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Ma'alot-Tarshiha ( he, מַעֲלוֹת-תַּרְשִׁיחָא; ar, معالوت ترشيحا, ''Maʻālūt Taršīḥā'') is a city in the North District in Israel, some east of
Nahariya Nahariya ( he, נַהֲרִיָּה, ar, نهاريا) is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. In it had a population of . Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton (river is ''nahar'' in Hebrew), which bisects it. Hist ...
, about
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
. The city was established in 1963 through a municipal merger of the Arab town of Tarshiha and the Jewish town of Ma'alot, creating a unique type of Israeli
mixed city In Israel, the mixed cities ( he, ערים מעורבות, translit='arim me'oravot, ar, المدن المختلطة, translit=al-mudun al-mukhtalita) or mixed towns are the eight cities with a significant number of both Israeli Jews and Isra ...
. In , the city had a population of .


History


Tarshiha

Excavations of a 4th-century burial cave in the village unearthed a cross and a piece of glass engraved with a menorah. Crusader sources from the 12th and 13th century refer to Tarshiha as ''Terschia,'' ''Torsia'', and ''Tersigha.''Petersen, 2001, p
293
/ref> The King had initiated the settlement of Crusader (''Latin'', ''Frankish'') people in nearby Mi'ilya ("Castellum Regis"), and from there settlement spread out to Tarshiha. In 1160, ''Torsia'' and several surrounding villages were transferred to a Crusader named ''Iohanni de Caypha'' (Johannes of Haifa). By 1217, the village was probably inhabited by Crusader ("Frankish") people. In 1220 Joscelin III´s daughter Beatrix de Courtenay and her husband Otto von Botenlauben, Count of Henneberg, sold their land, including ''Tersyha'', to the Teutonic Knights. In 1266, Tarshiha was raided by Crusader troops. According to popular Arabic etymology, the name may have meant "Artemisia Mountain" in the Canaanite language, where Arabic ''Tuur'' for "mountain" and ''shiiH'' for ''
Artemisia vulgaris ''Artemisia vulgaris'', the common mugwort, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is one of several species in the genus ''Artemisia'' commonly known as mugwort, although ''Artemisia vulgaris'' is the species most ...
'' ( mugwort, or common wormwood) could be identified, or from ''Taar shiiHaa'' ("Shiha flew"), i.e. Shiha Jamaluddin (a legendary hero) rushed to the battlefield to fight the Crusaders.


Ottoman era

Incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with the rest of Palestine, the village of Tarshiha was raided by the Lebanese feudal chief, Mansur ibn Furaykh in 1573. The
daftar A ''defter'' (plural: ''defterler'') was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Description The information collected could vary, but ''tahrir defterleri'' typically included details of villages, dwellings, household ...
of 1596 show the village to be under the administration of the '' nahiya'' of
Akka Akka or AKKA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akka'' (film), a 1976 Indian Tamil film * ''Akka'' (TV series), a 2014–2015 Indian Tamil soap opera * Akka, a character in the children's novel ''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'' by Selma ...
, with a population of 107 households ("khana") and 3 bachelors, all Muslim. The inhabitants paid taxes on "occasional revenues", bees and goats. The village was also taxed for a press, used either of olives or for grapes. Total revenue was 17,660
akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (also spelled ''akche'', ''akcheh''; ota, آقچه; ) refers to a silver coin which was the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. The word itself evolved from the word "silver or silver money", this word is deri ...
. In the early eighteenth century, the village was under control of Shaikh Husayn, while later in the Ottoman period it became one of the major cotton-producing villages of Galilee, and the administrative center of the '' nahiya''. Mariti visited the village (which he called ''Terschia'') in 1761, and wrote that it "abounds with water; which adds greatly to the fertility of its cotton plants, its fruit-trees, and above all its tobacco". Victor Guérin, who visited in 1875, found that Tarshiha "consists of four quarters, under the jurisdiction of as many different sheikhs. There are 2,000 Moslems, who have their mosques. The Christians occupy their own quarters: with the exception of a few families they are all Uniate
Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic Semitic root, ro ...
Greeks, and number about 500." In 1881 the
Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, and is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the study ...
's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' described Tarshiha as: "a very large village, containing about 1,500 Moslems and 300 Christians; there is a fine mosque with
minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
s newly built, also an old one; the houses are well-built; a new and handsome church has been built in the Christian quarter". A population list from about 1887 showed ''Tarshiha'' to have about 4,855 inhabitants; 4,000 Muslims and 855 Christian.


British Mandate era

In the
1922 census of Palestine The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divisi ...
conducted by the British Mandate authorities, ''Tarsheha'' had a population of 1,880 residents; 1,521
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s, 358 Christians and 1 Druze,Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Acre, p
36
/ref> where the Christians were 298
Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic Semitic root, ro ...
, 53 Orthodox and 7 Church of England.Barron, 1923, Table XVI, p
49
/ref> The population had increased in the 1931 census to a total of 2522; 2047 Muslims and 475 Christians, in a total of 584 houses.Mills, 1932, p
103
/ref> In the 1945 statistics the population of Tarshiha was 3,840; 3140 Muslims and 690 Christians.Department of Statistics, 1945, p
5
/ref> The total population of Tarshiha combined with Al-Kabri was 5,360 Arabs, with 47,428 dunams of land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
41
/ref> Of this, a total of 743
dunums A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amount ...
of land in the two places was used for citrus and bananas, 5,301 were plantation and irrigable land, 14,123 for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
81
/ref> while 252 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
131
/ref> Residents of Ma'alot-Tarshiha interviewed in early 1980s recalled Tarshiha as being the leading village in the area with a population of 3,000 including 700 Christians. The Christians had established a successful handcrafts industry. The villages main crop was tobacco. There was a tobacco growers union which ran a trucking cooperative. In the mid 1930s it was learnt that the Sursock family were going to sell land in the Jaqtoun valley. A delegation from the village travelled to Beirut and was able to buy the land. After clearing and draining it was divided into plots which were distributed by lottery to the participating families. Tarshiha was the first Palestinian village to establish a development fund by collecting £1 a year from each adult male resident.


=1947-48 war

= During the
1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
Tarshiha served as the headquarters of
Fawzi al-Qawuqji Fawzi al-Qawuqji ( ar, فوزي القاوقجي; 19 January 1890 – 5 June 1977) was a leading Arab nationalist military figure in the interwar period.The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives, by Gilbert Achcar, (NY: Hen ...
, who headed the Arab Liberation Army. Tarshiha was in the territory allotted to the Palestinians under the
1947 UN Partition Plan The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as Re ...
. Following the establishment of the state of Israel Tarshiha was surrounded on three sides by the
Israeli army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...
and the border with Lebanon to the North. Tarshiha and sixteen smaller villages established a regional committee which organised the reopening of schools, regulated imports from Lebanon as well as attending to security and defence.


State of Israel

In the
1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
, the village was captured by the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
in Operation Hiram. The village was bombed by three Israeli planes on the evening of 28 October. This was followed by a prolonged artillery barrage and a further air raid in the morning with the village defenders and most of the inhabitants retreating north into Lebanon. The village was captured by the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
on October 29. A UN observer reported that on 1 November 1948 the Arab villages around Tarshiha were deserted and extensively looted by Israeli forces. '' The New York Times'' added that the looting appeared systematic, as Israeli army trucks were used carrying off the looted goods. By December 1948 around 700 villagers, mostly Christians, had returned to the village. Families from Tarshiha began arriving in Beirut shortly after the conquest of the village and lived in rented rooms around
Bourj el Barajneh Bourj el-Barajneh ( ar, برج البراجنة, lit=Tower of Towers) is a municipality located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in Lebanon. The municipality lies between Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport and the town of Haret Hreik. ...
which at that time was a suburb on the fringe of the city. About half of the 3,000 villagers arriving in Lebanon settled there in what became Bourj al Barajneh refugee camp. They took on most of the leadership roles and remained the majority population for many years. In 1981 it was estimated 4-5,000 Tarshihans were living in the camp. Those villagers who were unable to reach Beirut in 1948 were rounded up and sent by train to
Allepo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
were they became the largest group in al-Neirab Camp. Any Arab who had not registered, as of November 1948, was regarded as illegal and if caught deported. An American Quaker relief worker with the
American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends (''Quaker'') founded organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by Am ...
described a raid on Tarshiha on 15 January 1949. All males over sixteen were questioned by a panel of eight Israelis. 33 heads of families and 101 family members, aged 1 year to 79 years, were selected for deportation. They were robbed and expelled via
'Ara Ara ( he, עָרָה; ar, عاره) is a village in the Haifa District in northern Israel, located in the Wadi Ara valley. Since 1985, 'Ara has been part of the Ar'ara local council (Israel), local council. It is located north of highway 65 (Isra ...
to
Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...
. A UN observer in Jenin reported that their homes were being re-populated by large numbers of Jewish refugees from Austria. In December 1949 the Israeli Foreign Ministry blocked an
IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...
plan to clear Tarshiha and five other villages along the Lebanon border of their remaining Arab populations in order to create an Arab-free zone. Arabs in the Galilee remained under Martial Law until 1966. The abandoned houses in Tarshiha were initially taken over by Jews from Romania. When they were moved on to new settlements the houses were demolished. Around 600 villagers remained after 1948. They were joined by others expelled from nine other local villages.


Ma'alot

Ma'alot was established as a development town for Jewish immigrants from Romania, Iran and Morocco, in 1957. The first homes were built on ''Har HaRakafot'' (Cyclamen Hill), known in Arabic as ''Bab Al-Hauwa'' ("Gate of the Winds").


Ma'alot-Tarshiha merger

In 1963, Ma'alot was merged with the larger Tarshiha, and the unified town was renamed to reflect both origins. The inhabitants of Tarshiha hoped that the merger would improve the level of services. On 15 May 1974, an elementary school in Ma'alot was attacked by terrorists of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in what became known as the Ma'alot massacre. Twenty-two teenagers and three teachers from
Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
on a class trip were murdered in the attack. They had been sleeping on the floor inside the building. In addition, three Israeli women, one of them seven months pregnant, one four-year-old child, and two men were killed by the same terrorists in the events before the murder of the school children."Bullets, Bombs and a Sign of Hope"
'' TIME'', May 27, 1974.
A visitor in 1980 estimated that half of the 2,400 Arabs living in the town originated from Tarshiha. 70% of those with jobs worked in the building trade, none of them were farmers. The 3,500 Jewish residents were mostly Moroccan. Few of whom stayed for long periods. Ma'alot-Tarshiha was officially recognized as a city in 1996. Nearly 700 Katyusha rockets landed in the vicinity of Ma'alot-Tarshiha during the Second Lebanon War. Three Arab residents of the city were killed in a rocket attack.


Demographics

In 2016, ethnic and religious makeup of the city was 79.2% Jewish and other non-Arabs, and 20.8% Arab (10%
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, 9.9%
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, and 0.3%
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
). In 2016, there were 10,600 males and 10,500 females. The population of the city was diverse in age with 30.8% 19 years of age or younger, 14.2% between 20 and 29, 18.1% between 30 and 44, 18.2% from 45 to 59, 5.5% from 60 to 64, and 13.1% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2016 was −0.4%. As of 2016, there were 10,503 salaried workers and 564 self-employed persons in the city. The mean monthly wage in 2016 for a salaried worker was
NIS Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to: Places * Niš, a city in Serbia * Nis, Iran, a village * Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands Businesses and organizations * Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry of ...
7,745 (USD ). Salaried men had a mean monthly wage of NIS 9,360 versus NIS 6,005 for women. The average income for the self-employed was NIS 8,929. Some 37% of the working population worked for minimum wage, 269 people received unemployment benefits, and 940 people who received an income guarantee. Following Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 some ex South Lebanon Army soldiers and officers who fled from Lebanon settled in Ma'alot with their families.


Economy

The Tefen Industrial Zone, which includes famous companies such as the
Iscar ISCAR Ltd. is an Israeli multinational metal cutting tools company affiliated with one of the world's largest metalworking conglomerates, the IMC Group (International Metalworking Companies). ISCAR and the IMC Group were acquired by Warren Buff ...
plant was built in the vicinity of Ma'alot-Tarshiha by Stef Wertheimer and is major source of employment for the city's residents. In 2007, the jobless rate in Ma’alot-Tarshiha was 5.5 percent, compared to 7.9 percent nationally.


Education

In 2001, there were 11 schools and 4,272 students in the city, including 7 elementary schools with an enrollment of 2,000, and 7 high schools with 2,272 students. 58.5% of the city's 12th graders earned a matriculation certificate in 2001. In August 1975,
Yeshivat Ma'alot Yeshivat Ma'alot Ya'akov ( he, ישיבת מעלות יעקב) is a Hesder Yeshiva, founded in 1975 in the town of Maalot following the Ma'alot massacre. The Yeshiva is named after Rabbi Dr. Ya'akov Herzog, son of the late Chief Rabbi of Israel Yi ...
, a Hesder yeshiva, was established, attracting students from all over the world. In recent years the Yeshiva has estimated 300 students per year.


Landmarks and culture

Victor Guérin, after his 1875 visit, wrote that the principal mosque in Tarshiha had been built by Abdullah Pasha, (the Governor of
Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...
at the time.) He further noted that it was "preceded by a court, then by a porch; surmounted by a cupola, above which springs an elegant
minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
." Andrew Petersen, who inspected the mosque in 1993, noted that it was built in "classical Ottoman style with four main elements: a courtyard, an arcade, a
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
d prayer hall, and a minaret." Lake Monfort, an artificial lake to the east of Ma'alot-Tarshiha, has become a local tourist attraction. It was previously known as the Hosen Reservoir. The lake is featured in the city's emblem. In January 2008, Ma'alot-Tarshiha hosted the Israel International Chess Championship. The tournament, held at the community center, carried a prize of $20,000. The city has also hosted other international events, among them an international fencing tournament. The "Stone in the Galilee" International Sculpture Symposium has been held annually in Ma'alot-Tarshiha since 1991. In this 10-day springtime event, sculptors from Israel and around the world convene at Montfort Lake to create stone sculptures from huge blocks of stone. In 2009, the non-profit Docaviv established an annual documentary film festival in the city in an effort to bring "high quality cultural activity to the Israeli periphery."


Notable people

* Ashraf Barhom (born 1979), actor *
Amal Bishara Amal Bishara is an Israeli Arab doctor, and the director of Bone Marrow Registry Outreach, Hadassah Medical Center, which is associated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. There she runs the only bone marrow transplant registry in ...
, doctor *
Nisreen Faour Nisreen Faour ( ar, نسرين فاعور; born August 2, 1972) is a Palestinian Israeli actress from the village of Ma'alot-Tarshiha, best known for her role as Muna in the 2009 American film, ''Amreeka''. Faour was born in Ma'alot-Tarshiha, Isr ...
(born 1972), actress *
Mahmoud Hawari Mahmoud Hawari is a Palestinian archaeologist and academic. From 2016 to 2018 he was the director of The Palestinian Museum in Birzeit (25 km north of Jerusalem), which was officially inaugurated in May 2016. Mahmoud Hawari was born in Tarsh ...


Twin towns – sister cities

* Birobidzhan, Russia * Harrisburg, United States *
Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...
, Italy *
Reichenbach im Vogtland Reichenbach im Vogtland is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony in eastern Germany. With a population of 20,108, it is the second-largest town in the Vogtlandkreis after Plauen. It is located close to the A72 between Plauen (at c. 18&n ...
, Germany *
Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...
, France


References


Bibliography

* *Cohen, A. (1973), ''Palestine in the Eighteenth Century: Patterns of Government and Administration,'' Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Cited in Petersen, (2001) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (Tarshiha:293-296) * * (p
376
* * Shammas, A. (1988), ''The Retreat from Galilee'', Granta 23, Spring 1988. * *


External links


Official city website
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 3
IAAWikimedia commons
{{Authority control Mixed Israeli communities Cities in Northern District (Israel) Arab Christian communities in Israel