Kafr Yasif

Kafr Yasif
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • Hebrew כַּפְר יָסִיף, כפר יאסיף
 • ISO 259 Kpar Yasip
 • Also spelled Kafar Yasif (official)
Kfar Yasif (unofficial)
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabic كفر ياسيف
Downtown Kafr Yasif
Kafr Yasif
Coordinates:
District North
Government
 • Type Local council (from 1925)
 • Head of Municipality Awni Toma
Area
 • Total 3,194 dunams (3.2 km2 / 1.2 sq mi)
Population (2007)[1]
 • Total 8,500
Name meaning "Joseph's village"

Kafr Yasif (Hebrew: כַּפְר יָסִיף‎‎; Arabic: كفر ياسيف‎, Kufr Yaseef) is a Arab town in the North District of Israel. It is located 11 kilometers (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.[2]

Contents

History

Kafr Yasif appears in the writings of the Roman Jewish historian Josephus Flavius. It was inhabited during the Crusader-era of rule in Palestine by Christians and paid tithes to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.[3] 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.[4] During Ottoman rule, Kafr Yasif primarily grew olives and cotton.[5] In 1880, it had a population of 600.[6][7]

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.[8] 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.[2][9] 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."[9]

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.[10] 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."[11][12] On March 1, another 250 refugees were deported.[13] Knesset member Tawfik Toubi strongly protested these expulsions.[14] In 1951, 27% of Kafr Yasif's 1,930 inhabitants were internally displaced Palestinians.[15]

Kafr Yasif is one of the few Arab towns in the Galilee that retained most of the land it held before 1948.[16] Of 673 hectares owned in 1945, 458 hectares remained in 1962, with 76 hectares expropriated in 1952–3.[17] In a 1961 census, there were 2,975 inhabitants (1,747 Christians, 1,138 Muslims and 90 Druze).[6]

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.[8] 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.[8]In 1972–73, Violet Khoury was elected mayor of Kafr Yasif, making her the first Arab woman to head a local council in Israel.[18]

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.[19] Al-Khadr is the Arabic 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.

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.[20]

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. ^ Population of Localities Numbering Above 2,000 Residents and Other Rural Population Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. p.2.
  2. ^ a b Kafr Yasif (Israel) Municipality Flags and Descriptions.
  3. ^ Ellenblum, 2003, p.149
  4. ^ Dan Barag (1979). "A new source concerning the ultimate borders of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem". Israel Exploration Journal 29: 197–217. 
  5. ^ Lewis, 1952, p. 17
  6. ^ a b Betts, 1990, pp. 123–124
  7. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881,p.146
  8. ^ a b c Ahmad Sa'di, Control and resistance at local-level institutions: A study of Kafr Yassif's local council under the military government, Arab Studies Quarterly, Vol. 23, 2001, pp. 31–47
  9. ^ a b M. Hughes, The banality of brutality: British armed forces and the repression of the Arab Revolt in Palestine, 1936–39, English Historical Review, Vol. CXXIV No. 507 (2009) pp. 313–354
  10. ^ Morris, 2004, p. 416
  11. ^ Freeman, Charles. Evacuation of Refugees from Kafr Yasif. 1949-03-25.
  12. ^ Jiryis, 1968, p. 57
  13. ^ Morris, 2004, p. 515
  14. ^ Masalha and Said, 2005, p. 27
  15. ^ Charles Kamen, The Arabs in Israel, 1948–1951, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 23, No. 4 (1987), pp. 453-495.
  16. ^ Fallah, Ghazi. Arabs versus Jews in Galilee: Competition for regional resources.
  17. ^ S. Jiryis, The land question in Israel, MERIP Reports, No. 47 (May, 1976) pp. 5–20, 24–26
  18. ^ Herzog, 1999, p. 175
  19. ^ Dana, 2003, pp. 30–31
  20. ^ Movement for Equality, Haaretz

Bibliography

External links

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