Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium

The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium (הַגִּימְנַסְיָה הָעִבְרִית הֶרְצְלִיָּה, also known as Gymnasia Herzliya), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High School) is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The original building


Gymnasia Herzliya was the country's first Hebrew high school, founded in 1905 in Jaffa, part of the Ottoman Empire in those days. The cornerstone-laying for the school's new building on Herzl Street in the Ahuzat Bayit neighborhood (the nucleus of future Tel Aviv) took place on July 28, 1909. The building was designed by Joseph Barsky, inspired by descriptions of Solomon's Temple.

The building on Herzl Street was a major Tel Aviv landmark until 1962, when the site was razed for the construction of Shalom Meir Tower. The new tower was the tallest building in Israel those days, representing a significant architectural achievement.

The destruction of the Hebrew High School building sparked widespread recognition of the importance of conserving historical landmarks. The Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel was founded in the 1980s partly in response to the fate of Herzliya Hebrew High School.

The current building
Located today on Jabotinsky Street, it serves as a six-year secondary school. The modern campus is entered through a gate that is reminiscent of the facade of the 1909 building.

Principals
Former principals include Haim Bograshov, Baruch Ben Yehuda and Carmi Yogev. In 1992, former Air Force fighter pilot and Brigadier General Ron Huldai was appointed principal. He implemented many changes and modernizations later adopted by other schools. After leaving the school, he was elected mayor of Tel Aviv. The current principal is Ze'ev Dgannie.

Notable faculty

 * Yosef Haim Brenner, writer
 * Zvi Nishri, physical education pioneer
 * Shaul Tchernichovsky, poet

Notable alumni

 * Netiva Ben-Yehuda (1928–2011), Palmach commander, Hebrew scholar, and author
 * Miriam Bernstein-Cohen (1895–1991), actress
 * Aron Brand, pediatric cardiologist
 * Yitzhak Danziger (1916–1977), sculptor
 * Kosso Eloul (1920–1995), sculptor
 * Nachum Gutman, (1898–1980), painter, sculptor, and author
 * Ron Huldai, mayor of Tel Aviv since 1998 (as of June 2022)
 * Anat Lelior (born 2000), Olympic surfer
 * Yaron London, (1940–), media personality, journalist, actor, and songwriter
 * Moshe Many, urologist; President of Tel Aviv University, and President of Ashkelon Academic College.
 * Aharon Megged, (1920–2016), writer
 * Moshe Menuhin, (1893–1983), author
 * Yuval Neeman, (1925–2006), physicist
 * Elyakum Ostashinski, first mayor of Rishon LeZion
 * Jacob Sadé (1925-2020), otolaryngologist, medical researcher and academic
 * Moshe Sharett (1894–1965), second Prime Minister of Israel (1954–55)
 * Avraham Shlonsky (1900–73), poet
 * Giora Spiegel (born 1947), soccer player and coach
 * Avigdor Stematsky (1908–89), painter
 * Yemima Tchernovitz-Avidar (1909–98), author
 * Yair Lapid, (1963–) former Israeli Prime Minister, journalist, author, and politician; former Israeli Minister of Finance and chairman of the Yesh Atid Party
 * Amos Luzzatto, (1928–2020), physicist
 * Moshe Shamir 1921 – 2004, Author and playwright
 * Moses Cyrus Weiler (1907-2000), rabbi and founder of Reform Judaism in South Africa
 * Shemuel Yeivin (1896–1982), archaeologist