Neighborhood in Jaffa named for Tabitha

The committee decided to give eight new names to eight neighborhoods in the city. The most interesting choice was the one for the area around the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine and the adjacent Russian Orthodox church in the southern part of the city. It is to be called Tabitha, named after a New Testament woman whom Peter raised from the dead.

Committee member and geographer Gideon Biger said that the neighborhood includes an important Christian holy place and that in naming the neighborhood the committee is emphasizing that Tel Aviv is cosmopolitan and not just Jewish.

Tabitha is mentioned in Acts 9:36-42 – “Now in Jaffa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Jaffa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, "Please come to us without delay." So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Jaffa, and many believed in the Lord.”