Just ten minutes from the coastal highway, the streets of Zichron Yaacov retain the feel of an earlier time, when cars did not dominate the landscape. The main street has been turned into a midrichov, or a pedestrian.way Situated in the Heights of Menashe and only 30 munutes from Haifa, residents of Zichron have enviable views towards the coast, and the sea beyond. The town is also one of the best preserved examples from the era that we refer to as the first Aliyah, i.e. the ascent to the land of Israel, which began in 1882. This was the beginning of the modern Zionist movement, the Jewish people’s return to their ancient homeland.
Homes, trees and cobblestone streets combine to preserve the feel of that era. The name Zichron means “in memory of” and ”Yaacov “means “of Jacob”. But who is this Yaacov? He is the father of Edward, Rothschild who took a strong interest in the communities of the first Aliyah and is virtually single-handedly responsible, through his financial intercession, in saving those communities from abandonment. Zichron has two museums which compete for your time and they are both worthy. One is the Museum of the First Aliya, located just a minute’s walk off of the midrichov. The other is the Aaronson House, a museum dedicated to an early Zionist visiionary, the brilliant and tragically short-lived Aaron Aaronson.