Haspin ( he, חַסְפִּין), widely known as Hispin, is a religious Israeli settlement organized as a

community settlement A community settlement ( he, יישוב קהילתי, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of village in Israel and the West Bank. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the village's residents are organized in ...

located in the southern

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

History

The modern Haspin was established in 1978 at the site of the abandoned village Khisfin ( ar, خسفين). During G. Schumacher's visit to the village in 1883, it was inhabited by about 270 souls, living in some 60 huts. Three-fourths of the village already lay waste or deserted. Haspin now falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the

Golan Regional Council Golan Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית גולן, ar, مجلس الجولان الإقليمي) is a regional council that supervises regional services to Israeli settlements located on the Golan Heights. It is made up of 18 moshav ...

. In the village had a population of . ''Yeshivat HaGolan'', a

Hesder Hesder ( he, הסדר "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program all ...

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

is located in the town. Haspin (''Khisfin'') is first mentioned in sources describing the military exploits of Judas Maccabeus ('' I Maccabbees'' 5:26), under the name Chaspho. The town features prominently in the early rabbinic writings of the 3rd century CE (corresponding with the late Roman-early Byzantine period), under the name ''Hisfiyya''.''The Holy Land - from the Persian to the Arab Conquests (536 B.C. to A.D. 640) A Historical Geography '',

Michael Avi-Yonah Dr. Michael Avi-Yonah (September 26, 1904 – March 26, 1974) was an Israeli archaeologist and historian. During his career he was a Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and served as secretary of Israel's Department of ...

, Grand Rapids, 1979, p. 170; It is also mentioned in the 3rd century-4th century

Mosaic of Rehob The Mosaic of Reḥob, also known as the Tel Rehov inscription and Baraita of the Boundaries, is a late 3rd–6th century CE mosaic discovered in 1973, inlaid in the floor of the foyer or narthex of an ancient synagogue near Tel Rehov, south ...

Geographical description

Haspin lies on the northern border of the most-productive agricultural region of the southern Golan Heights, which, in ages past, was part of the main road leading up from Hamat Gader and from the Yarmuk valley to the northern regions of the Golan (''Jaulan'') as far as Hauran. An ancient Roman road criss-crossed the region. The area is rich in natural springs.

Archaeology

Many ancient artefacts from the Roman and Byzantine periods have been unearthed in Haspin. Sir Laurence Oliphant, who visited here on 15 March 1885, described the remains of a large fort, measuring 68 yards (62 m) x 54 yards (49 m) (the outer wall) and the thickness of the wall that surrounded it measuring in diameter, nestled between Haspin and Nâb. This is probably the fortified caravanserai (''khan'') described by Gottlieb Schumacher in his book ''The Jaulân'', situated west of the town of Haspin. The actual figures of this structure posted in G. Schumacher's work, ''The Jaulân'', are x According to Oliphant, the fortress dates from the Early Arab period, and was used by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in a later period. Its location is currently unknown.

Notable People

Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his ear ...

, Christian monk, theologian and scholar was born in ancient Haspin (Khifsin), though this is disputed. Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the

Religious Zionist Party The Religious Zionist Party ( he, הציונות הדתית, HaTzionut HaDatit, The Religious Zionism), known as Tkuma ( he, תקומה, , Revival) until 2021 and still officially known as National Union–Tkuma ( he, האיחוד הלאומי-� ...

and former Israeli Minister of Transportation, was born in Haspin.

References

{{Authority control Religious Israeli settlements Golan Regional Council Community settlements Religious Israeli communities Populated places in Northern District (Israel) Populated places established in 1978 1978 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate

History

Geographical description

Archaeology

Notable People

See also

References