Lod
To most Jews in Israel and throughout the world, the city of Lod (Lydda) is associated with the Ben Gurion International Airport located nearby.
Although not specifically mentioned in Tanach, tradition has it that Lod was a fortified city when Yehoshua led his people into the Promised Land. After being rebuilt by descendants of the Tribe of Binyamin, it was an important town.
The Talmud (Mesechta Sanhedrin 32b) mentions Lod as the seat of the Torah academy and judicial court of the great sage Rabbi Eliezer. The merchants of Lod were noted for their business acumen (Mesechta Bava Metzia 49b), which suggests that the town was a commercial center.
Modern Lod is a development town populated mainly by immigrants who arrived after the establishment of Israel, and there are Arabs living in its old city.
