Karmiel ( he, כַּרְמִיאֵל) is a city in
northern Israel. Established in 1964 as a
development town, Karmiel is located in the
Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower
Galilee
Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Gali ...
. The city is located south of the Acre-Safed road, from
Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevat ...
and from
Ma'alot-Tarshiha and from
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...
. In Karmiel had a population of .
History
In 1956, about of land in the area that is now Karmiel, owned by residents of the nearby Israeli Arab villages of
Deir al-Asad
Deir al-Asad ( ar, دير الأسد; he, דֵיר אֶל-אַסַד) is an Arab town in the Galilee region of Israel, near Karmiel. ,
Bi'ina
Bi'ina or al-Bi'na (also el-Baneh) ( ar, البعنة) is an Arab town in the Northern District of Israel. It is located east of Akko. In 2003, Bi'ina merged with Majd al-Krum and Deir al-Asad to form the city of Shaghur, but was reinstated as a ...
and
Nahf, were declared "closed areas" by Israeli authorities. This area, near the main road between Acre and Safed, had been an important marble quarrying site. In 1961, the Israeli authorities expropriated the land to build Karmiel. The villagers offered "equally good land" in the area, but when
Moshe Sneh
Moshe Sneh ( he, מֹשֶׁה סְנֶה ; 6 January 1909 – 1 March 1972) was a Haganah commander and an Israeli politician. One of the founders of Mapam, he later joined the Israeli Communist Party (Maki).
Biography
Mosze Klaynboym (la ...
(
Maki) and
Yusef Khamis (
Mapam) brought the case to the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
on behalf of the villagers, the Knesset established that there was no such land. According to the Haredi newspaper She'arim, about (394 lots) were confiscated by a court order on 4 March 1963, at the request of the Israel Development Authority. However, the land was rocky, uninhabited and unfit for agriculture.
In 1964, when local Arabs applied for permission to move into the town, Minister of Housing
Yosef Almogi replied that "Karmiel was not built to solve the problems for the people in the surrounding area." In February 1965, 400 protesters marched from
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
to protest against "discrimination of a group of our citizens". Representatives went to a local police station, informing the police that they were staying in the area without permission. Eventually, the perceived leaders were arrested and tried before a military tribunal.
Karmiel was one of the first cities in Israel to be established according to an urban master plan. It was built as part of the Central Galilee Development Project. Work began in 1963, and the official inauguration ceremony took place in October 1964. The first 16 families moved in at that time. A tender for the construction of Karmiel's main roads was issued in 1963, and
Mekorot built a water pipe network connecting Karmiel,
Rameh,
Sha'ab and other nearby villages.
In 1972, Karmiel was granted
development town status, which bolstered its growth due to government-provided economic incentives to attract young couples.
In 1981, Karmiel was awarded the Beautiful Israel prize and the Kaplan Prize for Management and Services. Karmiel achieved city status on November 20, 1986. The first mayor was Baruch Venger, followed by Adi Eldar, who has remained in this position until Moshe Kuninsky took his place in 2018.
18,000 new immigrants settled in Karmiel between 1990 and 2002.
And in the 2000s, some
SLA families were resettled in Karmiel following the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon.
During the
Second Lebanon War in 2006,
Hezbollah fired 180
Katyusha rockets into Karmiel and the neighboring villages, leading to casualties and damage to buildings, roads, and cars.
Geography
Karmiel is located on the
Acre–Safed road, on the northern edge of the
Lower Galilee. It lies in the
Beit HaKerem Valley and its elevation is .
The Hilazon Stream passes slightly to the south of Karmiel.
Its tributaries, the Shezor and Shagor Streams pass through Karmiel on the east and north, respectively.
Karmiel sits on the Shagor mountain range, which stretches from Mount Hazon in the east (, next to
Maghar) to Mount Gilon in the west (, at
Gilon).
Western Karmiel was built on the Karmi (362 m) and Makosh (315 m) mountains.
Work on a
new railway line linking Haifa and Karmiel began in 2011 and opened in 2017.
Demographics
, the city encompasses an area of about 24 km
2 with a population of about 50,000 residents approximately 40% of whom are immigrants from 75 countries. The city also receives significant internal migration of
Haredi
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to '' halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in opp ...
families. Since 1990, 16,000 immigrants have arrived in Karmiel, the majority of whom are from the
Former Soviet Union
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
. According to the national master plan, by 2020 Karmiel will have a population of approximately 120,000 residents. Since 1980, six new neighborhoods have been developed and populated, and a technical college has been serving the community since 1989. , work is underway to create a further neighborhood on Mount Karmi on Karmiel's western fringe.
According to The Times of Israel, Israeli Arabs "...now constitute around six percent of Karmiel's population - around 2,760 people..."
The Israel Democracy Institute report of 2018, as quoted in The Times of Israel, suggests Karmiel is one of a number of cities, 'in the process of being mixed', and reflects the upward mobility of some Arab Israelis, who seek to move into predominantly Jewish towns and cities, which do not suffer from a lack of government planning and construction.
Local government
Municipality
The local government is the Municipality of Karmiel, which is responsible for all the municipal matters regarding the City.
Mayors
Adam Tal was the first official head of the group that founded Karmiel in 1964. Avraham Argov replaced him and was himself replaced in 1968 by Baruch Venger, who headed the municipality of Karmiel until his death in office on November 22, 1988. His successor was Adi Eldar, who was re-elected several times.
In November 2018,
Moshe Kuninsky
Moses ( el, Μωϋσῆς),from Latin and Greek Moishe ( yi, משה),from Yiddish Moshe ( he, מֹשֶׁה),from Modern Hebrew or Movses (Armenian: Մովսես) from Armenian is a male given name, after the biblical figure Moses.
According to th ...
was elected
Mayor of Karmiel
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
.
Education
Today there are four high schools, four junior high schools, a vocational training center, nine state-run elementary schools, one state-run religious school (including high school), an independent education elementary school, a school for gifted children and an educational farm, many kindergartens, nursery schools and daycare centers, as well as a network of community youth and sports centers and the international
ORT Braude College of Engineering
Braude Academic College of Engineering ( he, המִכְלָלָה האָקָדֶמִית להַנְדָּסָה בראודה, ha-mikhlala ha-akademit le-handasa Braude) is a college in the city of Karmiel, Israel.
History
Braude college was e ...
with a student body of 3,500 studying computers, electronics, industrial administration, biotechnology and other subjects. A biotechnology research and development center will also open at the college. However, despite a gradual increase in the Arab-Israeli population of Karmiel (c. six percent as of 2020), there is no Arabic-speaking school.
In November 2020, Krayot Magistrate's Court ruled against a lawsuit brought by Attorney Nizar Bakri on behalf of his two Arab Israeli nephews, alleging their right to education in their home city of Karmiel had been infringed by the municipality's failure to provide transport to and from Arabic-language schools outside the town. As above, Karmiel presently has no Arabic-language schools. In dismissing the case, Magistrate Court Judge, Yaniv Luzon, ruled that Karmiel is "a Jewish city which is intended to strengthen Jewish settlement in the Galilee. The construction of an Arabic-language school or providing transportation for Arab students, wherever and whoever wants it, could change the demographic balance and character of the city." The Judge's ruling was based upon the controversial 2018 Nation State Law, which states that, "the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people." To its critics, the law constitutionally enshrines Jewish supremacy and ethno-religious discrimination into Israel's Basic Law and relegates Israel's large Arab minority to inferior status. The case has aroused controversy as it may be read as an example of this state-sanctioned inequality between Jewish and Arab Israelis.
Health care
In 2011, a Terem emergency care clinic was opened in Karmiel. The clinic is under the medical management of Dr. Walid Assadi and is open seven days a week, including Sabbath and holidays. Israel's four national health funds all maintain clinics in the city. In addition, Karmiel has dental clinics, general clinics, and private clinics.
Culture
The city is known for the
Karmiel Dance Festival, a yearly event since 1988. The festival is usually held for 3 days and nights in July, and includes dance performances, workshops, and open dance sessions. The festival began as a celebration of Israeli folk dance, but today it features many different dance forms from all around the globe, and attracts thousands of dancers and hundreds of thousands of spectators from many countries.
"Nitzotz-Machanayim" is a community center which caters to the Russian-speaking population of Karmiel. It is one of a number of similar centers in Israel which operate in the framework of the Machanayim "Communities" project. Rabbi Eli Talberg is the director of Natzotz-Machanyim, which is located on the first floor of "Kikar Ha’Ir" (often called "The Old Mall"). Activities include a Beit-Midrash, conversion classes, Hebrew classes, a youth club, a women's club, and additional workshops and activities for all ages. The community also organizes regular educational tours throughout Israel and participates in sporting and social events with other branches of the Communities project.
Environmental protection
Karmiel was the first Israeli city to receive ISO 9002 certification for the quality of its services. It is one of the few Israeli cities with ISO 1410 certification for environmental standards. Karmiel has enacted by-laws to protect the environment and prevent pollution, and become a center for clean industries and advanced technology enterprises that abide by these standards.
Parks and gardens
The Holocaust Memorial Park is located at the entrance to the city. The bronze sculptures were made by Jewish sculptor and artist
Nicky Imber (1920-1996). The sculptures are separated into three groups: Holocaust, wondering and hope; which represent the story of the Jewish people from the time of the Holocaust to the return to the holy land.
The Karmiel Quarries Park is a 12.4-acre park developed on the site of a defunct limestone quarry. One section of the park is a sculpture garden. An amphitheater on the grounds of the park hosts local events and incorporates a drainage system that collects rainfall which is later used for watering greenery.
Twin towns – sister cities
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Berat, Albania
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Câmpulung Moldovenesc
Câmpulung Moldovenesc (; formerly spelled ''Cîmpulung Moldovenesc'') is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina.
Câmpulung Moldovenesc is the fourth largest urban settlement in the c ...
, Romania
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Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (Berlin), Germany
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Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
, United States
*
Hamar
Hamar is a town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the traditional region of Hedmarken. The town is located on the shores of Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake ...
, Norway
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Kisvárda, Hungary
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Mangalia
Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern ...
, Romania
*
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est ...
, France
*
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, United States
Notable people
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Aviv Alush (born 1982), actor
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Almog Buzaglo
Almog Buzaglo ( he, אלמוג בוזגלו; born December 8, 1992) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays for Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv.
Personal life
Almog's father is Jacob Buzaglo a former player who played in the 70's and 80's in Hapoe ...
(born 1992), footballer
*
Erel Margalit (born 1961), politician and a high-tech and social entrepreneur
*
Moran Samuel
Moran Samuel ( he, מורן סמואל; April 24, 1982) is an Israeli paralympic basketball player and world champion rower.
She was chosen to light a ceremonial torch on Israel's Independence Day in 2019. She represented Israel at the 2020 Summe ...
(born 1982), paralympic basketball player and world champion rower
*
Ezequiel Skverer
Ezequiel Skverer ( he, יחזקאל סקוורר; born February 24, 1989) is an Israeli-Argentinian former professional basketball player.
Early life
Skverer is Jewish, he was born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Skverer lived his first 4 years in ...
(born 1989), basketball player
See also
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Emtan Karmiel
Emtan Karmiel Ltd. is an Israeli company that develops and manufactures small arms, pistols and rifles, for militaries and law enforcement agencies in Israel and around the world.
History
Founded in 1977 by Reuven Zada, Emtan Karmiel started o ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
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Karmiel Public LibraryLocal PortalKarmiel Photo album
{{Northern District (Israel)
Development towns
1964 establishments in Israel
Cities in Northern District (Israel)
Populated places established in 1964