# Reading Light
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{{short description|Lighthouse in Israel}}
{{about|the [lighthouse](/source/lighthouse) in [Tel Aviv, Israel](/source/Tel_Aviv%2C_Israel)|the light fixture used for reading|Light fixture}}
{{Infobox lighthouse
| name = Reading Light
''Tell Qudadi''
| image_name = Reading Light 2013.jpg
| caption = Reading Light in 2013
| location = [Tel Aviv, Israel](/source/Tel_Aviv%2C_Israel)
| coordinates = {{coord|32|6|12.86|N|34|46|37.11|E|display=inline,title}}
| yearbuilt = 1934
| yearlit = 1935
| yeardeactivated = 1965
| foundation = cylindrical stone basement
| construction = concrete tower
| shape = square tower, lantern removed
| marking = formerly: black and white checkerboard
now: concrete
| height = {{convert|17|m|ft}}
| characteristic = Morse "A", two flashes, one long and one short, every 7s[
}}
'''Reading Light''' ({{langx|he|מגדלור רדינג}}), also known as '''[Tell Qudadi](/source/Tell_Qudadi) Light''' (sometimes spelled Tel Kudadi Light), '''HaYarkon Light''', '''Auja Light''' and '''Tel Aviv Light''', is an inactive [lighthouse](/source/lighthouse) in [Tel Aviv, Israel](/source/Tel_Aviv%2C_Israel). It is located near the beach on the north side of the [Yarkon River](/source/Yarkon_River) estuary, on the foot of the Tel Aviv south breakwater, next to the [Tel Aviv Port](/source/Tel_Aviv_Port) and the [Levant Fair](/source/Levant_Fair) buildings area. It takes its name from the [Reading Power Station](/source/Reading_Power_Station).
The lighthouse played a role in several Israel films, such as ''[Late Summer Blues](/source/Late_Summer_Blues)'', and appeared on an Israeli stamp issued 26 November 2009.][{{cite web |url= http://philatelynews.com/2009/israel/lighthouses-in-israel |title= Lighthouses in Israel |work= Philately News |access-date= 2010-07-19 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110506012302/http://philatelynews.com/2009/israel/lighthouses-in-israel |archivedate= 2011-05-06 }}]
==History==
The lighthouse was built by the [British](/source/Mandatory_Palestine) authorities in 1934–1935 to help ships approaching the shore pass local sandbars safely.[ The company performing the construction was a French company, assisted by Arab locals.][{{Cite web |url= http://shezaf.net/%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8-%D7%99%D7%9D/8.-%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%99-%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%A8%D7%9A-%D7%AA%D7%9C-%D7%90%D7%91%D7%99%D7%91-%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%95.html |title=חופי הכרך תל אביב יפו |trans-title=On the waterfront Tel-Aviv Jaffa |work=shezaf.net |accessdate=27 July 2010}} Abu Musa describes in this text how his grandfather, who was the owner of the Beirut lighthouse, was called by the French company to assist in the construction.]
During its construction, a [tell](/source/Tell_(archaeology)) was found, and was named [Tell Qudadi](/source/Tell_Qudadi). The tell was excavated in 1936–1938 and remains of two [Assyrian](/source/Neo-Assyrian_Empire) fortresses from the 8th century BCE were discovered.
On 19 April 1936 the [Arab revolt](/source/1936%E2%80%931939_Arab_revolt_in_Palestine) broke out and a general strike began, crippling the [Jaffa](/source/Jaffa) port and threatening to stop the citrus fruit export. Initially against the wishes of the British authorities, the Jewish establishment decided to open Tel Aviv port as a competing port to Jaffa. The location chosen was at the Yarkon River estuary, close to the lighthouse, and the lighthouse served as a navigation aid for the port.
Between 1937 and 1938 the Reading Power Station was built nearby.[{{cite book |title= ברכת החשמל |trans-title= The Blessing of Electricity |year= 2003 |publisher= Yad Yitshak Ben Zvi |author= Mordechai Naor}}] Its tall lighted chimney made the lighthouse somewhat redundant and also obscured the light through a sector. However, the light continued to work, serving the adjacent electricity plant harbor as well.
In 1965, when the port was officially closed due to the opening of the [Ashdod](/source/Ashdod) Port in the south, the light was shut down.
In 2007 the Israeli Antiquities Authority built a wooden boardwalk around the tell and the lighthouse, which makes it now easily accessible to the public, though the tower itself is closed and all the windows barred.
The lighthouse was formerly painted in a black and white checkerboard pattern, and traces of the paint remain.
In 2021, after 55 years of inactivity, the lighthouse was converted into a cafe[{{Cite web |last=דניאל |first=יפעת |date=2021-12-16 |title=באחד הלוקיישנים הכי מיוחדים בעיר: בית הקפה החדש שהכי אהבתם בתשפ"ב |url=https://www.shotim.co.il/coffee/migdalor-cafe-tlv/ |access-date=2025-12-05 |website=מגזין שותים |language=he-IL}}].
==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|Israel}}}}
* [List of lighthouses in Israel](/source/List_of_lighthouses_in_Israel)
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite rowlett|isr|accessdate=2010-07-19}}
{{refend}}
{{Commons category|position=left|Reading Lighthouse}}
thumb|left|Reading Power Station A, c. 1938. Also seen is the lighthouse
{{Lighthouses of Israel}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Lighthouses completed in 1935
Category:Lighthouses in Israel
Category:Buildings and structures in Tel Aviv
Category:Tourist attractions in Tel Aviv
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Reading Light](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Light) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Light?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.