Beit Ummar
| Beit Ummar | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | بيت اُمّر |
| • Also spelled |
Bayt Ummar (official) Beit Omar (unofficial) |
 | |
  Beit Ummar | |
| Coordinates: 31°37′17″N 35°06′08″E / 31.62139°N 35.10222°ECoordinates: 31°37′17″N 35°06′08″E / 31.62139°N 35.10222°E | |
| Governorate | Hebron |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality (from 1997) |
| • Head of Municipality | Nasri Sabarna |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 13,348 |
| Name meaning | "House of Ummar"[1] |
Beit Ummar (Arabic: بيت اُمّر) is an Arab town located eleven kilometers northwest of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate.[2] According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2007, the town had a population of 13,348 inhabitants.[3] Over 4,800 residents of the town are under the age of 18. Since the Second Intifada, unemployment ranges between 60 to 80 percent due mostly to the inability of residents to work in Israel and a depression in the Palestinian economy.[4] A part of the city straddles Road 60 and due to this, several propositions of house demolition have occurred.[5]
Beit Ummar is mostly agricultural and is noted for its many grape vines. This has a major aspect on their culinary tradition of stuffed grape leaves known as waraq al-'inib and a grape syrup called dibs.[5] Beit Ummar also has cherry, plum, apple and olive orchards.[6]
History
Beit Ummar is believed to be the site of Biblical village of Maarath.[6][7] According to some traditions, the town was named after the Islamic Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab because he supposedly frequented the town. Many of the town's predominantly Muslim residents are descendants of Arab Christian families and the old city contains Christian ruins.[5]
The French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village in 1863, and found it to have about 450 inhabitants.[8] In 1883 the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Beit Ummar as a "small but conspicuous village standing on the watershed, and visible from some distance on the north. An ancient road passes through it. Half a mile north-east is a good spring, ' Ain Kufin. The mosque has a small tower to it. The surrounding neighbourhood is covered with brushwood."[9]
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Bait Ummar had a population of 829, all Muslims,[10] increasing in the 1931 census to 1,135, still entirely Muslim, in 217 inhabited houses.[11] In 1945 the population of Beit Ummar was 80 Jews and 1,600 Arabs, who owned 30,129 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.[12] 2,912 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 12,879 for cereals,[13] while 55 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[14]
Mosque of Nabi Matta
The main mosque in Beit Ummar houses the tomb of Nabi Matta. Matta meaning Matthew or Amittai, father of Jonah. Mujir ad-Din writes that Matta was "a holy man from the people of the house of the prophecy." Nearby Halhul houses the tomb of Jonah with the inscription reading "Yunus ibn Matta" or "Jonah son of Amittai", confirming that Matta is indeed the Arabic name for Amittai and the Beit Ummar tomb is dedicated to Amittai.[15][16]
In 1226, the Ayyubid sultan al-Mu'azzam built a mosque with a minaret under the supervision of Jerusalem governor Rashid ad-Din al-Mu'azzami. The Mamluks constructed some additions to the mosque and engraved several inscriptions on its surface.[15]
Government
The town became a municipality on April 17, 1997 after the dismantlement of the Israeli village council and Hussein Badr was appointed by the Palestinian National Authority.[5] The current mayor is Nasri Sabarna.[17] The town is currently located in Areas B (civil affairs administered by the PNA) and C (civil and military affairs controlled by Israel).[5]
The town is governed by a municipal council consisting of thirteen members including the mayor.
Notable residents
References
- ↑ Palmer, 1881, p. 389
- ↑ Beit Ummar: Town Statistics and Facts
- ↑ 2007 PCBS Census Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.118.
- ↑ Beit Omar Background
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Sample Area Background: Beit Ummar (2000) Campaign for Secure Dwellings, Christian Peacemaker Teams
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Beit Ummar: Where Dreams Come True Aging with Dignity in Palestinian Villages Qleibo, Ali. This Week in Palestine.
- ↑ Armstrong, 1889, p.119
- ↑ Guérin, 1869, p. 298
- ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, p. 303
- ↑ J. B. Barron, ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine. Table V, Sub-district of Hebron, p. 10.
- ↑ Mills,1932, p. 27
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in S. Hadawi, Village Statistics, 1945. PLO Research Center, 1970, p. 50
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in S. Hadawi, Village Statistics, 1945. PLO Research Center, 1970, p. 93
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in S. Hadawi, Village Statistics, 1945. PLO Research Center, 1970, p. 143
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Sharon, 1999, p. 161-164
- ↑ Clermont-Ganneau, 1896, p. 456
- ↑ Municipality Guide Nablus Municipality Official Website
Bibliography
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beit Ummar. |
- Armstrong, George (1889), Names and Places in the Old and New Testament and Apocrypha, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund
- Clermont-Ganneau, Charles Simon (1896): Archaeological Researches in Palestine 1873-1874, [ARP], translated from the French by J. McFarlane, Palestine Exploration Fund, London. Volume 1.
- Conder, Claude Reignier; Kitchener, H. H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Guérin, Victor (1869). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine. Vol 1; Judee, pt. 3.
- Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center
- Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft.
- Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- Palmer, E. H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Sharon, Moshe (1999), Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, Vol. II, B-C, BRILL, ISBN 9004110836
External links
- Welcome To Bayt Ummar
- Beit Ummar Town (Fact Sheet)
- Beit Ummar Town Profile
- Beit Ummar Areal photo
- The priorities and needs for development in Beit Ummar town based on the community and local authorities’ assessment
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