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Jaba (), also known as Gaba, or Geba, in historical writings, was a
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
village in the Haifa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the
1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
on July 24, 1948, as part of Operation Shoter. It was located 18.5 km south of
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
, near Carmel, and ca. east of the Mediterranean Sea.


History


Classic era

Emil Schürer Emil Schürer (2 May 184420 April 1910) was a German Protestant theologian known mainly for his study of the history of the Jews around the time of Jesus' ministry. Biography Schürer was born in Augsburg. After studying at the universities of ...
, writing in 1891, identifies this site with a village featuring prominently in the writings of the Jewish historian,
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...
. In the late 1st century BCE,
Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...
had built a village for his veteran cavalry, and, according to E. Schürer, called this town ''the city of horsemen''. Archaeologist
Benjamin Mazar Benjamin Mazar (; born Binyamin Zeev Maisler, June 28, 1906 – September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists. He shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also at ...
, disputing Schürer in 1957, thought that Gaba of the Horsemen (Geba), mentioned by Josephus in ''
The Jewish War ''The Jewish War'' is a work of Jewish history written by Josephus, a first-century Roman-Jewish historian. It has been described by the biblical historian Steve Mason as "perhaps the most influential non-biblical text of Western history". ...
'
3.3.1
ought to be identified with the ruin ''Ḫirbet el-Ḥârithîye'' (now
Sha'ar HaAmakim Sha'ar HaAmakim () is a kibbutz in Northern District (Israel), northern Israel associated with the Hashomer Hatzair movement founded in 1935. Located near Kiryat Tiv'on, it falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council. In it had a p ...
), since in relation to Simonias, it better fits
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...
' description of Gaba / Gibea () in '' Vita'' �
24
being distant from Simonias 60 '' stadia'' (about 11 km.), in addition to the fact that in relation to ''Besara'' ( Beit She'arin), Gaba / Gibea (''Ḫirbet el-Ḥârithîye'') stood at a distance of only 20 ''stadia'' (about 4 km.) from Besara, also in agreement with Josephus.


Ottoman era

Jaba' was incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in 1517, like all of
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Jaba' belonged to the Turabay Emirate (1517-1683), which encompassed also the
Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the ), or Marj Ibn Amir (), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. It is bordered to the north by the highlands o ...
,
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
,
Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...
,
Beit She'an Valley The Beit She'an Valley ( or ) is a valley in Israel. The valley lies within the Beit She'an rift, part of the Afro-Syrian Rift (Jordan Rift Valley), which opens westwards to the Harod Valley. It is a middle part of the Jordan Valley. The valle ...
, northern
Jabal Nablus The Nablus Sanjak (; ) was an administrative area that existed throughout Ottoman rule in the Levant (1517–1917). It was administratively part of the Damascus Eyalet until 1864 when it became part of Syria Vilayet and then the Beirut Vilayet ...
, Bilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe, and the northern part of the Sharon plain. In the 1596 tax registers, it was part of the ''
nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, 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 divisi ...
'' ("subdistrict") of Jabal Atlit, part of the larger
Sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...
of
Lajjun Lajjun (, ''al-Lajjūn'') was a large Palestine (region), Palestinian Arab village located northwest of Jenin and south of the remains of the biblical city of Tel Megiddo, Megiddo. The Israeli kibbutz of Megiddo, Israel was built 600 metres ...
. It had a population of 18 households, all
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s. The inhabitants paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 7,800
akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. It was also used in other states includi ...
. In 1859, the English Consul Rogers found the population to be 150 souls, with 18 feddans of cultivation. In 1873, the PEF's ''
Survey of Western Palestine The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the completed Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) and in 1880 for the soon abandoned Survey of Eastern Palestine. The ...
'' (SWP) visited and found: “There are two closed rock tombs in the ledge south of the village, and a third with a courtyard 14 feet square, sunk 2 feet ; two doors lead into chambers. One has three loculi, one on each wall ; the other has two loculi and a recess 5 feet 6 inches, with two parallel graves under one
arcosolium An arcosolium, plural arcosolia, is an arched recess used as a place of entombment. The word is from Latin , "arch", and , "throne" (literally "place of state") or post-classical "sarcophagus". Early arcosolia were cut from the living rock, carve ...
placed like kokim with the feet to the chamber. This is therefore a transitional example. (Compare Sheikh Bureik) There are several caves north of the village, and another tomb at the head of the valley forming the recess in which the village stands."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p
54
/ref> In 1882, the SWP described it: "A small village in a recess on the hill-slope close to the plain ; the houses principally of stone. It has a good olive-yard on the west below the village, in which yard the Survey Camp was placed. The water-supply is from a well on the north-west, which has a wheel and troughs. The place seems ancient, having rock-cut tombs and caves. Jaba' had an elementary school for boys, which was founded by the Ottomans in 1885.Khalidi, 1992, p. 166


British Mandate era

In the British Mandate of Palestine period, 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 divis ...
''Jaba'' had a population of 523; all
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s, increasing in the 1931 census to 762; 2 Christians and the rest Muslim, in a total of 158 houses. In the 1945 statistics this had increased to 1,140, all Muslims with a total of 7,012 dunams of land. Of this, 450 dunums were plantations or irrigable land, 4,255 were for
cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...
s, while 60 dunams were classified built-up, (urban), land. The site has several ancient ruins, including mosaics and tombs.


1948, aftermath

Jaba was in the territory allotted to the Jewish state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. During the
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
the militia from the village fired on Jewish vehicles along the essential coast road. In early June 1948, an
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF) report shows that Ja'ba, together with Ijzim and Ayn Ghazal, were asking the IDF, "to open negotiation for surrender." Nothing resulted from the request. On 14 July, before the Second truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Israeli cabinet discussed the three villages in "The Little Triangle". Ben-Gurion said that there was no need to hurry:
"these villages are in our pocket ..We can act against them also after the einstitution of thetruce. This will be a police action... They are not regarded as enemy forces as their area is ours .e., in Israeland they are inhabitants of the state... ndthese villages do not represent a military danger."Morris, 2004, pp.
438
439, note #146, p.
457
/ref>
The second truce, beginning on the 18 July, was not violated by the villagers. According to Meron Benvenisti, IDF actions over course of the Second Truce were concentrated on "cleansing" small clusters of Arab villages located in "strategic" areas. Ja'ba was depopulated along with two other villages ( Ijzim and 'Ayn Ghazal) located on the western slopes of the Carmel mountains between July 24 and 26. A week after the start of the
truce A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...
, Israel undertook Operation Shoter ("Operation Policeman"), with the aim of conquering the "Little Triangle" villages.Morris, 2004, p.
439
/ref> The operation was executed by a combination of brigades from the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
and the military police.Benvenisti, 2000, p
152
On July 25, street fighting was reported from Ayn Ghazal and Ja'ba. On the morning of the next day, the villages were found deserted. In September, 1948, when the UN demanded the right of the villagers to return, the Israelis said that the village had fired upon Jewish vehicles along a coast road, and therefore denied their return.Morris, 2004, p
441
notes #170, 171, p
459
/ref> Following the war the area was incorporated into the
State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. The
moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...
of Geva Carmel was established around one kilometer northwest of the old village site, on village land. In 1992 the village site was described: "Piles of stone rubble can be seen on the site. A shrine still standing on an elevated part of it. Pine forests grow on the land in the vicinity, which is fenced in by barbed wire. Around the village are the remains of tombs. Parts of the site is used by Israelis as grazing land."


References


Bibliography

* * * *Buhl, Frants, (1896):
Geographie des alten Palästina
'' p
210
ff * (p. 251) * * * * * * * * * (pp
96177245 247 299 438
41
457 458
*Mülinen, Egbert Friedrich von 1908,
Beiträge zur Kenntnis des Karmels
' "Separateabdruck aus der Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palëstina-Vereins Band XXX (1907) Seite 117-207 und Band XXXI (1908) Seite 1-258." * *


External links


Jaba'
Zochrot Zochrot (; "Remembering"; ; "Memories") is an Israeli nonprofit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Nakba, including the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. The group was co-founded by Eitan ...
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 8
IAAWikimedia commons


at Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center {{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Haifa