Shibli–Umm al-Ghanam

Shibli–Umm al-Ghanam
Hebrew transcription(s)
  Hebrew שִׁבְּלִי-אֻם אל-עַ'נַם
  ISO 259 Šibbli - ʔumm ˀel-Ránem (Israeli pronunciation)
Arabic transcription(s)
  Arabic الشبلي - أم الغنم

View of Shibli
Shibli–Umm al-Ghanam
Coordinates: 32°41′03″N 35°23′49″E / 32.68417°N 35.39694°ECoordinates: 32°41′03″N 35°23′49″E / 32.68417°N 35.39694°E
District Northern
Founded 1992
Government
  Type Local council (from 1992)
Area
  Total 2,879 dunams (2.879 km2 or 1.112 sq mi)
Population (2005)
  Total 4,800
Name meaning Khirbet Umm el Ghanem=The ruin with the sheep[1]

Shibli–Umm al-Ghanam (Arabic: الشبلي - أم الغنم, Hebrew: שִׁבְּלִי-אֻם אל-עַ'נַם) is an Arab town at the foot of Mount Tabor in Israel's North District. According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, Shibli–Umm al-Ghanam had a population of 4,800 inhabitants in 2005.[2]

History

Archaeological excavations have revealed flint from the Mousterian culture, several knapped using the Levallois technique.[3]

Ottoman era

In 1875, Victor Guérin found here "several ancient cisterns, still unbroken, and ancient caves cut in rock, which now serve as refuge for shepherds."[4] In 1881 the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine found at Kh. Umm el Ghanem: "Heaps of stones, a few of which are hewn, all of small size, one small cave and one cistern."[5]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Umm al Ghanam had a population of 52, all Muslims.[6] In the 1931 census the population of Umm al-Ghanam was counted with that of Reineh, together they had 1015 inhabitants in a total of 243 houses.[7]

In 1945 the population of Umm al-Ghanam was counted with that of Mount Tabor, and their the total land area was 8,409 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[8] Of this, 232 dunams were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 6,215 for cereals,[9] while a total of 1,962 dunams were classified as non-cultivable land.[10]

1948, aftermath

The town was formed in 1992 as a result of a municipal merger of the villages of Shibli and Umm al-Ghanam.

Shibli High School is attended by 270 Arab students, many from underprivileged backgrounds. Special educational programs introduced at the school have boosted the Bagrut matriculation pass rate and percentage of graduates attending university.[11]

Hassan Saida of Shibli–Umm Al-Ghanam owns a collection of small cast lead books featuring what is believed to be the first-ever portrait of Jesus. The books are thought to have been created by followers of Jesus in the first decades after his crucifixion. The books, containing cryptic messages in Hebrew and ancient Greek, have been in Saida's family since they were found by his great-grandfather.[12]

See also

References

  1. Palmer, 1881, p. 130
  2. Localities with populations of 1,000 or above Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics
  3. Tepper, 2015, ‘Ein Umm el-Ghanam
  4. Guérin, 1880, p. 140; as given in Conder and Kitchener, SWP I, p. 409
  5. Conder and Kitchener, SWP I, p. 409
  6. Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Nazareth, p. 38
  7. Mills, 1932, p.73
  8. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 62
  9. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 110
  10. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 160
  11. World ORT, Shibli High School
  12. Lost for 2,000 years... Could this be the first portrait of Jesus?

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shibli-Umm al-Ghanam.

External links