For other uses, see Tira

Tira

Tira , "The Fort" is an Arab city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. At the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 22,600. It is part of the triangle....

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Tira ( al-Tira), "The Fort" is an Arab city in the Center District of Israel

Center District (Israel)

The Central District of Israel is one of six administrative districts, including most of the Sharon region. The district capital is Ramla. It is further divided into 4 sub-districts: Petah Tikva, Ramla, Sharon and Rehovot. The district's largest city is Rishon LeZion. Its population as of 2008 was...

 in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. At the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 22,600. It is part of the triangle

Triangle (Israel)

The Triangle , formerly referred to as the Little Triangle, is a concentration of Israeli Arab towns and villages adjacent to the Green Line, located in the eastern Sharon plain among the Samarian foothills; this area is located within the easternmost boundaries of both the Center District and...

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Tira is close to Kfar Sava, a larger Jewish city, and is well known by its neighbors for its weekly outdoor market, as well as for its Arab cuisine

Arab cuisine

Arab cuisine is defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab World, from Morocco and Tunisia to Saudi Arabia, and incorporating Levantine, Egyptian .-History:...

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History

In the 12th century, during the Crusader

Crusader states

The Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century feudal states created by Western European crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and the Holy Land , and during the Northern Crusades in the eastern Baltic area...

 period, the village was owned by the Order of St. John. It was lease to Robert of Sinjil and his heirs. In the 14th and 15th century, Tira was a stop on the road between Gaza

Gaza

Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

 and Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

, and a khan was constructed.

In the late 19th century, Tira was described as: "A conspicuous village on a knoll in the plain, surrounded by olives, with a well on the west side."

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...

, Tira had 380 occupied houses and a population of 2,190 Muslims and 2 Christians. In 1945, it had 3,180 Arab inhabitants, who owned a total of owned 26,803 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.

Demographics

According to CBS, in 2004 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.9% Sunni Muslim Arab citizens of Israel

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....

 (see also: Population groups in Israel).

According to CBS, in 2001 there were 9,600 males and 9,300 females. The population of the city was spread out with 47.4% 19 years of age or younger, 16.2% between 20 and 29, 19.9% between 30 and 44, 10.8% from 45 to 59, 1.8% from 60 to 64, and 3.8% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 2.8%.

In 2004, 41.3% of the population was 17 years or younger, 54.5% were between 18 and 64 years of age, and 4.2% were aged 65 and above.

Income

According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 3,654 salaried workers and 953 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 3,767, a real change of 2.4% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 4,494 (a real change of 6.1%) versus ILS 2,319 for females (a real change of -13.0%). The mean income for the self-employed is 4,289. There are 69 people who receive unemployment benefits and 1,183 people who receive an income guarantee.

In 2004, 41.9% of the population was part of the workforce.

Education

According to CBS, there are 10 schools and 4,735 students in the city. They are spread out as 7 elementary schools and 2,896 elementary school students, and 3 high schools and 1,839 high school students. 64.8% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.

In 2004, 6.5% of the population had 0 years of education, 17.1% had up to 8 years, 55% had 9 to 12 years, 11.8% had 13–15 years, and 9.7% had 16 or more years of education. 10% had an academic degree.

Tira's Schools

1. Al-Zahraa.
2. Al-Najah.
3. Al-G'azali.
4. Al-Majd.
5. Al-Aomareya.
6. Junior High A.
7. Junior High B.
8. Amal 1- Ibrahim Qsaem High School.
9. Technological High School.
10. Tira's Science High School

• Many High school students from Tira Study at High schools out of Tira.

• Tira's Students are among of the best students from Israel's Arab sector. Many High Schoolers from Tira have received Scholarships from Israeli Universities and participate in exchange programs such as Y.E.S (Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
  Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
  The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries around the world...
  
  ), Seeds of Peace
  Seeds of Peace
  Seeds of Peace is a peacebuilding youth organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth from areas of conflict to its international camp in Maine. It also provides regional programming to support Seeds of Peace graduates, known as...
  
   and CISV
  CISV
  CISV International is an international organization, founded on the aim of achieving world peace through cross-cultural understanding....
  
  .

Twin towns — Sister cities

Tira is twinned with: Burg bei Magdeburg

Burg bei Magdeburg

Burg bei Magdeburg is a town of about 24,700 inhabitants on the Elbe-Havel-Canal in Germany, northeast of Magdeburg. It is situated around a former weir, the Sachsenschleusen...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

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