Shaghur or Shagor (; , ''ash-Shaghur'') was an

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 ...

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in the Northern District 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 ...

located east of the coastal city of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

(Akka). It was formed in 2003 with the merger of three

local councils –

Majd al-Krum Majd al-Krum ( ''Majd al-Kurūm'', ) is an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab town located in the Galilee in Israel's Northern District (Israel), Northern District about 16 kilometers (10 miles) east of Acre, Israel, Acre. Its inhabitants are primaril ...

, Deir al-Asad and

Bi'ina Bi'ina or al-Bi'na (also el-Baneh) () is an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab local council (Israel), town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. It is located east of Acre, Israel, Akko. In 2003, Bi'ina merged with Majd al-K ...

. It was declared a city in 2005. The city was dissolved on December 1, 2008, by Knesset decree and the pre-2003 component villages were given independent standing. It is the third largest Arab locality in the Northern District after

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

and

Shefa-'Amr Shefa-Amr or Shefar'am (; ) is an Arab city in the Northern District of Israel. In it had a population of with a Sunni Muslim majority and large Christian Arab and Druze minorities. Etymology Palmer writes that the name meant: "The margin ...

. The name ''Shaghur'' comes from the name of the nearby valley which borders the al-Araas mountain in which the city is built upon. The city had a population of 29,900 at the end of 2007.

History

Majd al-Kurum, Deir al-Asad and Bi'ina were largely agricultural. The main crops were olives,

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...

, citrus and pomegranates. The three villages were captured by

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

forces on October 30, 1948, in Operation Dekel 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) ...

. In 1956 about of land in the region were designated "closed areas" by the Israeli government, and became the basis for

Karmiel Karmiel () is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Established in 1964 as a development town, Karmiel is located in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower Galilee. The city is located south of the Acre–Safed road, from Sa ...

.H. Amun, Uri Davis and N. D. San´allah: Deir al-Asad: The Destiny of an Arab Village in Galilee, in Palestinian Arabs in Israel: Two Case Studies, Ithaca Press, London 1977, pp. 4–5. During the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...

, 43 Katyusha rockets fired by

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

landed in or near Shaghur, killing four civilians. The rockets were apparently aimed at Karmiel and an alleged artillery installment on a nearby hill.Civilians under assault, Case Studies: Karmiel, Majd al-Kurum and Deir al-Assad

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

The victims were Muhammad Subhi Mana, Baha Karim, Miriam Assadi and Fathi Assadi.

Demographics

In 1948, most of the villagers remained in the area and were joined by several

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

from al-Birwa. Some residents of Majd al-Krum settled in the

Shatila refugee camp The Shatila refugee camp (), also known as the Chatila refugee camp, is a settlement originally set up for Palestinian refugees in 1949. It is located in southern Beirut, Lebanon and houses more than 9,842 registered Palestine refugees. Since ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. According to Abu Nisa, a former resident of Majd al-Krum, some have obtained European citizenship and have come back to visit.Inside a Palestinian refugee camp: Palestine Pilgrim
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'' 2008-05-17. In 2005 there were 14,600 males and 13,900 females in Shaghur. The age distribution was 49.4% 19 years of age or younger, 17% between the ages of 20–29, 19.8% between the ages of 30–44, 10.6% between the ages of 45–64 and 3.2% 65 and older. The percentage of families with four or more children was 34.01% in 2003.Local Councils and Municipalities – Rank, Cluster Membership, Variable and Standardized Values and Ranking for Variables Used
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics The city's population increased by 7% in 2005 and in total, approximately by 2,500 persons.Populations of Localities Numbering Above 1,000 Residents
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics

Economy

The city has rapidly drifted from a mostly agricultural-based economy into a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

center and midway between the Galilee's coastal cities and

and for surrounding villages and local councils. It remains in friendly and cooperative

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

with the neighboring city of Karmiel and the nearby Arab local councils of

Nahf Nahf (, ''Naḥf'' or ''Nahef''; ) is an Arab town in the Northern District of Israel. It is located in between the lower and upper Galilee, about east of Acre. In it had a population of . Archaeologists believe that the area was an important c ...

and Rame. The city is filled with restaurants, various shops and stores and three gas stations as well as a weekly

souk A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that have doors ...

or open-air market. Despite the merger of the three old municipalities, Shaghur's economy is not improving as expected and the city still remains quite poor and unmanaged due to political boycotts. According to the CBS, in 2004, there were 6,674 salaried workers. The mean monthly salary was 3,663 NIS The city's average income per capita decreased by −1.04 NIS to 1,093 NIS ranking it Israel's 19th poorest municipality. The number of employed persons in the city that received above twice the average wage was 1.45% in 2003. Its

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is also increasing because of the city's inability to expand residentially and commercially beyond its jurisdiction.

Education

According to the CBS, Shaghur has eighteen schools (nine elementary, three middle and six secondary). In total, there are 7,473 students; 4,276 in elementary, 1,822 in middle and 1,375 in middle school. In 2005, 43.5% of 12th grade students received

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

certificates – an increase of 11.45% in 2003. The percentage of students aged 20–25 was 5.64% in 2003.

Politics

The recently formed city has experienced a lack of cooperation between its two major components, Majd al-Krum and Deir al-Asad, in the wake of recent elections for city mayor won by a candidate from Deir al-Asad, Ahmed Dabbah. The residents of Majd al-Krum, refusing to abide by the leadership of a Deir al-Asad man, boycotted the new local government, and this particular area consequently is at an economic and social disadvantage relative to the other neighborhoods that make up Shaghur.

Sports

Shaghur does not have any official sports teams to represent the city, however, two of its components maintain

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams. In 2005–2006, Maccabi Bi'ina, Beitar Bi'ina, Deir al-Asad participated in the Northern Divisions of

Liga Gimel Liga Gimel (, lit. ''League C'') is, since 2009, the fifth and bottom division of Israeli football league system, Israeli Football League. From Liga Alef and downwards, including Liga Gimel, each league is separated by region. History Liga Gimel ...

Notable residents

* Ahmed Dabbah - MK representing

Kadima Kadima () was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan in August 2005, and was soon ...

party, former mayor of Shaghur

References

{{Israeli municipality merger of 2003 Former cities in Israel Arab localities in Israel 2003 establishments in Israel Populated places in Northern District (Israel)