Or Yehuda

Human settlement back to the Chalcolithic has been found on the site.[2]

Or Yehuda is located on the site of the biblical town of Ono.[3] The name was used by Canaanites and then by Israelites as well (1 Chronicles 8:12), all throughout the First and Second Temple periods. Jewish classical writings mention the city as being formerly enclosed by a wall.[4]

Villages captured during Operation Hametz

The built-up area of two Muslim Palestinian villages, Kafr 'Ana in the east[2] and Saqiya[5] to the west, are located within the current Or Yehuda city limits. Both villages date back to at least the 16th century, when Haseki sultan endowed them to its Jerusalem soup kitchen.[6] During the 18th and 19th centuries, the area belonged to the Nahiyeh (sub-district) of Lod that encompassed the area of the present-day city of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut in the south to the present-day city of El'ad in the north, and from the foothills in the east, through the Lod Valley to the outskirts of Jaffa in the west. This area was home to thousands of inhabitants in about 20 villages, who had at their disposal tens of thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land.[7]

In the 1931 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Kafr 'Ana had a population of 1,824 Muslims in 449 houses[8] and Saqiya 663 Muslim inhabitants in 142 houses.[9]

In the end of April 1948, the Haganah launched military operation Hametz, which aimed to conquer several villages inland from Jaffa to isolate it from the Arab hinterland. The fate awaiting the inhabitants was not made explicit, other than stating the inhabitants would be allowed to leave, but a general order envisaged 'cleansing the area' (tihur hashetah) and the villages of Kafr 'Ana and Saqiya were depopulated.[10]

Or Yehuda residential towers

In 1949, immigrants from Libya and Turkey settled in the ruins buildings of the villages of Saqiya and Kafr 'Ana, which did not have water or sewage infrastructure.[11][12]

In 1950–1953 the Ma'abarot Saqiya A, Saqiya B, Kafr 'Ana A, and Kafr 'Ana B were established on the previous village lands. These Ma'abarot housed mainly immigrants from Iraq who arrived as part of Operation Ezra and Nehemiah.[13] Ma'abarot at the time were treated by authorities as temporary accommodations until permanent resettlement could occur on-site or elsewhere. Attempts to induce neighboring Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan to extend their municipal borders to cover these Ma'abarot failed, and the Ma'abarot residents resisted relocation to development towns in the north and south.[11] In 1952 the religious settlement of Ramat Pinkas (also known as Givat Hemed, and Givat Mordechi) was established for some of the Ma'abarot residents.

The modern town of Or Yehuda was officially established by the State of Israel in 1955, and in 1962 Or Yehuda was recognized as a municipal planning authority, which led to increased development. In 1988, Or Yehuda was declared a city, due to the increase in the number of residents.

In April 2001, Hamas suicide bombers blew up a car in Or Yehuda, injuring eight people.[14]

In 2008, the Ef'al Regional Council was liquidated, and lands belonging to the council south of route 461, including Ramat Pinkas, were annexed to Or Yehuda.[15]