(haipo) – City neighborhoods – Herzl Street – Hadar HaCarmel: A day after publishing an article about the situation on Herzl Street in the Hadar neighborhood of Haifa, the street vendors contacted the website's staff. The vendors asked us to return to the street, see the situation with our own eyes, and make their voices heard – not only their complaints, but also their hopes.
A conversation with Nissim Salman
In a conversation with the chairman of the Hadar Merchants' Committee, Nissim Salman, and a longtime store owner, Orit, a complex picture became clear: a street that seeks to reinvent itself and offer residents a unique shopping experience - and sometimes an especially cheap one. The municipality, for its part, is presenting rehabilitation and improvement plans, with its eyes on the future.
Salman claims: The Haifa Municipality is planning a comprehensive renovation of Herzl Street.
Very large renovation
Nissim Salman, chairman of the Hadar merchants' committee, speaks firmly but optimistically: "There is a plan for a very large renovation on Herzl Street," he emphasizes. "I am in contact with all the authorities in the municipality, and we have been taking care of what is needed for several years. About two years ago, the municipality established a new front line for stores, and the merchants know - no merchandise should be taken out beyond this line. Anyone who takes it out - gets a fine."
Salman describes an ongoing struggle to create a respectful and pleasant public space: "Our goal is clear – to allow residents and customers a quality shopping experience. I want people to be able to walk three together on the sidewalk, with strollers, to look at the merchandise without being jostling." According to him, the struggle is not only against physical neglect but also against crime, which the street has suffered from in the past.
"Now, when you walk around the street, you see that the sights that were acceptable in the past have disappeared. There is excellent police work, the municipality has installed lighting here, the supervision is working - and there are results. The street is becoming safer and more orderly."
Generational change is shaping the face of commerce
Salman points to a profound change that has taken place on the street in recent years – a generational change among the store owners. "There are store owners here who have worked for 50 years – their children didn't want to go into the business. Now, they have to decide what to do with the store. Some choose to sell, others to renovate and start over."
Alongside this, he highlights an encouraging trend: "There are new stores coming in, a lot of renovations in preparation for opening. Walk along the street and you'll see - there's activity. Maybe not like 30 years ago, but there is. Customers come, go between the stores, check prices - and the prices here are not like what you'll see in malls."
According to him, the main advantage of the street is the combination of personal service and low costs: "Take a chain of stores that has a branch in Herzl and a branch in a mall - in Herzl the prices will be half or 30% lower. It's a different, simple, accessible shopping experience."
Veteran merchants cling to the street with faith and love
I am following in the footsteps of my parents.
Orit Avital Suissa, owner of a children's and toddler clothing store, is an integral part of the Herzl Street landscape. "I've been here for 25 years," she says. "I'm following in my parents' footsteps. There have been great times, and there have been very difficult times – but we've always survived."
According to her, Herzl Street knew how to deal with dramatic challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic and the Iron Sword War. "We thought we wouldn't survive - and we succeeded. Today, we, the store owners, invest heavily in the visibility of the street and customer service. We hear excellent responses. I just heard two women say they feel like they are abroad. That says it all." Orit sees the street not only as a workplace but also as a community mission - a place worth fighting for, and preserving as part of the urban fabric.
Hanan talks about Herzl Street
A long-standing store continues to attract customers from all over the city.
Another story of tradition and patience is the story of Yossi Raviv, owner of the "Olga Wallets" store, located at the beginning of Herzl Street. Raviv and his family have been operating on the street for 50 years – the third generation of commercial activity in the city.
"I started my career at 12 Shapira Street, at my grandfather's," he says. "The store here is very attractive in terms of prices, huge, with a great selection. My whole family works with me here. We believe in Herzl Street."
He invites every customer to compare prices between his branches in the city: "Come and see - it's the most affordable in Herzl. There are many other merchants here with decades of experience. It's not just work - it's love for the place, for the customers."
Struggling with the image of the past and slow but steady progress
There is no doubt – today’s Herzl Street is not the Herzl Street of the 1980s. There is less traffic, and there are still many challenges. But there are also signs of change. The merchants themselves point to an improvement in the sense of security, cleanliness, and urban involvement.
This is not an overnight revolution, but a gradual change. The merchants' committee, in cooperation with the municipality and the police, continues to work on the ground, store by store, sidewalk by sidewalk. The goal: to transform the street into an attractive, orderly, safe and pleasant shopping center - one that provides a shopping experience that is both affordable and community-based. Shoppers are also feeling the difference, and the merchants hope that many more will join them soon.
Lighting, supervision and police – a common front for the street
The improvement in the street's condition is attributed, among other things, to the combined efforts of several parties: the municipality, the Israel Police, and the supervisory authorities. According to Salman, the change in the area is tangible: "We went through periods when the street was not a pleasant place to be. Today, even at night, you can walk around - there is lighting, there is a presence of enforcement. The energy has changed."
According to the Merchants' Committee, there is ongoing cooperation with the municipality, which includes ongoing discussions, future planning, and focused enforcement. The intention is to continue investing in infrastructure, facade renovations, and promoting projects that will return the street to the center of the urban map.
The Street Vision: A Combination of a Glorious Past and a Modern Future
In conversations with merchants, two parallel lines stand out: nostalgia for the past, and faith in the future. Herzl Street, which was once a bustling hub, seeks to return to consciousness – but without copying the past. The current ambition is to create a commercial space that is suitable for the 21st century, while maintaining the authentic character and the warm connection between merchant and customer. According to Salman: “This street is alive, breathing, changing. There are challenges, yes. But there is also hope. And every day is another small step forward.”
Customers are returning – and hopefully the hustle and bustle will return too
Herzl Street merchants emphasize that regular customers have remained loyal, and they are the ones who keep the street going through tough times. “There are people here who have been shopping with us for decades,” says Orit. “But now we are also starting to see new faces – young people, families – who are coming back to discover the street.” The merchants’ great hope is that the personal shopping experience, affordable prices, and community atmosphere will also attract a new generation of shoppers. According to them, the street has a lot to offer – and is ready to fight for its place in the heart of the city.
Herzl Street was the pearl of Haifa.
The entire street must be renovated and its beauty restored.
Turn it into one big market.
Too bad🥲
Until there is free parking along the street, customers will not come.
Correct. It is appropriate to mark the yellow line again, up to which line merchandise can be placed. Also return to storefronts for each store with a benefit in municipal taxes to strengthen the elimination of shutters closing storefronts and of course store name signage in Hebrew with lighting. Staff in proper attire with shoes not sandals.
Hahahahaha who are you working for?
Hadar looks like Gaza after the bombing
Alak improvement
Have you seen what Arlozorov Street looks like? Herzl? Hadar Elyon? Beitar? Geula? Nordau? Michael? Hechalutz? Yilg? Hapoel? etc.
Everything looks horrible, and it's also congested and stinky, with a trash-can population that doesn't care at all that the city center looks like this.
When someone is serious about this crumbling neighborhood, then you will write articles that will hit the streets. Until then, you will see reality as it is, you are the media.
Unfortunately, the dirt on Herzl Street (as on Nordau, Arlozorov, Haim, Menachem…) is rampant, and on Herzl Street the respectable merchants contribute greatly to the filth, as a local resident sees with my own eyes how in the morning they sweep the dirt, dust, plastic bags, and packaging from the store onto the street. When I asked politely – “Why is that?” I was answered with impudence and a “sure” demonstration, and when I called the 106 hotline the response was similar. From the height of my age I realized that there was simply no one to talk to. It is certainly more pleasant to shop in a clean and respectful mall. Respectable merchants, try to be more polite and keep the environment clean. Take responsibility for your actions.
They keep talking about Herzl Street and what about Hehalutz Street in Hadar Street?
It has a glorious past that parallels the restaurants in Sirkin. Youth activities during the week include the Working Youth, Sheach, Rabin College, and shops. Domestic tourism activities are held every week. Gampel's statue is next to the market. Property taxes are paid just like in Herzl, but there is no lighting like in Herzl. Youth activities at night and visitors and those who spend the night there.
Those who pass through Sirkin are deliberately neglecting the street with a clear mind by Yona Yahav, who wants to erase it but receives high property tax payments in the city, and the city refuses to talk.
The committee is belittling you and whining, this is the mayor who doesn't even care.
From the youth who are active on the streets, unfortunately, and sabotage their connection to history and pride. In the city, it's no wonder the younger generation is fleeing Haifa
Hadar, my childhood neighborhood is slowly dying.
One big heartache.
No evacuation, no construction, no community projects.
Only filth, dirt and crime.
Shame on the mayor.
Haifa's fading Hapar Street is the symbol of the decline of the entire city because it is Haifa's main street and if Herzl looks shocking, for example, we were on a tour of the Histadrut building, formerly the Haifa Workers' Council. There is no Workers' Council, there is no Histadrut building either. Everything stands abandoned, ruined. The bridge between Herzl Street and the building on Hehalutz Street is full of garbage and dirt and dead birds. Hadar is in a dying state that was not seen even in its darkest years. There is no tourism, hotels are closing down what is left. 30-40 empty buildings with homeless people and drug addicts from other cities who drive them to Haifa and leave them here. Hadar is full of dirt, just about every second house in the garden has junk, dirt, residents who don't care about either the decor or the buildings. Everything is sooty and crumbling. Every Nordau Street is one big junkyard of a street. You can just see that it used to be beautiful and that now it's freak shops, tattoos, and sewing students who live among the garbage and don't fix anything. All of Hadar is neglected, Yona Street, empty, sealed buildings, what once were the villas of doctors, engineers, and professors, today everything is either closed and abandoned or destroyed.
With piles of vegetables underneath and closed windows or apartments of villagers working in Hadar.
It's just disgusting to walk around this neighborhood. The municipality just gave up. There are vehicles there that haven't moved in ten years. The municipality doesn't check or clear everything. It's just a bad, stuck-up place that will never move. The population won't change because they stuck praise there, sharing the slurs and the slips.
Herzl Street is a street from my childhood, the tunnel, the bus stops for bus 57 to Kiryat Bialik, the Great Synagogue, the bakeries, the Ora Cinema, the projection house, the entrance to the old Technion and the Mashbir, a street full of shops that was truly bustling, I wish we could see it like that again.
Today, Keshet Yom is crowded with a population that can't even buy there, only from begging carts. All the beautiful restaurants and confectioneries have already flown away and the streets are dying. A municipality that prefers to expand the Ofer family's malls outside the Hampeletz and kill the rest of the commerce in the city, so the streets are deserted and then crime sets in. Yahav is a catastrophe and those who elected him once again are a catastrophe for the city.
The municipality should provide quality jobs instead of messing around with nonsense, and everything else will come from nature.
Urban renewal on Herzl Street and the transformation of the old buildings along it into new, high-quality construction will bring a huge revolution in the mix of residents and strengthen commerce. The municipality should encourage developers to build high-rise residential buildings along the street.
A deserted street, shops with exorbitant prices!!!! Alcoholic drug addicts from violent begging groups, everything is deserted, a delusional article, like the abandoned market with drug addicts on every corner and sky-high prices. A dying city! It's a fact, and again pigs on every corner. Yahav, resign, your time is up. It's a shame we voted for you
Michal is right in every word. A false and misleading article. I fled Haifa nearly 10 years ago. I lived in Arlozoros.. a city in decline!! Everything is about to fall!! Everything there is pitch black!! Go and see for yourself!! Haifa Hadar is simply disgusting!! Stop working on us! Liars!!
I really like Herzl Street.
It's a shame that Herzl doesn't see what they did in Haifa to the street named after him. One big bazaar with no parking. Abandoned shops, empty buildings, and unrenovated Via Dolorosa.
You don't have to drive to Hadar. You don't have to park there. It doesn't have to be a mall with 8 levels of parking for your lazy ass who can't get there by foot, bus, or trolley. Thank you, you destructive lazy person. Don't go to Hadar. You'll stay stuck in the expensive, city-sealed malls that are destroying Haifa.
Sorry there is no parking for the big car from the Balloon neighborhood in Carmel. Stay home. An empty and quiet street is better than a street full of noisy, polluting cars blocking sidewalks. There is still one street left like Herzl where there is something to walk on and it has interesting storefronts. Sorry it is not the ugly and unnecessary Haifa mall where everything costs twice as much and the main thing is that there is parking and a gas station and a tire shop for the pathetic electric car in its size and ugliness that you purchased in 30 installments..
You are truly insulting Haifa.
A-Yona Yahav is consciously and intentionally abandoning Herzl Street and cultivating the malls and has no interest in the well-being of the street.
There is not a single policeman on Herzl Street, there is no security, and the police do not exist at all.
G-Salman elected himself chairman and no one on Herzl Street elected him, so nothing moved, unfortunately for the business owners.
D-The Hadar neighborhood "won" first place in Israel in crime thanks to a cliché, and now Yahav, what he didn't do 15 years ago, he clearly won't do now.
There is no parking, no lighting, no transportation, and no security, but there are crazy property taxes, thefts, burglaries, escort and gambling establishments, and drug stations... Welcome to Hadar.