"First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain eight kilometres (5 mi) south of Tel Aviv.

Rishon LeZion was founded on 31 July 1882, by ten Hovevei Zion pioneers from Kharkiv, Ukraine (then the Russian Empire) headed by Zalman David Levontin.

The British vice-consul in Jaffa, Haim Amzaleg, purchased 835 acres (337.91 ha) of land southeast of present-day Tel Aviv, the site of watering holes called ‘Uyūn Qārā (literally 'fountain of the crier') from Mustafa Abdallah ali Dajan.

[4] According to Marom, ‘Uyūn Qārā offered "a convenient launching pad for early land purchase initiatives which shaped the pattern of Jewish settlement until the beginning of the British Mandate".

In November 1883 the first rows were planted, led by ten Russian farmers who were further trained at Mikveh Israel agriculture school, also funded in part by Rothschild.

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the leading figure in the revival of Hebrew, was a teacher in Rishon LeZion, as was his colleague David Yudilovitz.

Naphtali Herz Imber, the later famed Hebrew language poet, lived in Rishon LeZion for a few years in the late 1880s.

In 1887, Shmuel Cohen, a young resident of Rishon with a musical background, observed the emotional response of the local Jewish farmers to Imber's poem.

The catalyst of Cohen's musical adaptation facilitated the quick, enthusiastic spread of Imber's poem throughout all the Zionist communities of Mandatory Palestine.

In November 2004, the State of Israel formally adopted Shmuel Cohen's 1887 musical adaptation to a newly shortened, modified version of Imber's poem, creating the modern Israeli National Anthem, the Hatikvah.

[14] A stone cenotaph was erected by the people of Rishon LeZion to the memory of the New Zealanders who fell that day, but it has since been destroyed.

[15][16] In the wake of the battle, the New Zealanders set up camp at Rishon Lezion, which was described by one officer as a "pretty little hamlet surrounded by vineyards and orange groves."

The contract allowed the Electric Company to extend the grid beyond the original geographical limits that had been projected by the concession it was given.

The high-tension line that exceeded the limits of the original concession ran along some major towns and agricultural settlements, offering extended connections to the Jewish settlements of Rishon Le-Zion, Nes-Ziona and Rehovot (despite their proximity to the high-tension line, the Arab towns of Ramleh and Lydda remained unconnected).

[23] In 2016, the Israeli government approved the expansion of Rishon LeZion onto sand dunes west of the city, upon which one of the largest commercial and residential construction projects in the Central District will be built on 1,000 dunams.

[24][25] The 1922 Census conducted by the British Mandate authorities found 1,373 Jews living in Rishon LeZion and 23 Muslims.

[citation needed] Rishon LeZion's main industries today are wine, construction, services and commerce.

The Rishon LeZion Amphitheatre Live Park has hosted overseas artists such as Sting, Mariah Carey, Ozzy Osbourne, Christina Aguilera, Metallica, Alanis Morissette, alt-J, Megadeth, Deep Purple, Avicii, Jason Derulo, Flo Rida, Wiz Khalifa and Sean Paul.

Landmarks in Rishon LeZion include the history museum; the Carmel Winery; the administrative center of Edmond James de Rothschild, now a soldiers' memorial; the Great Synagogue; the Well; the old water tower; and Beit Sefer Haviv, the first Hebrew School.

"Open Doors" is a holocaust memorial which is a 7-meter-high (23 ft) sculpture designed by Filipino artist Luis Lee Jr.

When and if Tzrifin is sold to private contractors as planned, this quarter is expected to expand significantly with new lucrative housing projects.

Other smaller neighborhoods include Revivim, Kidmat Rishon, Ne'urim, Rambam, Neve Hadarim, HaShomer, Kfar Arye, Mishor HaNof and Kiryat Simha.

Hapoel has won more than seven domestic championships and cups in a row, with stars like goalkeeper Vladimir Zaikman and field-players Idan Maimon and Dudi Balsar.

Other, smaller stadiums, are located in Shikun Hamizrah, in Nahlat Yehuda, and in the Superland amusement park complex.

The Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball team is a long-time member of Ligat HaAl, the top division.

The Maccabi Rishon LeZion handball team is a long-time member of Ligat Ha'Al, the top division.

There are direct trains from the HaRishonim Railway Station to Tel Aviv, Lod, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva, Rosh HaAyin, Hod HaSharon and Kfar Saba.

The bus companies serving intercity lines in Rishon LeZion are: Egged, Dan, Afikim, Metropoline, and Kavim.

Throughout the war, he stayed at the home of Rishon LeZion mayor Meir Nitzan and accompanied him on visits to sites hit by missiles.

[50] In 2009 a memorial was erected in Rishon LeZion to the 10,000 German and Austrian Jews who found refuge in the Philippines during the Shoah.