Arraba
Encyclopedia
Arraba is Israel
's fourth largest local council
and largest Israeli Arab
local council. It is located in the Lower Galilee in the North District
, to the north of Nazareth
and adjacent to Sakhnin
and Deir Hanna
. Arraba attained local council status in 1965.
and the Jerusalem Talmud
in the sixteenth chapter of Tractate Shabbat.
In the 5th or 6th century there were Christians living here, as witnessed by a church whose mosaic floor and inscription have been unearthed.
In the 13th century, Arrabah is mentioned by Yaqut al-Hamawi
in his famous work Mu'jam al-Buldān (1224-1228).
Throughout history Arraba was mostly an agricultural village depending mainly on the al-Batuf Plain to grow crops. However currently the dependence on agriculture is declining rapidly due to the rise in population, urbanization and a subsequently more modern lifestyle.
In 1596, Arraba appeared in Ottoman tax registers as a village in the Nahiya of Tabariyya of the Liwa
of Safad. It had a population of 125 Muslim households and 2 Muslim bachelors, and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summercrops or fruit trees, cotton, and goats or beehives.
Arraba was home to Dhaher el-Omar. According to local legend, he sought refuge there after killing a Turkish
soldier. He won the support of the local sheikh, Muhammad Nasser, by helping him settle a score with a neighboring village, which set off a series of campaigns that led to the conquest of the entire Galilee
. A building said to be the home of el-Omar is still standing.
At the time of the 1931 census
, Arraba had 253 occupied houses and a population of 1187 Muslims and 37 Christians.
demonstrations in 1976. Together with Sakhnin
and Deir Hanna
it forms what is called the triangle of Land Day. Israel's reaction to control the protest was forceful and six people were killed by Israeli police.
On March 11, 1976, Israeli government published a expropriation
plan including lands in the Galilee
for official use. It affected some 20,000 dunam
s of land between the Arab villages of Sakhnin
and Arraba. The land was said to be used for "security purposes," but was actually used to build new Jewish settlements and also a military training camp. David McDowall identifies the resumption
of land seizures in the Galilee and the acceleration of land expropriations in the West Bank
in the mid-1970s
as the immediate catalyst for both the Land Day demonstration and similar demonstrations that were taking place contemporaneously in the West Bank. He writes: "Nothing served to bring the two Palestinian communities together politically more than the question of land."
The town's football club Ahva Arraba
, currently play in Liga Leumit
, the second tier of Israeli football.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's fourth largest 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...
and largest Israeli Arab
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
local council. It is located in the Lower Galilee in the North District
North District (Israel)
The Northern District is one of Israel's six administrative districts. The Northern District has a land area of 4,478 km², which increases to 4,638 km² when both land and water are included...
, to the north of Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
and adjacent to Sakhnin
Sakhnin
Sakhnin is a city in Israel's North District. It is located in the Lower Galilee, about east of Acre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. Its population of 25,100 is Arab, mostly Muslim with a sizable Christian minority. It is located on the site of the ancient Jewish town Sikhnin, which...
and Deir Hanna
Deir Hanna
Deir Hanna is a local council in the North District of Israel, located on the hills of the Lower Galilee, southeast of Acre. At the end of 2005, the town had a population of 8,500 approximately 80% of them being Muslims and the remaining 20% being Christian....
. Arraba attained local council status in 1965.
History
Arraba is associated with the Jewish village Arab, known in Greek as Garaba, mentioned in the MishnahMishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
and the Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
in the sixteenth chapter of Tractate Shabbat.
In the 5th or 6th century there were Christians living here, as witnessed by a church whose mosaic floor and inscription have been unearthed.
In the 13th century, Arrabah is mentioned by Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...
in his famous work Mu'jam al-Buldān (1224-1228).
Throughout history Arraba was mostly an agricultural village depending mainly on the al-Batuf Plain to grow crops. However currently the dependence on agriculture is declining rapidly due to the rise in population, urbanization and a subsequently more modern lifestyle.
In 1596, Arraba appeared in Ottoman tax registers as a village in the Nahiya of Tabariyya 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 Safad. It had a population of 125 Muslim households and 2 Muslim bachelors, and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summercrops or fruit trees, cotton, and goats or beehives.
Arraba was home to Dhaher el-Omar. According to local legend, he sought refuge there after killing a Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
soldier. He won the support of the local sheikh, Muhammad Nasser, by helping him settle a score with a neighboring village, which set off a series of campaigns that led to the conquest of the entire Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
. A building said to be the home of el-Omar is still standing.
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...
, Arraba had 253 occupied houses and a population of 1187 Muslims and 37 Christians.
Land Day
Arraba was home to the first Land DayLand Day
Land Day , March 30, is an annual day of commemoration for Palestinians of the events of that date in 1976. In response to the Israeli government's announcement of a plan to expropriate thousands of dunams of land for "security and settlement purposes", a general strike and marches were organized...
demonstrations in 1976. Together with Sakhnin
Sakhnin
Sakhnin is a city in Israel's North District. It is located in the Lower Galilee, about east of Acre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. Its population of 25,100 is Arab, mostly Muslim with a sizable Christian minority. It is located on the site of the ancient Jewish town Sikhnin, which...
and Deir Hanna
Deir Hanna
Deir Hanna is a local council in the North District of Israel, located on the hills of the Lower Galilee, southeast of Acre. At the end of 2005, the town had a population of 8,500 approximately 80% of them being Muslims and the remaining 20% being Christian....
it forms what is called the triangle of Land Day. Israel's reaction to control the protest was forceful and six people were killed by Israeli police.
On March 11, 1976, Israeli government published a expropriation
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
plan including lands in the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
for official use. It affected some 20,000 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s of land between the Arab villages of Sakhnin
Sakhnin
Sakhnin is a city in Israel's North District. It is located in the Lower Galilee, about east of Acre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. Its population of 25,100 is Arab, mostly Muslim with a sizable Christian minority. It is located on the site of the ancient Jewish town Sikhnin, which...
and Arraba. The land was said to be used for "security purposes," but was actually used to build new Jewish settlements and also a military training camp. David McDowall identifies the resumption
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
of land seizures in the Galilee and the acceleration of land expropriations in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
in the mid-1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
as the immediate catalyst for both the Land Day demonstration and similar demonstrations that were taking place contemporaneously in the West Bank. He writes: "Nothing served to bring the two Palestinian communities together politically more than the question of land."
Sports and culture
The symbol of the local council is an onion, a watermelon and a cantaloupe which symbolize the crops for which Arraba is famous.The town's football club Ahva Arraba
Ahva Arraba F.C.
Ahva Arraba F.C. , is an Israeli football team based in Arraba.-History:In 2007–08 the club won the North A division of Liga Bet, and was promoted to Liga Alef North...
, currently play in Liga Leumit
Liga Leumit
Liga Leumit is the second tier in the Israeli football league system below the Premier League.-Structure:There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the lowest-placed team are relegated to Liga Alef while the highest-placed team from Liga Alef are promoted in their place...
, the second tier of Israeli football.
See also
- List of Arab localities in Israel
- Land DayLand DayLand Day , March 30, is an annual day of commemoration for Palestinians of the events of that date in 1976. In response to the Israeli government's announcement of a plan to expropriate thousands of dunams of land for "security and settlement purposes", a general strike and marches were organized...
- House demolition in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict