Ammuqa (also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

'Amuqa and Amuka) was a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

village, located five kilometres northeast of Safed.

History

Known locally for its seven springs, Ammuqa also enjoyed renown as the site of the sepulchre of

Jonathan ben Uzziel Jonathan ben Uzziel ( he, יונתן בן עוזיאל) was one of the 80 ''tannaim'' who studied under Hillel the Elder during the time of Roman-ruled Judea. A book of kabbalah known as ''Sefer Migdanim'' has been attributed to him. Jonathan ben ...

. Rabbi

Samuel ben Samson Samuel ben Samson (also Samuel ben Shimshon) was a rabbi who lived in France and made a pilgrimage to Israel in 1210, visiting a number of villages and cities there, including Jerusalem. Amongst his companions were Jonathan ben David ha-Cohen Rabbi ...

, who travelled to Palestine in 1210, writes that the site was marked by "a great tree" where the local Muslim population made vows "to his glory" and gave

votive A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

offerings of oil and light.Adler, 2004, p
107

Ottoman era

In 1517, Ammuqa was incorporated into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, and by 1596 tax-records it was under the administration of the ''

nahiyah A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

'' ("subdistrict") of ''Jira'', part of

Safad Sanjak Safed Sanjak ( ar, سنجق صفد; tr, Safed Sancağı) was a ''sanjak'' (district) of Damascus Eyalet ( Ottoman province of Damascus) in 1517–1660, after which it became part of the Sidon Eyalet (Ottoman province of Sidon). The sanjak was ce ...

, with a population of 65 households and 6 bachelors; an estimated 391 persons, all Muslim. They paid taxes on wheat, barley, olives, beehives, vineyards, and goats; a total revenue of 5,585 akçe. 1/12 of the revenue went to a Muslim charitable endowment.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p.175, quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p.433. In the second half of the 19th century

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n followers of

Abdelkader El Djezairi Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir ( ar, عبد القادر) is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means "servant of the powerful", ''Al-Qādir'' being one of the names of God in th ...

have been defeated by the French in Algeria, and sought refuge in another part of the Ottoman Empire. They were given lands in various locations in Ottoman Syria, including Ammuqa, and the close-by Dayshum, Marus, Al-Husayniyya and Tulayl.Abbasi, 2007 (Hebrew). Non-Hebrew version in ''The Maghreb Review'', 28(1), 2003 pp. 41-59.

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Amuqa'' had a population of 114, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Safad, p
41
/ref> decreasing slightly in the 1931 census to 108, still all Muslims, in a total of 17 houses.Mills, 1932, p
105
/ref> By the 1944/45 statistics, the village had a population of 140 Muslims with a total land area of 2,574 dunams. Of this, a total of 1,164 dunums of land was used for cereals; 195 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, while 30 dunams were classified as built-up (or Urban) area.

1948, aftermath

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, on the 24 May 1948, Ammuqa was assaulted by the Palmach's First Battalion, headed by

Yigal Allon Yigal Allon ( he, יגאל אלון; 10 October 1918 – 29 February 1980) was an Israeli politician, commander of the Palmach, and general in the Israel Defense Forces, IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Labor P ...

. Following the "systematic" destruction of the villages in the

Hula Valley The Hula Valley ( he, עמק החולה, translit. ''Emek Ha-Ḥula''; also transliterated as Huleh Valley, ar, سهل الحولة) is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior to ...

, Ammuqa was evacuated.Morris, 2004, pp.
251
��252. In 1980 Amuka was established on village land; about 1 km southeast of the village site. In 1992 the village site was described: "Nothing remains of the village but the rubble of houses; the site is overgrown with cactuses and eucalyptus, fig, and olive trees. Much of the land around the site is wooded, and some parts are cultivated by the settlement of ‘Ammuqa."

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Welcome to Ammuqa

'Ammuqa

Zochrot Zochrot ( he, זוכרות; "Remembering"; ar, ذاكرات; "Memories") is an Israeli nonprofit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Palestinian ''Nakba'' ("Catastrophe"), including the 1948 Pa ...

*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 4
IAAWikimedia commons
at

Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center () is a leading Palestinian arts and culture organization that aims to create a pluralistic, critical liberating culture through research, query, and participation, and that provides an open space for the community ...

Ammuqa
Dr. Khalil Rizk. {{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Safad