("First in Zion")
Title initially accorded to the Sephardi (see Oriental Jews) chief rabbi of Israel. Prior to the creation of the chief rabbinate, the title was used for the head of the Sephardi rabbis of Jerusalem.
Rishon Le Zion is also a city on Israel's costal plain founded in 1882 by immigrants (see ALIYA) from Russia. The name is derived from the Bible. It was the first Zionist settlement in Eretz Israel (along with Petah Tikvah). Part of the greater Tel Aviv metropolitan area, Rishon Le Zion had a reported population of 223,000 in 2006.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..