A German industrious and succesful city

Nahariya has long been known as the ‘Yekke’ city, a nickname given to the 40,000 Jews who came to Palestine in the 30’s, fleeing the Nazis. It all started in 1935 with a few dozen settlers who had just arrived from Germany.

It was supposed to be an agricultural settlement. But very quickly, (a mix of harsh conditions and unpreparedness as they were all white collars), they realized it was not going to happen and by the turn of the 40’s it was slowly becoming the largest and most exclusive European style sea side resort of the country. Inhabitants were transforming their houses into guesthouses, which probably explains why to this day, holiday lets in Israel are called Zimmer. It quickly became the number one honeymoon destination for Israelis.

With the creation of the state and mass immigration, the city became a development city with it’s tented camps (ma’abarot). The Germans were now a minority but they were certainly an elite and they left a huge mark on the city, having created huge industrial empires such as the diairy giant Strauss, the king of pastrami Soglowek or Wertheimer who started his hugely successful metal business from his backyard in Nahariya before becoming the head of one of the richest families in Israel.

Interestingly enough, especially considering the contribution of the German Jews to the past glory of Nahariya in particular and to the world in general, I always thought that the term Yekke (link: https://www.anumuseum.org.il/blog-items/story-yekkes-jewish-germans-land-israel/) was an ode to the German industriousness, culture and sense of precision. But on the contrary, it was just as it sounds, extremely pejorative, and apparently meant “those who don’t understand anything” because these German Jews who had come as refugees and not for ideological reasons, found it really hard to integrate and learn Hebrew.  Nevertheless, they had made of Nahariya an industrial and touristic hub.

The loss of it’s shine

But by the 80’s, Nahariya’s popularity as a holiday destination began to fade.  Mainly because traveling abroad was becoming more accessible. 

Add to this the election of a new, corrupt and incompetent mayor who somehow managed to keep his post for more than 30 years, and you’ll understand that from this point, the city went seriously downhills. To the point it became a symbol a petty crime, corruption and bad management. One of the mayor’s many exploits was to built a commercial center right at a point that served as drainage for the Ge’aton, the local river around which the main artery with all the restaurants and café is built. The end result: annual flooding which have already claimed several lives.

Not surprisingly, during his tenures, many hotels turned into apartment buildings and old age homes, to cater for an aging population.

You can already see from this description that if you’re looking for Myconos or Ibiza vibes, Nahariya is not the place for you!

Why on earth did we buy a flat in Nahariya if the situation is so bad, you probably ask yourself at this point. Well, it is not just because the area is so beautiful that we instantly fell in love.

It is also because it looks like things are about to change for the better.

On the way to the revival of a glorious Nahariya

A symbol of this downfall is probably the closure, announced for January 2023, of the iconic Penguin restaurant. Opened in 1940  by Hugo Oppenheimer and his son Ernst, it started as a kiosk selling ice creams, mainly to the British soldiers stationed in the area. In Germany, they owned a big department store and their attemps at becoming farmers didn’t go as planned. 

It quickly became a huge success, from a kiosk, it became a restaurant serving among other German delicacies, their wife and mother’s soon to become famous schnizel. At it’s peak, it would serve thousands of clients on a daily basis, among them many celebrities. Concerts where organized, the competition for Miss Israel was held in it’s premices. 

We have been there a few times and it was easy to see that this landmark of Nahariya was not doing great and that it’s days were counted. Interestingly enough, this closure might be precisely what will mark the renewal of Nahariya as a touristic destination. The plan is to build instead a big new hotel and several restaurants.

Where is this change coming from?

Four years ago, a new mayor was elected and he seems to be extremely serious about putting back Nahariya on the touristic map. One thing he certainly has going in his favor is that the potential is huge given that Nahariya sits on what it certainly the most beautiful piece of coast of the country.

Just to show you how serious the guy is, on his second year in office, he was already able to balance his budget. After so many years of neglect and bad management, it was deemed such an extraordinary achievement that it made national news! Since then, he has managed to completely change the face of the city, mainly along the sea shore. It all started with the building of a beautiful promenade.

It continued with the opening of many public spaces of all sorts (places to sit, play sport, playgrounds… that the 60,000 inhabitants have embraced lovingly and which are buzzing with activity), he completely reorganized the public beach which used to have pebbles by bringing tons of sand and building a rocky platform for anglers.

All the facilities for boat renting, scuba diving are currently being renovated.  The next step seems to be the construction of several parks. One of them right under our flat. I am actually following it’s progress very closely since I have a very personal interest vested in it’s completion. It will make the walk to my favorite patisserie a little less than 5 minutes instead of the long half an hour tour it now requires! Of course, it’s main goal is quite different, as it is meant to solve the flooding problem that was inherited (and although the works seems to be going at a rate that is much too slow for my liking, it looks like the drainage problem has already been solved for the coming winter), but it will definitely enhance the area a little bit more.

So yes, Nahariya might still be a sleepy little sea side town, but it looks like it might change rapidly. To us, of course, it’s sleepiness is probably it’s main quality as it means it is quiet, offers a real quality of life and that the beaches around the city are unspoiled and beautiful. Who knows how long it will last until it is all destroyed by mass tourism! It is nested in one of the most beautiful areas in Israel, surrounded by green mountains and riverbeds. A real gem out of the beaten path but well worth a visit!

I have convinced you and you want to see it for yourself? Use our holiday let in Nahariya

For more details, you can call John +97252712304

Whatsapp Marion +972527206860

Or send us an email johnjkrivine@yahoo.com