The history of Haifa dates back before the 3rd century BCE. Since then it has been controlled by several civilizations, including the Canaanites, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Crusaders, Kurds, the Mamluks, the Ottoman Turks and the British; currently it is a major city in Israel.
A small port city, Tell Abu Hawam, existed in the Haifa region in the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE). [1] The 6th-century BCE geographer Scylax describes a city "between the bay and the Promontory of Zeus" (i.e., Mount Carmel) which may be a reference to a settlement on the site of modern-day Haifa in the Persian period. [1] The city moved to a new site south of what is now Bat Galim, in the Hellenistic period, after the old port became blocked with silt. [1] The archaeological site of Shikmona lies southwest of Bat Galim neighbourhood of Haifa. [2] Mount Carmel and the Kishon River are also mentioned in the Bible. [3] [4] The geology of Mount Carmel has left the Mount riddled with caves. A grotto on the top of Mount Carmel is known as the "Cave of Elijah", traditionally linked to the Prophet Elijah and his apprentice, Elisha. [3] In Arabic, the highest peak of the Carmel range is named El-Muhrrakah, or the "place of burning," harking back to the burnt offerings and sacrifices on this hilltop in pre-Jewish times [5] It is believed that this was the point of Elijah's biblical confrontation with hundreds of priests of a Baal; the Baal in question was probably Melqart.[ citation needed ]
There are disputes over the exact location of early Haifa with many researchers believing that the name ‘Haifa’ is identical to a settlement of which the remains have been found in an area that extends from the present-day Rambam Hospital to the cemetery in Yafo Street. [6] The residents of this time were largely thought to have been involved in various coastal industries, including fishing and agriculture as well as acting as a port [6] Before the 600 CE, the population of Haifa is thought to have been widely dispersed across the area. [6]
The city isn’t mentioned in Jewish literature until the 3rd century CE. [1] [7] [8] The hellenised population lived along the coast at this time was engaged in commerce. [9] Haifa was located near the town of Shikmona, the main town in the area at that time
Under Byzantine rule, Haifa continued to flourish, although never grew to great importance due to its proximity to Acre. [10]
Byzantine rule ended in the 7th century, when the city was conquered by the Persians, and then by the Arabs in the 640s. During early Arab rule, Haifa was largely overlooked in favor of the port city of 'Akka. [11] Under the Rashidun Caliphate, the city began to develop and in the 9th century under the Abbasid Caliphate, Haifa established trade relations with Egyptian ports and the city contained several shipyards. The inhabitants engaged in trade and maritime commerce. Glass production and dye-making from marine snails were the city's most lucrative industries. [12] Nasir-i-Khusrau visited in 1047; he noted that "Haifa lies on the seashore, and there are here palm-gardens and trees in numbers. There are in this town shipbuilders, who build very large craft." [13]
In 1100, it was conquered again by the crusaders, after a fierce battle with its Jewish inhabitants and Saracen garrison. [14] Under crusader rule, the city was a part of the Principality of Galilee until the Muslim Mameluks captured it in 1265. [15]
The Carmelites were founded at, and named after, Mount Carmel, in the 12th century. [16] Since that time, at the peak of the Mount near Haifa, there has historically been a building that has variously been a mosque, monastery, and hospital; in the 19th century it was reconstructed as a Carmelite monastery, and a cave located there, which functions as the monastery's crypt, was treated as having once been Elijah's cave.
In 1761 Zahir al-Umar, Arab ruler of Acre and Galilee, destroyed the old city of Haifa Called "Haifa El-Atika" and rebuilt the town in a new location, surrounding it with a wall. [17] This event is marked as the beginning of the town's modern era. After Zahir's death in 1775, the town remained under Ottoman rule until 1918, except for two brief periods: in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Haifa as part of his unsuccessful campaign to conquer Palestine and Syria, but withdrew in the same year; and between 1831 and 1840, the Egyptian viceroy Mehemet Ali governed, after his son Ibrahim Pasha wrested control from the Ottomans. [18] [19]
In the years following the Egyptian occupation, Haifa grew in population and importance while Acre suffered a decline. The arrival of the German Templers in 1868, who settled in what is now known as the German Colony of Haifa, was a turning point in Haifa's development. [19] The Templers built and operated a steam-based power station, opened factories and inaugurated carriage service to Acre, Nazareth and Tiberias, playing a key role in modernizing the city. [20]
It was in the late 19th century that the area rose to importance in the Baháʼí Faith as the remains of the Báb were moved initially to Acre and, in 1909, to Haifa where a special tomb was erected for this purpose on Mount Carmel by `Abdu'l-Bahá. Haifa remains an important site of worship, pilgrimage and administration for the members of the religion. The Baháʼí World Centre (comprising the Shrine of the Báb, terraced gardens and administrative buildings) are all on Mount Carmel's northern slope. The location of the Baháʼí holy places in Haifa has its roots in the exile of the religion's founder, Bahá'u'lláh, to the Haifa/'Akka area during Ottoman rule over Palestine. [21] The Baháʼí holy places are also the most visited tourist attraction in Haifa.
In the early 20th century, early Ahmadi Muslims migrated to Kababir, a small suburb of Haifa, today consisting of Jews and Ahmadis. Over years the community developed and now acts as the Arab centre of the community. The community broadcasts its programmes to the Arab world via the MTA 3 channel from Haifa. Kababir is also known for its Mahmood mosque, a unique architectural landmark. [22]
At the beginning of the 20th century, Haifa emerged as an industrial port city and growing population center. The Hejaz railway and the Technion were established at that time. [19] The Haifa District was home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants, 96 percent Arab (82 percent Muslim and 14 percent Christian), and four percent Jewish. As aliyah increased, the balance shifted. By 1945 the population was 53 percent Arab (33 percent Muslim and 20 percent Christian) and 47 percent Jewish. [23] [24] The 1922 census recorded a population of 25,000 in Haifa, of whom more than 9,000 were Muslims, slightly fewer Christian Arabs, and more than 6,000 Jews. According to the 1931 census, it contained 50,403 residents, including about 20,000 Muslims, 15,923 Jews, and about 14,000 Christians. In 1947, the population comprised 70,910 Arabs (41,000 Muslims and 29,910 Christians) and 74,230 Jews. The Christians belong mostly to the Greek Orthodox Church (Arab Orthodox). Haifa was designated as part of the Jewish state in the 1947 UN Partition Plan that proposed dividing Mandate Palestine into two states.
On December 24, 1947, Arab snipers killed four Jews in Haifa; in reprisal Jewish militants killed four Arabs. [25] On December 30, the Jewish militant group Irgun hurled two bombs at a group of Arabs waiting for construction jobs outside the Consolidated Refineries in Haifa, killing six and injuring forty-two. Rioting erupted in which 2,000 Arab employees killed thirty-nine of their Jewish colleagues in what has become known as the Haifa Oil Refinery massacre. Jewish forces retaliated by raiding the Arab village of Balad al-Shaykh on December 31, 1947. Control of Haifa was a critical objective in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, as it was the country's major industrial port.
The British in Haifa redeployed on April 21, 1948, withdrawing from most of the city while still maintaining control over the port facilities. The city was captured on April 23, 1948 by the Carmeli Brigade of the Haganah who were ordered into action by Mordechai Maklef at 10:30 am on 21 April following three months of unsuccessful attacks by Arab forces. Most of the Muslim population fled through the British-controlled port. However, as many as 2,000 Christians and 1,300 Muslims were still living in the city by June 1948. By the end of June the remaining British forces left Haifa.
Today, Haifa has a population of about 266,300 people. Approximately 90% of the population consists of Israeli-Jews, predominantly those without religious classification and mostly immigrants from the former Soviet Union from mixed-marriage families of Jewish origin.[ citation needed ] According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, Israeli-Arabs constitute 9% of Haifa's population, the majority living in Wadi Nisnas, Abbas and Halisa neighborhoods. [26]
In 2020, archaeologists from the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies at Haifa University uncovered the 25-meter-long ship dating back to the seventh-century. The ship was built using the "shell-first" method, containing the largest collection of Byzantine and early Islamic ceramics discovered in Israel. Many inscriptions in both Greek and Arabic letters, the name of Allah and numerous Christian crosses were unearthed, including 103 amphoras with 6 types of which 2 types had never been discovered previously. [27] [28] [29]
The demographics of Israel, monitored by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, encompass various attributes that define the nation's populace. Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has witnessed significant changes in its demographics. Formed as a homeland for the Jewish people, Israel has attracted Jewish immigrants from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Haifa is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of 290,306 in 2022. The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area in Israel. It is home to the Baháʼí Faith's Baháʼí World Centre, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a destination for Baháʼí pilgrimage.
Acre, known locally as Akko and Akka, is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel.
Ramla or Ramle is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs.
Mount Carmel, also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias, is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situated there, most notably Haifa, Israel's third largest city, located on the northern and western slopes.
The population of the region of Palestine, which approximately corresponds to modern Israel and the Palestinian territories, has varied in both size and ethnic composition throughout the history of Palestine.
Kababir is a mixed neighbourhood with a majority of Ahmadi Muslim Arabs and a significant minority of Jews in Haifa, Israel.
Religion in Israel is manifested primarily in Judaism, the ethnic religion of the Jewish people. The State of Israel declares itself as a "Jewish and democratic state" and is the only country in the world with a Jewish-majority population. Other faiths in the country include Islam, Christianity and the religion of the Druze people. Religion plays a central role in national and civil life, and almost all Israeli citizens are automatically registered as members of the state's 14 official religious communities, which exercise control over several matters of personal status, especially marriage. These recognized communities are Orthodox Judaism, Islam, the Druze faith, the Catholic Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Anglicanism, and the Baháʼí Faith.
Daliyat al-Karmel is a Druze town located on Mount Carmel in the Haifa District of Israel, around 20 km southeast of Haifa. In 2022 its population was 18,001.
Wadi Salib is a primarily Palestinian neighbourhood located in downtown Haifa, Israel, on the lower northeastern slope of Mount Carmel, between the Hadar HaCarmel and the city's historic center and CBD.
Gesher is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northeastern Israel. Founded in 1939 by Jewish refugees from Germany, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. It is situated 10 km south of kibbutz Deganya Aleph and 15 km south of Tiberias. The population is approximately 500 inhabitants.
Hadar HaCarmel is a district of Haifa, Israel. Located on the northern slope of Mount Carmel between the upper and lower city overlooking the Port of Haifa and Haifa Bay, it was once the commercial center of Haifa.
Fureidis is an Arab town in the Haifa District of Israel. It received local council status in 1952. In 2022 its population was 13,722.
As of 2022, Muslims are the largest religious minority in Israel, accounting for 18.1% of the country's total population. Most of this figure is represented by the Arab citizens of Israel, who are the country's largest ethnic minority, but there is a notable non-Arab Muslim populace, such as that of the Circassians. Upwards of 99% of Israel's Muslims are Sunnis and the remainder are Ahmadis. Despite Shias constituting the second-largest Islamic sect, there are no reliable sources attesting a Shia presence in Israel or the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which the Israeli government administers as the Judea and Samaria Area. There were only seven Shia villages in the entirety of Mandatory Palestine and all of these were located along what is now the Israel–Lebanon border before being depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Sunni Islam is a major religion in Palestine, being the religion of the majority of the Palestinian population. Muslims comprise 85% of the population of the West Bank, when including Israeli settlers, and 99% of the population of the Gaza Strip. The largest denomination among Palestinian Muslims are Sunnis, comprising 85% of the total Muslim population.
The Old Yishuv were the Jewish communities of the region of Palestine during the Ottoman period, up to the onset of Zionist aliyah waves, and the consolidation of the New Yishuv by the end of World War I. Unlike the New Yishuv, characterized by secular and Zionist ideologies promoting labor and self-sufficiency, the Old Yishuv primarily consisted of religious Jews who relied on external donations (halukka) for support.
Isfiya, also known as Usfiya, is a Druze-majority village in northern Israel, governed by a local council. It also includes Christians, Muslims and a few Jewish households. Located on Mount Carmel, it is part of the Haifa District. In 2022 its population was 12,136. In 2003, the local council was merged with nearby Daliyat al-Karmel to form Carmel City. However, the new city was dissolved in 2008 and the two villages resumed their independent status.
Ahmadiyya in Israel is a small Ahmadi community in Israel. The community was first established in the region in the 1920s in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the Ahmadi branch can be openly practiced. As such, Kababir, a neighbourhood on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, acts as the Middle East headquarters of the community. It is unknown how many Israeli Ahmadis there are, but it is estimated there are about 2,200 Ahmadis in Kababir alone.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Haifa, Israel.
Abbas is a neighborhood in the city of Haifa in northern Israel. It is located in the administrative region of Hadar, on the edge of the Mount Carmel. neighborhoods such as German Colony, Wadi Nisnas and Abbas, are largely Arab Christian.
