" HAPOEL " (i.e. the worker) Tel Aviv basketball club, is the second largest basketball club in Israel. It was founded in 1935, as part of the Tel Aviv branch of the "Hapoel" sports cooperative, the sports department of the Histadrut labour union. The 15 years following the foundation of the Israeli national league in 1954 are still considered as the golden age in the club's history. During which it has won most of its trophies and risen to become a dominant force in Israeli basketball. However, since then the club has failed to repeat its past success and was forced to watch as its bitter city rivals Maccabi Tel aviv beat them constantly on the race to trophies and European glory.