Netanya (, lit., "gift of God"; ) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north. Netanya was named in honor of Nathan Straus, a prominent Jewish American merchant and philanthropist in the early 20th century.