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Haifa
KNOWLEDGE OF Haifa
Haifa (Hebrew חֵיפָה; Arabic ØَيْÙ?َا, is the third-largest city in Israel, with a population of about 267,800 (as of September 2005). Areas and towns around it are deemed to be in the Haifa District, of which it is also a part. It is a seaport, located below and on Mount Carmel, and lies on the Mediterranean coast.
The origin of the name Haifa is not clear. Some tie it to the Hebrew word חוף (hof, meaning "beach"), or חוף יפה (hof yafe, meaning "eautiful beach"), or maybe the Hebrew verb root חפה (hafo, meaning "to cover or hide"). Christian pilgrims of the Middle Ages (and later the Crusaders) called the town Caiphas or Caifa. The Christians believe the name derives from Caiaphas, the High Priest of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus, or from the Aramaic name of Saint Peter, Cephas (כפ×?). Additionally, the name Sycaminon or Sykaminos, meaning "wild strawberry", is also used.
Haifa is first mentioned in Talmudic literature around the 3rd century CE, as a small town near Shikmona, the main Jewish town in the area at that time. The Byzantine ruled there until the 7th century, when the city was conquered — first by the Persians, then by the Arabs. In 1100, it was conquered again by the crusaders, after a fierce battle with its Jewish inhabitants. Under crusader rule, the city was a part of the Principality of Galilee until the Muslim Mameluks attacked in 1265, leaving the city ruined and mostly abandoned until the 17th century.
In 1761 Daher El-Omar, Bedouin ruler of Acre and Galilee, destroyed and rebuilt the town in a new location, surrounding it with a thin wall. This event is marked by many as the beginning of the town's modern era. After El-Omar's death in 1775, the town remained under Ottoman rule until 1918, except for two brief periods: in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Haifa as part of his brief and failed campaign to conquer Palestine and Syria, but withdrew the same year; and between 1831 and 1840, the Egyptian viceroy Mehemet Ali governed, after his son Ibrahim Pasha wrested control from the Ottomans.
In the years following the Egyptian occupation, Haifa grew in terms of traffic, population and importance, as Acre suffered a decline in a succession of battles and wars. Development in Haifa increased further with the arrival of members of the Temple Society in 1868, who settled in Haifa and built their sturdy houses in what is now called the "German colony". The Templars greatly contributed to the town's commerce and industry, playing an important role in its modernization.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, Haifa had emerged as an industrial port city and growing population center. At that time Haifa district was home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants, comprised of 82% Muslim Arab, 14% Christian Arabs, and 4% Jewish residents. Jewish population increased steadily with immigration primarily from Europe, so that by 1945 the population had shifted to 38% Muslim, 13% Christian and 47% Jewish.[citation needed] Haifa is located in the northernmost reach of the Coastal Plain designated as Jewish territory in the 1947 UN Partition Plan dividing mandatory Palestine. On 30 December, 1947 two bombs were hurled from a passing vehicle into a crowd of Arabs who were waiting for construction jobs outside the gates of the Consolidated Refineries in Haifa killing 6 and injuring 42 whereupon 2,000 Arab employees ran amok, killing 39 Jews during a murderous riot that lasted until British troops brought the situation under control 90 minutes later. As the major industrial and oil-refinery port in the Palestine, Jewish forces deemed control of Haifa a critical objective in the ensuing 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was captured on April 23rd, 1948 by a force of 5,000 Israeli soldiers led by the Carmeli Brigade. The campaign resulted in Israeli control over the area and the flight of about 60,000 Palestinian Arabs from Haifa District.
Today, Haifa is a thriving and diverse cultural and ethnic center, home to Jews, Arabs, Ahmedis, Bahá'Ãs and Druze, and marked for its relatively high level of peaceful coexistence.
The origin of the name Haifa is not clear. Some tie it to the Hebrew word חוף (hof, meaning "beach"), or חוף יפה (hof yafe, meaning "eautiful beach"), or maybe the Hebrew verb root חפה (hafo, meaning "to cover or hide"). Christian pilgrims of the Middle Ages (and later the Crusaders) called the town Caiphas or Caifa. The Christians believe the name derives from Caiaphas, the High Priest of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus, or from the Aramaic name of Saint Peter, Cephas (כפ×?). Additionally, the name Sycaminon or Sykaminos, meaning "wild strawberry", is also used.
Haifa is first mentioned in Talmudic literature around the 3rd century CE, as a small town near Shikmona, the main Jewish town in the area at that time. The Byzantine ruled there until the 7th century, when the city was conquered — first by the Persians, then by the Arabs. In 1100, it was conquered again by the crusaders, after a fierce battle with its Jewish inhabitants. Under crusader rule, the city was a part of the Principality of Galilee until the Muslim Mameluks attacked in 1265, leaving the city ruined and mostly abandoned until the 17th century.
In 1761 Daher El-Omar, Bedouin ruler of Acre and Galilee, destroyed and rebuilt the town in a new location, surrounding it with a thin wall. This event is marked by many as the beginning of the town's modern era. After El-Omar's death in 1775, the town remained under Ottoman rule until 1918, except for two brief periods: in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Haifa as part of his brief and failed campaign to conquer Palestine and Syria, but withdrew the same year; and between 1831 and 1840, the Egyptian viceroy Mehemet Ali governed, after his son Ibrahim Pasha wrested control from the Ottomans.
In the years following the Egyptian occupation, Haifa grew in terms of traffic, population and importance, as Acre suffered a decline in a succession of battles and wars. Development in Haifa increased further with the arrival of members of the Temple Society in 1868, who settled in Haifa and built their sturdy houses in what is now called the "German colony". The Templars greatly contributed to the town's commerce and industry, playing an important role in its modernization.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, Haifa had emerged as an industrial port city and growing population center. At that time Haifa district was home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants, comprised of 82% Muslim Arab, 14% Christian Arabs, and 4% Jewish residents. Jewish population increased steadily with immigration primarily from Europe, so that by 1945 the population had shifted to 38% Muslim, 13% Christian and 47% Jewish.[citation needed] Haifa is located in the northernmost reach of the Coastal Plain designated as Jewish territory in the 1947 UN Partition Plan dividing mandatory Palestine. On 30 December, 1947 two bombs were hurled from a passing vehicle into a crowd of Arabs who were waiting for construction jobs outside the gates of the Consolidated Refineries in Haifa killing 6 and injuring 42 whereupon 2,000 Arab employees ran amok, killing 39 Jews during a murderous riot that lasted until British troops brought the situation under control 90 minutes later. As the major industrial and oil-refinery port in the Palestine, Jewish forces deemed control of Haifa a critical objective in the ensuing 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was captured on April 23rd, 1948 by a force of 5,000 Israeli soldiers led by the Carmeli Brigade. The campaign resulted in Israeli control over the area and the flight of about 60,000 Palestinian Arabs from Haifa District.
Today, Haifa is a thriving and diverse cultural and ethnic center, home to Jews, Arabs, Ahmedis, Bahá'Ãs and Druze, and marked for its relatively high level of peaceful coexistence.
Chapi