Malha (Hebrew: מלחה) is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem, Israel, between Pat and Kiryat Hayovel. Before 1948, Malha was an Arab village known as al-Maliha (Arabic: المالحه). The official Hebrew name of the neighborhood is Manahat (Hebrew: מנחת) named for the biblical town of Manahath, but residents of Jerusalem continue to call it Malha.
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| Maliha | |
| Arabic | المالحه |
| District | Jerusalem |
| Population | 1,940[1] (1948[2]) |
| Area | 13,449 Arab owned[1] dunums |
| Date of depopulation | 21 April 1948, 15 July, 1948[3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Secondary cause | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
In 1596, al-Maliha was part of the Ottoman Empire, nahiya (subdistrict) of Jerusalem under the Liwa of Jerusalem, with a population of 286. It paid taxes on wheat, barley, and olive and fruit trees, goats and beehives.[4]
In the late 1870s the village was described as being of moderate size, standing high on a flat ridge. To the south was Ayn Yalu.[5]
In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the village of al-Maliha, with a population of 2,250, was occupied as part of the battle for south Jerusalem.[6] In the early part of the war, Al-Maliha, along with al-Qastal, Sur Baher and Deir Yassin, signed non-aggression pacts with the Haganah.[7] On April 12, 1948, in the wake of the Deir Yassin Massacre, villagers from al Maliha, Qaluniya and Beit Iksa began to flee in panic.[8] The Irgun attacked Malha in early morning hours of July 14, 1948. Several hours later, the Palestinian Arabs launched a counter-attack and seized one of the fortified positions. When Irgun reinforcements arrived, the Palestinians retreated and Malha was in Jewish control, but 17 Irgun fighters were killed and many wounded. The Arab inhabitants fled to Bethlehem, which remained under Jordanian control. The depopulated homes were occupied by Jewish refugees from Middle Eastern countries, mainly Iraq. Some of the land in Malha had been purchased before the establishment of the state by the Valero family, a family of Sephardi Jews that owned large amounts of property in Jerusalem and environs. [9]
The first Palestinian fedayeen raid in Israel took place in November 1951 in Malha when a woman Leah Festinger was killed by infiltrators from Shuafat, at the time part of Jordan.[10]
Under the aegis of the Jerusalem Municipality, the neighborhood was modernised and a large housing development was established on the nearby hill and its eastern slopes. At the bottom of the hill are the Malha Shopping Mall, Teddy Stadium, and the Jerusalem Malha Railway Station. Malha is now considered an upscale neighborhood. Schools include a vocational high school (ORT) and an elementary school, the Shalom School. The Jerusalem Technology Park houses many companies, including some high-tech start-ups as well as international media offices.[11] The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and Malha Basketball Arena are also located in Malha.
Archaeological excavations in the area in 1987-1990 unearthed two large Bronze Age agricultural villages, built one above the other, believed to have been Manahat, a Canaanite town on the northern border of the Tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:59).[12] The remains of the village have been preserved in the Biblical Zoo.[12]
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