Lod was captured during the War of Independence by the 89th Commando Brigade under the command of Moshe Dayan. After the war, Lod became a predominantly Jewish city, as most of the Arabs left, leaving only about 1,000 Arabs in the city.

In 1949, thousands of Jewish immigrants arrived in Lod. On May 5, 1949, the first City Council was appointed, headed by Pesach Lev. Lod was planned with the aim of dispersing the population, in accordance with Government policy since the establishment of the State. The influx of many immigrants to a settlement that was formerly agricultural in nature and did not match the new settlers' livelihoods led to the establishment of industrial plants in the city. As a result of the establishment of these plants, the character of the settlement changed from a rural-urban settlement to a distinctly urban one.

These changes in the composition of the population and their livelihoods gradually changed the appearance of the city. The Old City was destroyed, and with it the Middle Eastern character of the city. The new city was built to the south and west of the site where ancient Lod had stood. The city experienced significant difficulty in its early years. The difficulties affected all aspects of the new settlers' lives: housing, livelihood, jobs, language, education, absorption, and more.

From: Vakar, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Lod Municipality - Cherikover.