil-based, and olive oils were especially particular to this region and the Mediterranean. The construction of the vault inside is very uncommon in Palestinian architecture, it can, in fact, even be described as rare due to the peculiar use of storage jars rather than long, thick bottle-like jars. The site was found to be in a poor physical state by the Israeli Institute of Archeology. This is perhaps due to the atypical construction style using storage jars, which had a lower resistance to stress than the longer, thicker bottles typical to a masbane like this one.The Al-Far soap factory, much like many of the other sites mapped on this tour, is being eyed by the local municipality, organizations, and local leaders as a sight ready for renovation and reconstruction. There has been some mentioning of restoring its soap-making capabilities as well as the transformation of the surrounding space to encompass cafés, commercial shops, and other eateries. The soap factory, if restored, would be a gem nestled inside the old city of Lod.
Lod Mosaic & Museum
Jindas Bridge
The bridge structure here remains an embossed and resilient piece of history. Dating back to the 13th century, it was a Mamluk bridge known then as the Baybars Bridge, stretching out over the Ayalon River. It is still in use today and is right outside of the strip of Lod that is heavily dotted with NGOs, organizations, and businesses. The only other Mamluk bridge in Israel — the Jumping Bridge in Yavneh, is not in use. The Jindas bridge, as it is called today, is part of the Mamluk postal road (Tariq al Barid) project. It is one of the most impressive ancient bridges in this part of the world. It is the only bridge in the area to have survived dynamic changes, war, and the immense flooding of 1992.
