In 1909 a Jewish town was established on the sand dunes just north of Jaffa--it was called Tel Aviv, the Hebrew for 'Hill of Spring'. It came to be known as 'the first all-Jewish city'. The Jewish population of nearby Jaffa, originally about 1,000 strong, had risen by immigration to more than 8,000. As a result, conditions of life in Jaffa had become as crowded and uncomfortable as in the Russian towns from which most of the immigrants had come--sometimes even more so. The new town provided welcome space. It also freed the immigrants from dependence on Arab landlords, who could raise rents at whim.