It was in 1933 when the “Middle Class Organization” committee in Haifa, decided to establish a new residential neighborhood “outdoors” the big city, in search of a better life quality of its members, yet still in close vicinity to their working places.

After long negotiations with the Jewish National Fund (k.k.l), a part of “Gidro” sandy & swampy lands in Zebulon valley in Haifa bay, were allocated for this purpose. It was then decided to name the new neighborhood after the Zionist activist leader Arie Leo (leib) Motzkin (1867-1933). The foundation ceremony took place on a Tuesday’s afternoon, 9 October 1934.

Its founders established their life on cooperative ideology, based on mutual assistance, granting free activity & free initiatives, especially in commerce & domain services.

Land measuring started, as well as sand evacuation & land flattening, a 400 land plot plan was designed, to be divided (by installment payments), between the founders by lottery.

The first building was the “Water Tower”, inaugurated in March 1935. In December 1935, 61 houses were in building process; in 1936 the first school “Achdut” (unity), was established, in May 1937 the “300 houses” celebration took place. & in 1940, there were already 2000 inhabitants in Kiryat Motzkin.

Until 1940, Kiryat Motzkin was administered by an elected local executive committee, its first chairman was appointed by the British mandatory governor. In 1941, the council chairman was elected by the inhabitants. In 1950, first free elections took place, in the Free State of Israel. In 1976 (reaching a population of 25000), Kiryat Motzkin was declared a city.

During Second World War, Kiryat Motzkin suffered from German\Italian air bombarding, as neighbor to the British refineries & military port in Haifa. Nevertheless, despite the economical worth situation & against mandatory laws, Jewish holocaust refugees from Europe, “illegal immigrants” (according mandatory government), were hidden & rehabilitated by its inhabitants.         

During Israel’s “Independence War”, Kiryat Motzkin & its 3500 inhabitants had an important & strategic role, as the far north neighborhood between Haifa & western Galilee. It served as a front defense line against gang’s attacks. At its northern bounds took place “the ammunition convoy battle”, which strongly affected the fights over Haifa’s liberation. Its water tower served as an observation & Morse code standpoint, connecting between cut off settlements in western Galilee & Haifa.

At the early 50th after the establishment of the independent state of Israel, immigration waves from East Europe & North Africa increased & almost doubled Kiryat Motzkin’s population.