Lod

City in the Plain of Sharon, 20 km/12 mi southeast of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel; population (1994) 51,200, of whom 10,600 are Arab. Israel's main international airport, Ben-Gurion, is nearby, and Lod is the site of aircraft industries that build commercial and military jet aircraft and service aircraft for many airlines. Other industries include food preserving and the manufacture of paper, cardboard, and electrical goods.

Known to its former Palestinian inhabitants as Lydda, the city was renamed Diospolis in the 2nd century AD, and is referred to in both the Old and New Testaments. St George is said to have been born and buried here, and in the 4th century a bishopric was instituted under his patronage. The church erected over his tomb has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt.