Abu Ghosh
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| Abu Ghosh أبو غوش אבו גוש (also אבו ע'וש) |
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  Abu Ghosh
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | Israel |
| District | Jerusalem District |
| Founded | |
| Incorporated | |
| Area | |
| - Total | 2.5 km² (1 sq mi) |
| Population (2005) | |
| - Total | 5,700 |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+2) |
| - Summer (DST) | IDT (UTC+3) |
Abu Ghosh is an Israeli Arab town west of Jerusalem on the road to Tel Aviv whose inhabitants are known for their friendly relations with their Jewish neighbors. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the residents of Abu Ghosh did not participate in the fighting. Abu Ghosh is named for a Bedouin clan that exacted a toll from pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem.
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[edit] Geography
Abu Ghosh is located 10 kilometers west of Jerusalem, north of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. Southwest of Abu Ghosh is the Orthodox Jewish community of Kiryat Ye'arim. Abu Ghosh is 610-720 meters above sea level.
[edit] Local government and demography
Abu Ghosh is governed by a Local council, and is part of the Jerusalem District. The mayor of Abu Ghosh is Salim Jaber. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Abu Ghosh had a population of 5,700, predominantly Muslim Arabs, in June 2005.
[edit] History
Abu Ghosh is believed to be the biblical site of Kiryat Ye'arim. It takes its name from a sheikh who settled in the area in the 16th century. Most of the Muslim residents of the village today are descendents of the Abu Ghosh clan. This clan controlled the pilgrimage route from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and exacted tolls from all pilgrims passing through. The churches in Jerusalem also paid a tax to the Abu Ghosh clan.[1] [2]
A Greek inscription unearthed in the ruins of a Roman fort show that the Tenth Legion of the Roman army was stationed in Abu Ghosh. The village has also been associated with Anathoth, the birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah.
Kiryat Anavim, the first kibbutz in the Judean Hills, was founded near Abu Ghosh in 1914, on land purchased from a resident of Abu Ghosh.
[edit] 1947-1950
The villagers of Abu Ghosh were first expelled in 1948, but the bulk of the inhabitants "infiltrated" back home in the following months/years. In the second half of 1949, the IDF and police began a series of search-and-expel operations in Abu Ghosh, where they rounded up the most recent "infiltrators" and pushed them over the border into Jordan. Benny Morris writes:
Following one such round-up, in early 1950, the inhabitants of Abu Gosh sent off an "open letter", to Knesset members and journalists, writing that the Israelis had repeatedly "surrounded our village, and taken our women, children and old folk, and thrown them over the border and into the Negev Desert, and many of them died in consequence, when they were shot [trying to make their way back across] the borders".[3]
Up until this point, the inhabitants had not reacted to these policies. In the letter, they explained:
"But we cannot remain silent in face of the latest incident last Friday, when we woke up to the shouts blaring over the loudspeaker announcing that the village was surrounded and anyone trying to get out would be shot....The police and military forces then began to enter the houses and conduct meticulous searches, but no contraband was found. In the end, using force and blows, they gathered up our women, and old folk and children, the sick and the blind and pregnant women. These shouted for help but there was no saviour. And we looked on and were powerless to do anything save beg for mercy. Alas, our pleas were of no avail... They then took the prisoners, who were weeping and screaming, to an unknown place, and we still do not know what befell them."[4]
Partly due to public outcry, most of the inhabitants were allowed to return home. In the end, only several dozen Abu Ghosh families remained in exile, as refugees, in the Ramallah area in the West Bank.[5]
Abu Sami, a village elder, told the Toronto Globe and Mail: "Perhaps because of the history of feuding with the Arabs around us we allied ourselves with the Jews...against the British. We did not join the Arabs from the other villages bombarding Jewish vehicles in 1947. The Palmach fought many villages around us. But there was an order to leave us alone. The other Arabs never thought there would be a Jewish government here...During the first truce of the War of Independence, I was on my way to Ramallah to see my father and uncles, and I was captured by Jordanian soldiers. They accused me of being a traitor and tortured me for six days."[6]
In 1947 and 1948, the road to Jerusalem was blocked by the Arabs and passage through the hills surrounding Jerusalem was crucial for getting supplies to the besieged city. Of the 36 Arab villages nestled in these hills, Abu Ghosh alone remained neutral, and in many cases proved friendly and helped to keep the road open. "From here it is possible to open and close the gates to Jerusalem," said former President Yitzhak Navon.[7]
Issa Jaber, director of the local department of education for the past seven years, feels the personal relationships created with Zionist leaders during the prestate period set the basis for later cooperation. “We had a perspective for the future,” he says.[6]
The Globe and Mail quotes a 2006 article in the (Vancouver) Jewish Independent that states:
- In 1948, when the modern state of Israel became a corporeal reality, many Arab villages were abandoned or destroyed in the ensuing War of Independence. Abu Ghosh was the only one in the area to survive intact and untouched.
- "That was because the people in Abu Ghosh have always attached great importance to being hospitable," said Mayor Salim Jaber. "We welcome anybody, regardless of religion or race."[6]
[edit] Churches
The Crusader Church, at the entrance to the village is one of the best preserved Crusader remains in the country. It was built about 1142 and destroyed in 1187. It was acquired by the French Government in 1899 and placed under guardianship of the French Benedictine Fathers. Since 1956, it has been run by the Lazarist Fathers. Edward Robinson (1838) described it as “obviously from the time of the crusades, and […] more perfectly preserved than any other ancient church in Palestine.” Excavations carried out in 1944 confirm the Crusader identification of the site as the biblical Emmaus.
The Church of Notre Dame de l'Arche de l'Alliance (Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant), built in 1924, is said to occupy the site of the house of Abinadab where the Ark of the Covenant rested for twenty years until King David took it to Jerusalem. It is built on the site of a fifth-century Byzantine church. It is recognizable by the roof-top statue of Mary carrying the infant Jesus in her arms.
[edit] Culture
Today, Abu Ghosh is held up as a model of Israeli-Arab peaceful coexistence. Town resident Muslim Arab millionaire Jawdat Ibrahim has established a fund that gives scholarships to both Arab and Jewish university students, and has hosted informal peace talks between Israeli and PA leaders at his popular restaurant.[8][9]
Abu Ghosh is popular among Israelis for its hummus and Middle Eastern restaurants.
The Abu Ghosh Music Festival is held twice a year, in the fall and late spring, with musical ensembles and choirs from Israel and abroad performing in and around the churches in Abu Ghosh.[10]
The headquarters of Golan-Globus are in Abu Ghosh[citation needed]
The Elvis Inn, a restaurant, is known for a large gold statue of Elvis Presley in the parking lot.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ Abu Ghosh - The Saga of an Arab Village
- ^ Planetware, [http://www.planetware.com/israel/abu-ghosh-isr-jr-ag.htm "Abu Ghosh, Israel"
- ^ Morris, pp. 267-69
- ^ Morris, pp. 267-69
- ^ Morris, pp. 267-69
- ^ a b c One Muslim key to Passover's food ritual, Toronto Globe and Mail, 5 April 2007
- ^ Abu Ghosh - The Saga of an Arab Village, Israel Magazine-On-Web (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs), June 2000
- ^ Joseph Flesh, "Israeli Arab restaurateur is a true optimist", 19 April 2006
- ^ Deborah Sontag, "Abu Ghosh Journal; His Pot of Gold Gives a Sparkle to the Whole Town", New York Times, 16 Jun 1999
- ^ Abu Ghosh vocal music festival website
- ^ CNN, "Destination Elvis", August 1997
- Edward Robinson Biblical Researches in Palestine and Adjacent Countries (first published in three volumes, Boston and London, 1841);
- Benny Morris (1994): "1948 and After." ISBN 0-19-827929-9. (Chapter 8, p. 257-289: The Case of Abu Ghosh and Beit Naqquba, Al Fureidis and Jisr Zarka in 1948 -or Why Four Villages Remained.)
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] See also
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