Kafr 'Inan
Encyclopedia
Kafr ʿInān was a Palestinian
village in the District of Acre
around 33 kilometres (20.5 mi) east of Acre
. Until 1949, it was an Arab
village situated upon ancient ruins. Archaeological surveys indicate the village was first founded in the early Roman period with settlement persisting through to the Byzantine period, existing again in the Middle Ages and the modern era.
Captured by Israel
during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
, many of the villagers fled the fighting. Those few hundred who managed to remain or to return were subsequently transferred out of the village by the Israel Defense Forces
to the West Bank
or to other Arab towns in the newly established State of Israel on three separate occasions in January and February 1949.
A shrine for the Sheikh
Abu Hajar Azraq and the remains of a small domed building are still standing, and there are many archaeological remains of interest, including cisterns and domestic wells which used to supply the village with fresh drinking water from nearby springs. The Israeli communal settlement
of Kefar Chananya was established on the land of Kfar 'Inan in 1989.
and Byzantine
rule in Palestine
, it was a Jewish village known as Kfar Hananya (or Kfar Hanania), that served as a center for pottery
production in the Galilee
. An archaeological site in the village revealed shafts and bases of columns, caves, a pool, and a burial ground. Archaeological surveys determined that most of the cooking ware in the Galilee between the 1st century BCE and the beginning of the 5th century CE was produced in Kafr 'Inan. An Aramaic
inscription initially dated to the 6th century, and recently redated to Abbasid
or Umayyad
period, was found on a kelila (a type of chandelier) found in the synagogue.
Rabbinic
literature mentions the village in relation to the production of pottery; in the Tosefta
, there is a reference to, "those who make black clay, such as Kefar Hananya and its neighbors." Ancient sepulchres believed to be the burial sites of rabbi
s were located in the village, including those of Halafta
(buried with his wife and children), Jacob and Eliezer
. Ya'akov ben Netan'el, who visited the village in the 12th century during the period of Crusader
rule, writes about the ruins of a synagogue
quarried into the hill. Potential references to the village include a mention of the "widow of Ben al-'Anani" in a 12th century Genizah
document and to Kfar Hanan in the 13th century. In 1211, Samuel ben Samson
travelled from Tiberias and Kefar Hanania before stopping in Safed
. In the 14th century, another traveller transcribes the village's name as Kefar Hanin.
It is during the rule of the Ottoman Empire
over Palestine that the form Kafr ʿInān (Kafr 'Anan) first appears. The village is listed in 1596, as forming part of the nahiya (subdistrict) of Jira
under the Liwa
of Safad, with a population of 259. It paid taxes on goats, beehives and on its press, which was used either for olives or grapes.
In the late 19th century, the village was described as being built of stone and having 150-200 Muslim
residents. The arable land in the village comprised gardens and olive trees. The village houses, made of stone with mud mortar, were bunched close together and were separated by semi-circular, narrow alleys. Many new houses were constructed during the last years of the British Mandate of Palestine. Springs and domestic wells supplied the villagers´drinking water. Olives and grain were the main crops. Grain was grown in the nearby flat zones and valleys. In 1944-45 a total of 1,740 dunum
s was used for the cultivation of cereal
s, 1,195 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards and most of these (1,145 dunums) were planted with olive trees.
as part of Operation Hiram
. According to Walid Khalidi
, the villagers stayed put, refusing to be pushed out like most of the population in the area. Morris reports that along with several other villages (like Saffuriyya and Farradiyya
) in the region, the new Israeli authorities had classified the village as "abandoned" ("kefarim netushim"); however, the villagers kept returning. In January 1949, the IDF
expelled 54, and moved another 128 inhabitants from Kafr 'Inan and Farradiyya
to other villages inside Israel. But the two villages gradually filled up again. On 4 February, 1949, units of the 79th Battalion surrounded the two villages and expelled 45 people to the West Bank
, while the remaining about 200 villagers, who had permits to stay ("almost all old men, women and children"), were transferred to Majd al Kurum. Yet again, the villagers returned. By mid-February 1949 there were about 100 back in the two villages, according to IDF
-sources. The two villages were again scoured and emptied by the IDF.
The expulsion of the villagers upset some members of Mapam
, who condemned Ben-Gurion
and the army. However, a suggestion for a Knesset
motion calling for the establishment of an inquiry to probe the expulsions of the villagers of Kafr 'Inan, Farradiyya
and Al-Ghabisiyya
, was apparently never brought to the Knesset plenum.
In 1950, Article 125 of the Defence regulation of 1945
was invoked in order to confiscate the land belonging to a number of Palestinian villages in Galilee, among them Kafr 'Inan. This law was also used to prevent the villagers from returning to their homes, even by legal means.
The Israeli communal settlement
of Kefar Chananya was first planned to the south of the village site in 1982, but it was eventually established in 1989 on village land. Chazon, built in 1969 on the lands of Al-Mansura, Tiberias
, and Parod
, built in 1949 on the lands of Al-Farradiyya (District of Safad
), are both close to the village site, but not on village land.
Of the village site in 1992, the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi writes: "The site is covered with piles of stones that lie scattered around clumps of cactuses and fig trees. There are remains of a domed building on a slope facing the village and the small shrine of Shaykh Abu Hajar Azraq on an adjacent hill to the east. The land around the site is forested and planted with fruit trees by the settlement of Parod
"
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
village in the District of Acre
District of Acre
The Sanjak of Acre was a prefecture of the Ottoman Empire, located in modern-day northern Israel. The city of Acre was the sanjak's capital.Acre was captured by the Ottoman Sultan Selim I in 1517, but the city fell into disuse soon thereafter...
around 33 kilometres (20.5 mi) east of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , 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....
. Until 1949, it was an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
village situated upon ancient ruins. Archaeological surveys indicate the village was first founded in the early Roman period with settlement persisting through to the Byzantine period, existing again in the Middle Ages and the modern era.
Captured by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
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...
, many of the villagers fled the fighting. Those few hundred who managed to remain or to return were subsequently transferred out of the village by the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
to 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...
or to other Arab towns in the newly established State of Israel on three separate occasions in January and February 1949.
A shrine for the Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Abu Hajar Azraq and the remains of a small domed building are still standing, and there are many archaeological remains of interest, including cisterns and domestic wells which used to supply the village with fresh drinking water from nearby springs. The Israeli communal settlement
Communal settlement (Israel)
A community settlement is a type of town in Israel. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the town's residents, who are organized in a cooperative, can veto a sale of a house or a business to an undesirable buyer....
of Kefar Chananya was established on the land of Kfar 'Inan in 1989.
History
During the period of RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
rule 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....
, it was a Jewish village known as Kfar Hananya (or Kfar Hanania), that served as a center for pottery
Palestinian pottery
Pottery in Palestine refers to pottery produced in Palestine throughout the ages, and pottery produced by modern-day Palestinians.-Continuity through the ages:...
production 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...
. An archaeological site in the village revealed shafts and bases of columns, caves, a pool, and a burial ground. Archaeological surveys determined that most of the cooking ware in the Galilee between the 1st century BCE and the beginning of the 5th century CE was produced in Kafr 'Inan. An Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
inscription initially dated to the 6th century, and recently redated to Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
or Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
period, was found on a kelila (a type of chandelier) found in the synagogue.
Rabbinic
Rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...
literature mentions the village in relation to the production of pottery; in the Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
, there is a reference to, "those who make black clay, such as Kefar Hananya and its neighbors." Ancient sepulchres believed to be the burial sites of 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...
s were located in the village, including those of Halafta
Jose ben Halafta
Rabbi Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a Tanna of the fourth generation . Jose was a student of Rabbi Akiba and was regarded as one of the foremost scholars of halakha and aggadah of his day...
(buried with his wife and children), Jacob and Eliezer
Eliezer ben Hurcanus
Eliezer ben Hurcanus or Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , a Kohen, was one of the most prominent tannaim of the 1st and 2nd centuries, disciple of R. Johanan ben Zakkai and colleague of Gamaliel II, whose sister he married , and of Joshua ben Hananiah...
. Ya'akov ben Netan'el, who visited the village in the 12th century during the period of Crusader
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
rule, writes about the ruins of a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
quarried into the hill. Potential references to the village include a mention of the "widow of Ben al-'Anani" in a 12th century Genizah
Genizah
A genizah is the store-room or depository in a Jewish synagogue , usually specifically for worn-out Hebrew-language books and papers on religious topics that were stored there before they could receive a proper cemetery burial, it being forbidden to throw away writings...
document and to Kfar Hanan in the 13th century. In 1211, Samuel ben Samson
Samuel ben Samson
Samuel ben Samson was a rabbi who lived in France and made a pilgrimage to Palestine in 1210, visiting a number of villages and cities there, including Jerusalem. Rabbi Jonathan ha Cohen, said to be "the most influential and wealthy French Jew of his time," was ben Samson's travelling companion,...
travelled from Tiberias and Kefar Hanania before stopping in Safed
Safed
Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...
. In the 14th century, another traveller transcribes the village's name as Kefar Hanin.
It is during 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...
over Palestine that the form Kafr ʿInān (Kafr 'Anan) first appears. The village is listed in 1596, as forming part of the nahiya (subdistrict) of Jira
JIRA
Jira may refer to:* JIRA, software-engineering package* Journal of Iranian Research and Analysis* Jira, also known as Zilla, fictional character* Jira * Jira...
under 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, with a population of 259. It paid taxes on goats, beehives and on its press, which was used either for olives or grapes.
In the late 19th century, the village was described as being built of stone and having 150-200 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...
residents. The arable land in the village comprised gardens and olive trees. The village houses, made of stone with mud mortar, were bunched close together and were separated by semi-circular, narrow alleys. Many new houses were constructed during the last years of the British Mandate of Palestine. Springs and domestic wells supplied the villagers´drinking water. Olives and grain were the main crops. Grain was grown in the nearby flat zones and valleys. In 1944-45 a total of 1,740 dunum
Dunum
Dunum is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
s was used for the cultivation of cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, 1,195 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards and most of these (1,145 dunums) were planted with olive trees.
1948 War and aftermath
The village was captured on 30 October 1948 by the Golani BrigadeGolani Brigade
The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. Its symbol is a green tree on a yellow background, and its soldiers wear a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the...
as part of Operation Hiram
Operation Hiram
Operation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was led by General Moshe Carmel, and aimed at capturing the upper Galilee region from the Arab Liberation Army forces led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and a Syrian battalion...
. According to Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...
, the villagers stayed put, refusing to be pushed out like most of the population in the area. Morris reports that along with several other villages (like Saffuriyya and Farradiyya
Farradiyya
Farradiyya was a Palestinian Arab village of 670 located southwest of Safad.Farradiyya was situated on the southern slopes of Mount Zabud with an average elevation of above sea level. The Safad-Nazareth highway passed it to the north...
) in the region, the new Israeli authorities had classified the village as "abandoned" ("kefarim netushim"); however, the villagers kept returning. In January 1949, the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
expelled 54, and moved another 128 inhabitants from Kafr 'Inan and Farradiyya
Farradiyya
Farradiyya was a Palestinian Arab village of 670 located southwest of Safad.Farradiyya was situated on the southern slopes of Mount Zabud with an average elevation of above sea level. The Safad-Nazareth highway passed it to the north...
to other villages inside Israel. But the two villages gradually filled up again. On 4 February, 1949, units of the 79th Battalion surrounded the two villages and expelled 45 people to 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...
, while the remaining about 200 villagers, who had permits to stay ("almost all old men, women and children"), were transferred to Majd al Kurum. Yet again, the villagers returned. By mid-February 1949 there were about 100 back in the two villages, according to IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
-sources. The two villages were again scoured and emptied by the IDF.
The expulsion of the villagers upset some members of Mapam
Mapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
, who condemned Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
and the army. However, a suggestion for a Knesset
Knesset
The 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...
motion calling for the establishment of an inquiry to probe the expulsions of the villagers of Kafr 'Inan, Farradiyya
Farradiyya
Farradiyya was a Palestinian Arab village of 670 located southwest of Safad.Farradiyya was situated on the southern slopes of Mount Zabud with an average elevation of above sea level. The Safad-Nazareth highway passed it to the north...
and Al-Ghabisiyya
Al-Ghabisiyya
Al-Ghabisiyya was an Arab village in northern Palestine, 16 km north-east of Acre in present-day Israel. It was depopulated by the Israel Defence Forces during the 1948-1950 period and remains deserted.-History:...
, was apparently never brought to the Knesset plenum.
In 1950, Article 125 of the Defence regulation of 1945
Defence (Emergency) Regulations
The Defence Regulations are an expansive set of regulations that were first enacted by the Mandatory authorities in British Mandate Palestine on 27 September 1945...
was invoked in order to confiscate the land belonging to a number of Palestinian villages in Galilee, among them Kafr 'Inan. This law was also used to prevent the villagers from returning to their homes, even by legal means.
The Israeli communal settlement
Communal settlement (Israel)
A community settlement is a type of town in Israel. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the town's residents, who are organized in a cooperative, can veto a sale of a house or a business to an undesirable buyer....
of Kefar Chananya was first planned to the south of the village site in 1982, but it was eventually established in 1989 on village land. Chazon, built in 1969 on the lands of Al-Mansura, Tiberias
Al-Mansura, Tiberias
Al-Mansura was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Tiberias. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 10, 1948. It was located 16 kilometres northwest of Tiberias.-Bibliography:...
, and Parod
Parod
Parod is a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee near Safed in northern Israel. It belongs to the Merom HaGalil Regional CouncilThe community was founded in 1949 by immigrants to Israel from Hungary, on land belonging to the depopulated Palestinian village of Farradiyya.The name "Parod" is based on the...
, built in 1949 on the lands of Al-Farradiyya (District of Safad
District of Safad
The District of Safad was an administrative district, situated in the British Mandate of Palestine around the city of Safad. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the district disintegrated.-Depopulated settlements:...
), are both close to the village site, but not on village land.
Of the village site in 1992, the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi writes: "The site is covered with piles of stones that lie scattered around clumps of cactuses and fig trees. There are remains of a domed building on a slope facing the village and the small shrine of Shaykh Abu Hajar Azraq on an adjacent hill to the east. The land around the site is forested and planted with fruit trees by the settlement of Parod
Parod
Parod is a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee near Safed in northern Israel. It belongs to the Merom HaGalil Regional CouncilThe community was founded in 1949 by immigrants to Israel from Hungary, on land belonging to the depopulated Palestinian village of Farradiyya.The name "Parod" is based on the...
"
External links
- Welcome To Kafr 'Inan
- Kafr Inan from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural Center is an organization established in 1996. It is located at 4 Raja Street, Ramallah in the West Bank. The traditional manor that houses the centre was the former family home of Khalil Salem Salah, the mayor of Ramallah between 1947/1951, is now owned by the Palestinian...
- Kufr 3naan from Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh
- Tour of Kafr ‘Inan, Saturday, 3.10.2009, by Umar Ighbariyyeh, from ZochrotZochrotZochrot is an Israeli-Jewish non-profit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Palestinian Nakba , the 1948 Palestinian exodus. The group's director is Eitan Bronstein...