'Ara is an Israeli Arab village in the Haifa District

Haifa District

Haifa District is an administrative district surrounding the city of Haifa, Israel. The district is one of six administrative districts of Israel, and its capital is Haifa...

 located in the Wadi Ara

Wadi Ara

Wadi Ara or Nahal Iron , refers to an area within Israel that is mostly populated by Arabs. It is located northwest of the Green Line and is mostly within Israel's Haifa District. Today, Highway 65 runs through the wadi.-Geography:...

, which since 1985 has been part of the Ar'ara

Ar'ara

Ar'ara , is an Israeli Arab town in the Wadi Ara region in the Galilee. It is located south of Umm al-Fahm just northwest of the Green Line and is part of the Triangle...

 local council

Local council (Israel)

Local councils are one of the three types of local government found in Israel, with the other two being cities and regional councils. As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel, these being settlements which pass a minimum threshold enough to justify their operations as independent...

. It is north of highway 65

Highway 65 (Israel)

Highway 65 is a major highway in northern Israel. It connects Hadera with the Galilee.This road is the shortest and simplest way to connect these two major regions. Historically, people traveled on or near this route for thousands of years from the coastal plain to reach the Galilee, and beyond...

, between Ar'ara and Kfar Qara. Its population of 4,600 (as of 2004) is almost entirely Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

.

History

In 1596, 'Ara appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Shara of the Liwa

Liwa (arabic)

Liwa or Liwa is an Arabic term meaning district, banner, or flag, a type of administrative division. It was interchangeable with the Turkish term "Sanjak" in the time of the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of the empire, the term was used in the Arab countries formerly under Ottoman rule...

of Lajjun. It had a population of 2 Muslim households and paid taxes on wheat, barley, vines, and goats or beehives.

At the time of the 1931 census

1931 census of Palestine

The 1931 census of Palestine was the second census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine. It was carried out on 18 November 1931 under the direction of Major E. Mills. The first census had been conducted in 1922...

, Ar'ara had 115 occupied houses and a population of 673 Muslims.