"I spent two weeks in the city's nerve center, underground—Ramla was prepared for any scenario."

On the radio program "Building Far," hosted by Meirav Miller and Aviv Cohen, Ramla Mayor Michael Vidal was a guest and spoke about the city’s response to the Iranian attack, the urban transformation he is leading in Ramla, and the city’s ambitious plans for the future

Ramla is undergoing a transformation. The city, considered one of the most important mixed-community cities in central Israel, has seen massive investments and far-reaching revitalization in recent years. Leading this process is Michael Vidal, mayor since 2017, who took office after losing two previous elections.

On the radio show "Building Far Away" hosted by Merav Miller and Aviv Cohen, which focuses, among other things, investing in Greece and apartments in Athens, Vidal was a guest for a fascinating conversation about Ramla’s impressive response to the Iranian offensive, its ambitious plans for the future, and the revolution the city is undergoing.

"We were at the city's operations center—and that's where we managed the response to the attack"

When Iran attacked Israel, the mayor of Ramla was already prepared. “I slept at the operations center with my wife for two weeks,” Vidal recounts. “It’s located underground—the city’s nerve center. I set up a room with two mattresses and slept there for two straight weeks so I’d be on site.”

The preparations were thorough and comprehensive. “The operations were carried out in close coordination with the Home Front Command—we prepared as if a missile were going to strike Ramla in an hour,” he explains. “Every day, there were three meetings of my task forces, involving all the department heads working on the issue, along with the police and the Home Front Command.”

The city hosted 500 soldiers and provided them with two schools and the new community center. “It’s one of the most beautiful community centers in the entire Shfela region, and they welcomed it with open arms,” Vidal says proudly. “When a rocket fell in Rehovot, they rushed there from Ramla. When a rocket fell in Bat Yam, they drove from Ramla, because their base was in Ramla.”

The Challenge of Shelters in a Mixed City

One of the biggest challenges was the situation in the shelters. “We opened all the shelters inside the schools,” says Vidal. “I went on tours of the shelters—I went to check whether the toilets weren’t working, the refrigerator wasn’t working, or the air conditioning wasn’t working properly. We mobilized all of the city’s maintenance staff for this purpose.”

The city faces a significant problem when it comes to civil defense shelters, says Vidal. “55% of residents are unprotected because they live in older buildings. New buildings are constantly being constructed with civil defense shelters, but none of the older buildings have them.”

Regarding the city’s Arab population, Vidal noted that “the Arab population has almost no bomb shelters in their homes, so they mainly went to public shelters. I brought mobile bomb shelters to the areas that needed them. The Arab council members helped me, supported me, and were with me at meetings at the operations center.”

"The creative solution to the emergency was particularly impressive," Vidal says. "I gave them permission to take shelter under a massive bridge on Route 431—a space with three meters of concrete overhead. They blocked it off with tractors on both sides and piles of sand, and every time the siren went off, about 500 people would run under the bridge."

"Ramla City Hall's problems are behind it"

Vidal, who worked for 20 years at the Tax Authority and served as deputy director general of the Israel Airports Authority, paints an impressive picture of the city he manages. “Ramla is transforming itself in every respect,” he says confidently. “A friend of mine, the mayor of a neighboring city, said at one of the conferences: ‘What Ramla has gone through in the last five years, no other city in the country has gone through in an entire decade.’”

The plans for the future are impressive as well. The Bakum, the Adjutant Corps, and IKEA—all are being built in Ramla. “Every crane in Israel is in Ramla,” Vidal says with a smile. “The construction of the Bakum is the largest tender in the country in the last decade, worth 20 billion shekels,” says Vidal. “Abanim, the nonprofit that trains all managers in Israel, has already moved to Ramla. As for the four metro stations—the planning is complete, and everything is ready for construction to begin.”

In addition, a massive urban renewal project is in the works: “There are 19 plans, nine of which have already been approved by the district committee. We are now awaiting our approval for building permits. I am approving permits gradually so as not to start everything at once.”

Ramla is not just a city of concrete and infrastructure—it is also a vibrant hub of culture, cuisine, and tourism. Vidal notes that the city is known for its incredible culinary diversity, boasting some of the best Ethiopian and Indian restaurants in the country. Every Sukkot, the city hosts a festival of food, tourism, and music.

"The largest business and entertainment park in the area"

Standing out among all the plans is the largest project—Terminal 6. “It’s a massive business and entertainment park, the largest in the entire central region,” Vidal describes excitedly. “1,000 of the 3,000 dunams will be green space. It’s adjacent to the Gezer Stream and is expected to include hotels, a college, a train station in the middle of the park, and a large shopping center.”

The comparisons that Weidel draws only make the park seem even more ambitious and impressive: “Rishon LeZion is three times the size of Ramla, and they’re building the ‘1,000 Complex,’ which covers 1,000 dunams. Ramla is one-third the size of Rishon LeZion—and here we’re building ‘Complex 3,000’—three times the size.”

The economic results are expected to be revolutionary, he said. "Ramla’s municipal problems are behind us. We won’t need the government, we won’t need grants. Between 2027 and 2030, the park is expected to generate 300 million shekels in property tax revenue alone. That’s equivalent to all the property taxes currently collected in the city."

Public Transportation of the Future

On the issue of transportation and the chronic problem of traffic jams in Tel Aviv, Vidal promises fundamental change. “The Brown Line will be up and running in Ramla by mid-2026,” he says. “This isn’t a vision; it’s a reality. We’ve started dismantling roundabouts and building new ones on nearby roads.”

The metro is the biggest news, he says. "The Israeli government has allocated 150 billion shekels for the metro over the next decade. Everything is in place—we have the staff, we have the engineers, and everything is moving forward. This coming December, we’ll hold a groundbreaking ceremony with the Israeli prime minister to begin construction from Petah Tikva toward our area."

Investment in Education and Sports

Vidal is proud of the city’s educational achievements: “The city’s young people have an 80% high school graduation rate, just like other communities considered to be leaders in this field.” Ramla also excels in sports. “When you say women’s basketball—Ramla, national champions four years in a row. Tennis—we’re Israeli champions. Judo—Israeli champion and world runner-up. Taekwondo—three world champions from Ramla. We’re the taekwondo capital of Israel—the city has a complex the size of a small Olympic park dedicated to taekwondo.”

"Ramla is the Raanana of the Shfela"

When asked where Ramla will be in ten years, Vidal answers confidently, “Even in just five years, Ramla will be completely different. I always say it’s the Raanana of the Shfela region. The most beautiful park in all of Central Israel is Ariel Sharon Park in Ramla.”

Vidal, who works around the clock (“At 4 a.m. I send messages and emails to employees”), manages to find time for his personal life as well. “At 7 or 8 p.m. I call my wife—‘Shall we go to the beach?’—and we head out. This week I went to Bat Yam twice, took a 7-kilometer walk, and then had coffee with my wife.”

Vidal's Ramla is a city that is preparing for the future, but also knows how to be ready for emergencies. It is a city that combines history with innovation, proving that with determined leadership and thorough planning, a vision can become a reality.