Petah Tikva, also known as Em HaMoshavot, is a city in the Central District of Israel, 10.6 km east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, ma…Petah Tikva, also known as Em HaMoshavot, is a city in the Central District of Israel, 10.6 km east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent settlement in 1883 with the financial help of Baron Edmond de Rothschild.