Kafar Kanna
Encyclopedia
Kafr Kanna is an Arab
town in the Galilee
region of Israel
that is associated with the New Testament
village of Cana
, where Jesus
turned water into wine.
, and was known in the times of the Roman
-Jewish
historian Josephus
. As with many Jewish towns in the Galilee
, the town took in Jewish refugees fleeing Roman persecution in Jerusalem and Judea
.
Nasir-i-Khusraw
visited the village in 1047 C.E., and described the place in his diary:
Also Ali of Herat
wrote that you could see the Makam of Jonas
, and also the grave of his son, at Kafr Kanna. This was repeated by Yaqut
, who, however wrote of the tomb as being that of the father of Jonas
.
Around 1300 C.E Kafr Kanna was described as being a large village, in which lived the chiefs of various tribes. The head tribe is called Kais al Hamra (Kais the red). According to the cronicler, Al-Dimashqi, the district Buttauf, called "the Drowned Meadow", also belonged to the village. Al-Dimashqi further remarked that the waters of the surrounding hills drained into the area, flooding it; as soon as the land is dried up grain was sown.
Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire
, the village flourished in the 16th century, as it lay on the trade route between Egypt
and Syria
. In 1596, Ottoman officials recorded the population as 475 Muslim households and 96 Jewish households, making it the 6th most populous locality in Palestine
at the time.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
, Kfar Kanna was captured by units of Israel's 7th Brigade in the second half of Operation Dekel
(July 15–18, 1948).
The town is identified by Christians
as the town of Cana
, where Jesus
performed a miracle at the Marriage at Cana
(John 2,1-12). According to the Catholic Encyclopedia
of 1914, the identification of Kafr Kanna with Cana dates back to at least the 8th century.
The town also contains the tomb of the Jewish
sage, Rabbi
Shimon ben Gamliel
, the Nasi
(prince) of the Sanhedrin
(legislative body of Ancient Israel), who became president of the Sanhedrin
in 50 CE. His tomb has remained an important site for Jewish pilgrims for almost 2,000 years.
status in 1968. In 2005, there were 17,600 residents, 83.5% of whom were Muslim
and 16.5% Christian
.
As is the case with many other mixed Muslim-Christian towns in the region, the Christians generally tend to live in the oldest part of town. In Kafr Kanna - and in Kafr Yasif
and 'Abud, among others - there are two ancient nuclei in the town: the earlier one where Christians live, and another (also hundreds of years old) where Muslims live.
currently play in Liga Artzit
, the third tier of Israeli football, and have played at the second level in the past. Hapoel Kafr Kanna play in Liga Alef
(the fourth tier), and Beitar Kafr Kanna play in Liga Bet
(the fifth tier)
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....
town 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...
region of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
that is associated with the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
village of Cana
Cana
In the Christian New Testament, the Gospel of John refers a number of times to a town called Cana of Galilee.-The marriage at Cana:Among Christians and other students of the New Testament, Cana is best known as the place where, according to the Fourth Gospel, Jesus performed his first public...
, where Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
turned water into wine.
History
The settlement of Kana was mentioned in the Amarna LettersAmarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
, and was known in the times of the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
-Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
historian Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
. As with many Jewish towns 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...
, the town took in Jewish refugees fleeing Roman persecution in Jerusalem and Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
.
Nasir-i-Khusraw
Nasir Khusraw
Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī [also spelled as Nasir Khusrow and Naser Khosrow] Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī [also spelled as Nasir Khusrow and Naser Khosrow] Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn...
visited the village in 1047 C.E., and described the place in his diary:
"To the southward [of Kafar Kannah] is a hill, on the top of which they have built a fine monasteryMonasteryMonastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. It has a strong gate, and the tomb of the prophet Yunis (JonasJonahJonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
) [..] is shown within. Near the gate of the monastery is a well, and the water thereof is sweet and good. [..] AcreAcre, IsraelAcre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
is 4 leagues distant.."
Also Ali of Herat
Ali ibn abi bakr al-Harawi
Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Harawi was an early thirteenth century Persian traveller originally from Herat, located in Afghanistan. Born in Mosul, Iraq he travelled far and wide and died in Aleppo, Syria in a fort built for him....
wrote that you could see the Makam of Jonas
Jonah
Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
, and also the grave of his son, at Kafr Kanna. This was repeated by Yaqut
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...
, who, however wrote of the tomb as being that of the father of Jonas
Jonah
Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
.
Around 1300 C.E Kafr Kanna was described as being a large village, in which lived the chiefs of various tribes. The head tribe is called Kais al Hamra (Kais the red). According to the cronicler, Al-Dimashqi, the district Buttauf, called "the Drowned Meadow", also belonged to the village. Al-Dimashqi further remarked that the waters of the surrounding hills drained into the area, flooding it; as soon as the land is dried up grain was sown.
Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the village flourished in the 16th century, as it lay on the trade route between Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. In 1596, Ottoman officials recorded the population as 475 Muslim households and 96 Jewish households, making it the 6th most populous locality in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
at the time.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, Kfar Kanna was captured by units of Israel's 7th Brigade in the second half of Operation Dekel
Operation Dekel
Operation Dekel , was the largest offensive in the north of Israel after the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was carried out by the 7th Armoured Brigade, a battalion from the Carmeli Brigade along with some elements from the Golani Brigade between 8–18 July. Its objective was to...
(July 15–18, 1948).
Religious significance
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
as the town of Cana
Cana
In the Christian New Testament, the Gospel of John refers a number of times to a town called Cana of Galilee.-The marriage at Cana:Among Christians and other students of the New Testament, Cana is best known as the place where, according to the Fourth Gospel, Jesus performed his first public...
, where Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
performed a miracle at the Marriage at Cana
Marriage at Cana
In Christianity, the transformation of water into wine at the Marriage at Cana or Wedding at Cana is the first miracle of Jesus in the Gospel of John....
(John 2,1-12). According to the Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
of 1914, the identification of Kafr Kanna with Cana dates back to at least the 8th century.
The town also contains the tomb of the Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
sage, Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Shimon ben Gamliel
Shimon ben Gamliel
Simeon ben Gamliel was a Tanna sage and leader of the Jewish people. He succeeded his father Gamliel I as the nasi of the Sanhedrin after his father's death in 50 CE and just before the destruction of the Second Temple...
, the Nasi
Nasi
Nāśī’ is a Hebrew title meaning prince in Biblical Hebrew, Prince in Mishnaic Hebrew, or president in Modern Hebrew.-Genesis and Ancient Israel:...
(prince) of the Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
(legislative body of Ancient Israel), who became president of the Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
in 50 CE. His tomb has remained an important site for Jewish pilgrims for almost 2,000 years.
Demographics
Kafr Kanna achieved local councilLocal 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...
status in 1968. In 2005, there were 17,600 residents, 83.5% of whom were Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and 16.5% Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
As is the case with many other mixed Muslim-Christian towns in the region, the Christians generally tend to live in the oldest part of town. In Kafr Kanna - and in Kafr Yasif
Kafr Yasif
Kafr Yasif is a Arab town in the North District of Israel. It is located northeast of the city of Acre and adjacent to Abu Sinan. The population of Kafr Yasif is largely Christian with a significant Muslim minority , and a small Druze community....
and 'Abud, among others - there are two ancient nuclei in the town: the earlier one where Christians live, and another (also hundreds of years old) where Muslims live.
Sport
Maccabi Kafr KannaMaccabi Kafr Kanna F.C.
Maccabi Kafr Kanna is an Israeli football club based in Kafr Kanna. The club is currently in Liga Artzit and plays its home matches at the Azmi Nassar Stadium, named after Azmi Nassar-History:...
currently play in Liga Artzit
Liga Artzit
Liga Artzit was the third tier of Israeli football after the Premier League and Liga Leumit, and was run by the Israel Football Association.-Structure:...
, the third tier of Israeli football, and have played at the second level in the past. Hapoel Kafr Kanna play in Liga Alef
Liga Alef
-History:League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after independence. However, the financial and security crises gripping the young nation caused the 1950–51 season to be abandoned before it had started. When football resumed in 1951–52, the new top division went by the name of Liga Alef...
(the fourth tier), and Beitar Kafr Kanna play in Liga Bet
Liga Bet
-History:League football started in Israel in 1949–50, a year after independence. However, the financial and security crises gripping the young nation caused the 1950–51 season to be abandoned before it had started. When football resumed in 1951–52, the new top division went by the name of Liga...
(the fifth tier)
Notable residents
- Jamal ZahalkaJamal ZahalkaDr Jamal Zahalka is an Israeli Arab who serves as a member of the Knesset representing the democratic Balad party. He is a Balad party leader.-Background:...
, resident, KnessetKnessetThe Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
member, Balad party. - Wasil TahaWasil TahaWasil Taha is an Israeli-Arab politician and member of the Knesset for the Israeli Arab party, Balad.-Biography:Born in Kafr Kanna in 1952, Taha studied Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Haifa, receiving a BA....
, resident, KnessetKnessetThe Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
member, Balad party. - Abdulmalik DehamsheAbdulmalik DehamsheAbdulmalik Dehamshe is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the United Arab List between 1996 and 2006. He was also leader of the party.-Biography:...
, resident, former KnessetKnessetThe Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
member, United Arab ListUnited Arab ListThe United Arab List , commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Ra'am , is a political party representing and supported by Israeli Arabs...
.