Before the 20th century, the location of Ra'anana formed part of the Forest of Sharon, a hallmark of the region's historical landscape. It was an open
woodland dominated by Mount Tabor Oak (
Quercus ithaburensis), which extended from
Kfar Yona in the north to Ra’anana in the south. The local Arab inhabitants traditionally used the area for
pasture,
firewood and intermittent
cultivation. The intensification of settlement and agriculture in the
coastal plain during the 19th century led to
deforestation and subsequent
environmental degradation known from
Hebrew sources. In 1912, the Company for Jewish Settlement in Israel formed the "Ahuza A – New York" group to purchase land in Palestine for agricultural settlement.
World War I delayed their plans, but in 1921, it was decided to establish a settlement. On April 2, 1922, two wagons left the corner of Lilienblum and Herzl Streets in
Tel Aviv carrying four "Ahuza" members, three laborers and two armed watchmen. After a five-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. The settlement was built along a main street, Ahuza Street, and six other streets, three to the north of Ahuza Street and three to the south. Between 1925 and 1927, the Community House, which would house a variety of public institutions, including the secretariat, clinic, synagogue, meeting place for local committee meetings, assembly hall, culture room, school, kindergarten, and post office, was built. According to a
census conducted in 1931 by the
British Mandate authorities, Ra'anana had a population of 615 inhabitants in 182 houses. In 1936, it was given
local council status. In November 1947
British soldiers attacked a house in Raanana where a
Lehi training course for young people was being held and murdered four trainees aged 16–18 and their 19-year-old instructor. In 2000 the city created a memorial called the "Raanana Children's Square" and a monument was erected in 2020. By 1948, the year of Israel's formation, Ra'anana was a town of 3,000 residents. By the late 1960s, Raanana had a population of 8,500 spanning an area of .
Eitan Ginzburg, acting mayor of Ra'anana in 2018, was Israel's first openly gay mayor. File:PikiWiki Israel 950 Settlements in Israel רחוב אחד העם.jpg|Ra'anana in 1935 File:Herzliya 1942.jpg|Ra'anana 1942 1:20,000 File:Herzliya 1945.jpg|Ra'anana 1945 1:250,000 File:רעננה (שכונת אריה) - מראה כללי של שכונת "אריה" ברעננה-JNF033615.jpeg|Ra'anana 1947 File:General View of Raanana 1964.jpg|Ra'anana in 1964
Ra’anana car-ramming attack The
Ra’anana car-ramming attack was an attack against civilians in Israel that occurred on 15 January 2024 in Ra'anana. The police arrested two Palestinian men from
Bani Na'im in connection with carrying out the attack. The attack began when one of the perpetrators stabbed a woman and took possession of her car. They then began ramming pedestrians with the vehicle, eventually losing control and crashing. The perpetrators took control of another vehicle and continued the attack until finally being stopped. One individual was killed and 17 injured. ==Local government==