Ahuzat

Ahuzat is a Hebrew noun that generally means holding, estate, or property. In modern Hebrew it is used to refer to property or holdings, and appears in various phrases and institutional names. The plural form is ahuzot.

In historical context, Ahuzat Bayit, literally “Estate/Association,” was the housing association formed in 1909 by a group of Jewish families and Zionist activists. The organization’s purpose was to establish a new Jewish neighborhood outside Jaffa, north of the old port area. The Ahuzat Bayit organized the purchase of land and the planning and construction of a new community, which began with a small cluster of houses for about 60 families.

The settlement was officially laid out in 1909, and the growing community adopted the name Tel Aviv in 1910. The name Tel Aviv, meaning “Hill of Spring,” reflected a modern, optimistic vision for a coastal garden suburb. Tel Aviv subsequently developed into a major urban center and the seat of metropolitan life in what would become Israel.

Today the word Ahuzat survives primarily in historical references to Ahuzat Bayit and in broader Hebrew usage as a term for holding or property. It is frequently encountered in discussions of the founding of Tel Aviv and the early Zionist settlement movement, where it denotes the organized effort to acquire land and establish a new urban community.