Yarkon Cemetery

Coordinates: 32°06′56″N 34°52′12″E / 32.11556°N 34.87000°E / 32.11556; 34.87000

The Yarkon Cemetery has been the main cemetery for the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area since 1991. It is located within the Petah Tikva city limits, between the Yarkon River in the West, Highway 5 in the North, and the 491 road from East and South.

Yarkon Cemetery

The need to establish the cemetery was driven by crowding in the Southern Cemetery in Bat Yam. A number of locations were considered, including the area north of Ramat Aviv. The eventual location was preferred for being relatively far from the center of Tel Aviv. The cemetery was opened by chief rabbis Hayim David HaLevi and Israel Meir Lau.

When first opened, the cemetery covered an area of 230 acres (93 hectares), but has since been expanded to over 570 acres (230 hectares) with land purchased from surrounding agricultural areas, forming a rough circle 900m in diameter. An elliptical road surrounds the central part, giving access to the cemetery and parking areas by traffic and buses. There are three memorial halls close to the road. One of the problems of the cemetery is the rising water level of the Yarkon River during rainy winters.

Notable interred

Ofra Haza's grave
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