In 1912, the Company for Jewish Settlement in Israel formed the "Ahuza A – New York" group to purchase land in Israel for agricultural settlement. The First World War delayed their plans but on April 2, 1922, two wagons left the corner of Lilienblum and Herzl Streets in Tel Aviv carrying 4 "Ahuza" members, 3 labourers and 2 armed watchmen. After a 5 hour journey, they unloaded their baggage at the place destined to become Ra'anana.
In its early days, the settlement was called "Ahuza A – New York." The Arabs of the region called it "Little America" as most of its residents were English speakers and came from New York. Later it was renamed "Ra'anania" and finally the founding settlers chose "Ra'anana" as its official name. By the War of Independence, it was a village of 3,000 residents.
By the late 1960s, it had a population of 85,000 spanning an area of 15 square kilometres. In the 1980s Ra'anana was declared a city
