Kafr Yasif
Encyclopedia
Kafr Yasif is a Arab
town
in the North District
of Israel
. It is located 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) northeast of the city of Acre
and adjacent to Abu Sinan
. The population of Kafr Yasif is largely Christian (57%) with a significant Muslim
minority (40%), and a small Druze
community.
-era of rule in Palestine
by Christians and paid tithes to the Kingdom of Jerusalem
. It was described as part of the domain of the Crusaders during the hudna
between the Crusaders based in Acre
and the Mamluk
sultan al-Mansur (Qalawun
) in 1283. During Ottoman rule
, Kafr Yasif primarily grew olives and cotton. In 1880, it had a population of 600.
On December 1, 1925, Kafr Yasif became one of the few Arab villages in the Galilee
to receive local council status during the British mandate period. Yani Kustandi Yani served as mayor from 1933 to 1948. In February 1939, during the Arab revolt in Palestine, the British Army
burned down 70 houses and blew up 40 more in response to an attack on British soldiers. It was later discovered the attackers were not from Kafr Yasif. In compensation, the town was rebuilt with a school and a city hall which are still in use. According to the Anglican Chaplain, "The people at Kafr Yasif were very eager to point out that the troops who destroyed their houses were not English but Irish."
On July 8-14, 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
, Kafr Yasif was occupied by the Carmeli Brigade and the 7th Armored Brigade as part of the first stage of Operation Dekel
. Unlike many captured Arab
towns, the majority of the population did not flee, and 700 inhabitants of nearby villages, especially al-Birwa
, al-Manshiyya
and Kuwaykat
, took refuge there. On February 28, 1949, most of them were put into trucks and driven to the front lines, where they were forced to cross the frontier border into Lebanon." On March 1, another 250 refugees were deported. Knesset
member Tawfik Toubi
strongly protested these expulsions. In 1951, 27% of Kafr Yasif's 1,930 inhabitants were internally displaced Palestinians
.
Kafr Yasif is one of the few Arab towns in the Galilee that retained most of the land it held before 1948. Of 673 hectares owned in 1945, 458 hectares remained in 1962, with 76 hectares expropriated in 1952–3. In a 1961 census, there were 2,975 inhabitants (1,747 Christians, 1,138 Muslims and 90 Druze).
On June 5, 1951, the local council was reactivated by the Israeli government in the only example of an Arab local council that continuously existed after 1948. In the first elections, held in 1954, the former mayor Yani Yani was re-elected mayor as head of a Communist Party and Nationalist Group (Kafr Yassif List) coalition. He remained in office until his death in 1962.In 1972–73, Violet Khoury was elected mayor of Kafr Yasif, making her the first Arab woman to head a local council in Israel.
name for Saint George
in Christianity
. There are four churches and two mosques in the town. The main bishop of the town's Orthodox Christian community is Atallah Makhouli.
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
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...
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...
of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. It is located 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) northeast of the city 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....
and adjacent to Abu Sinan
Abu Sinan
Abu Snan is an Arab local council in the Galilee region of northern Israel, with an area of 4,750 dunams . It achieved recognition as an independent local council in 1964.-History:...
. The population of Kafr Yasif is largely Christian (57%) with a significant 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...
minority (40%), and a small Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
community.
History
Kafr Yasif appears in the writings of the Roman Jewish historian Josephus Flavius. It was inhabited during the CrusaderCrusades
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...
-era of 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....
by Christians and paid tithes to the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
. It was described as part of the domain of the Crusaders during the hudna
Hudna
Hudna is an Arabic term meaning a temporary "truce" or "armistice" as well as "calm" or "quiet", coming from a verbal root meaning "calm". It is sometimes translated as "cease-fire"...
between the Crusaders based in 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....
and the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
sultan al-Mansur (Qalawun
Qalawun
Saif ad-Dīn Qalawun aṣ-Ṣāliḥī was the seventh Mamluk sultan of Egypt...
) in 1283. During Ottoman rule
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...
, Kafr Yasif primarily grew olives and cotton. In 1880, it had a population of 600.
On December 1, 1925, Kafr Yasif became one of the few Arab villages 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...
to receive local council status during the British mandate period. Yani Kustandi Yani served as mayor from 1933 to 1948. In February 1939, during the Arab revolt in Palestine, the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
burned down 70 houses and blew up 40 more in response to an attack on British soldiers. It was later discovered the attackers were not from Kafr Yasif. In compensation, the town was rebuilt with a school and a city hall which are still in use. According to the Anglican Chaplain, "The people at Kafr Yasif were very eager to point out that the troops who destroyed their houses were not English but Irish."
On July 8-14, 1948, 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...
, Kafr Yasif was occupied by the Carmeli Brigade and the 7th Armored Brigade as part of the first stage 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...
. Unlike many captured 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...
towns, the majority of the population did not flee, and 700 inhabitants of nearby villages, especially al-Birwa
Al-Birwa
Al-Birwa was a Palestinian Arab village, located east of Acre . Mentioned by Arab geographers in the 11th century, it was known to the Crusaders as Broet. Al-Birwa was captured from the Mamluks by the Ottomans in the 16th century. In the 19th century, it had a mosque, a church, and an elementary...
, al-Manshiyya
Al-Manshiyya
Al-Manshiyya was a Palestinian village with a Muslim orphanage and a mosque known as the mosque of Abu 'Atiyya, which is still standing. The village was close to the shrine of Baha'u'llah, who was the founder of the Baha'i Faith, which is also still standing....
and Kuwaykat
Kuwaykat
Kuwaykat was a Druze Palestinian village 9 km northeast of Acre in the British mandate of Palestine District of Acre, depopulated in 1948.-History:...
, took refuge there. On February 28, 1949, most of them were put into trucks and driven to the front lines, where they were forced to cross the frontier border into Lebanon." On March 1, another 250 refugees were deported. 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...
member Tawfik Toubi
Tawfik Toubi
-Biography:Toubi was born in Haifa to an Arab Orthodox family in 1922, and was educated at the Mount Zion School in Jerusalem. He joined the Palestine Communist Party in 1941 and later was one of the founders of the League for National Liberation, which originally opposed partition of Palestine but...
strongly protested these expulsions. In 1951, 27% of Kafr Yasif's 1,930 inhabitants were internally displaced Palestinians
Internally displaced Palestinians
A present absentee is a Palestinian who fled or was expelled from his home in Palestine by Jewish or Israeli forces, before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, but who remained within the area that became the state of Israel. Present absentees are also referred to as internally displaced...
.
Kafr Yasif is one of the few Arab towns in the Galilee that retained most of the land it held before 1948. Of 673 hectares owned in 1945, 458 hectares remained in 1962, with 76 hectares expropriated in 1952–3. In a 1961 census, there were 2,975 inhabitants (1,747 Christians, 1,138 Muslims and 90 Druze).
On June 5, 1951, the local council was reactivated by the Israeli government in the only example of an Arab local council that continuously existed after 1948. In the first elections, held in 1954, the former mayor Yani Yani was re-elected mayor as head of a Communist Party and Nationalist Group (Kafr Yassif List) coalition. He remained in office until his death in 1962.In 1972–73, Violet Khoury was elected mayor of Kafr Yasif, making her the first Arab woman to head a local council in Israel.
Landmarks
It is popular belief that the tomb of the monotheistic saint, al-Khadr is located in Kafr Yasif. The site is especially venerated by the Druze, some of whom make annual pilgrimages to the tomb on January 25. The structure is composed of a large convention hall adjacent to the tomb, along with rooms and courtyards that serve both pilgrims and other visitors. Al-Khadr is the ArabicArabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
name for Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
in Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. There are four churches and two mosques in the town. The main bishop of the town's Orthodox Christian community is Atallah Makhouli.
Education and culture
The Rabeah Murkus Dance Studio, Israel's first Arab dance studio, is located in Kafr Yassif. Rabeah Murkus, daughter of former Kafr Yassif mayor Nimr Murkus, also opened a dance study track for Arab high school students authorized by the Israeli Ministry of Education. The track serves 10th-12th graders in several Arab communities in northern Israel.External links
- Kfar Yasif. Municipal Website
- Welcome To Kafr Yasif