Old City (Jaffa)

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Old Jaffa alley Jaffa old city 2.jpg
Old Jaffa alley

The Old City of Jaffa (Hebrew: יפו העתיקה – Ancient Yafo; Arabic: يافا العتيقه – Ancient Jaffa or يافا القديمة – Old Jaffa) is the historical part of the Israeli city of Jaffa. A neighborhood with art galleries, restaurants, theaters, museums, and nightclubs, it is one of Tel Aviv's main tourist attractions. Jaffa is the southwest district of the Tel Aviv–Jaffa municipality. [1] Old Jaffa is located in the northwest of Jaffa, on a hill along the Mediterranean Sea. Technically the hill of Old Jaffa is the continental north end of a kurkar ridge, further alleviated through fortifications with layers of rubble inside.

Israel country in the Middle East

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, although the state's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition.

Jaffa old part of the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo

Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo, or in Arabic Yaffa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical stories of Jonah, Solomon and Saint Peter as well as the mythological story of Andromeda and Perseus, and later for its oranges.

Tel Aviv City in Israel

Tel Aviv is the second most populous city in Israel—after Jerusalem—and the most populous city in the conurbation of Gush Dan, Israel's largest metropolitan area. Located on the country's Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 443,939, it is the economic and technological center of the country.

Contents

History

The Old City was the centre of Jaffa for most of its history. Much of Jaffa was rebuilt during British control after the repeated damage inflicted by the Napoleonic wars and an earthquake in 1837. [2] When the wall of Jaffa was dismantled between 1878 and 1888 to allow expansion, both the city and the centres of government shifted eastwards, though the Old City remained the cultural centre of the city. [3] [4] [5]

During the Great Revolt in 1936–1939, the connection between Tel Aviv and the Jaffa port was partially severed by disruption in the Old City. [6] This had two primary effects: the British retaliated using massive gelignite charges to destroy at least 220 buildings to leave over 6000 Arabs homeless in retribution [6] and encouraged the building of a small port on the Yarkon estuary to the North of Tel Aviv to reduce reliance on Jaffa.

1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine

The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, later came to be known as "The Great Revolt", was a nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine against the British administration of the Palestine Mandate, demanding Arab independence and the end of the policy of open-ended Jewish immigration and land purchases with the stated goal of establishing a "Jewish National Home". The dissent was directly influenced by the Qassamite rebellion, following the killing of Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam in 1935, as well as the declaration by Hajj Amin al-Husseini of 16 May 1936 as 'Palestine Day' and calling for a General Strike. The revolt was branded by many in the Jewish Yishuv as "immoral and terroristic", often comparing it to fascism and nazism. Ben Gurion however described Arab causes as fear of growing Jewish economic power, opposition to mass Jewish immigration and fear of the English identification with Zionism.

Gelignite

Gelignite, also known as blasting gelatin or simply jelly, is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpetre.

Disputes about the merging of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, with the former wanting only to add the Jewish neighborhoods in the North of Jaffa and the latter wanting a total merge led to a gradual unification. [7] The Old City was partly added on 18 May 1949 as part of the first Arab-controlled land to fall under Jewish control. [7] The remainder of the Old City would be added in 24 April 1950 when the complete unification occurred. [7]

Old Jaffa has increasingly gentrified with the residential population dropping dramatically and an increasing number of art galleries, restaurants, souvenir shops as well as various ongoing archaeological digs. [8] [2] There is a particular interest on the cultural melange by the relatively rare, in Israel, triple mix of Muslims, Jews and Christians. [8] There have however been accusations that the gentrification and museums towards its history have white-washed Israeli actions in the area, removed Palestinian history and muted reference to British atrocities in the area. [9]

Attractions

Jaffa Port port in Israel

Jaffa Port is an ancient port on the Mediterranean Sea, located in Old Jaffa, Israel. It serves as a fishing harbor, a yacht harbor, and as a tourism destination. It offers a variety of culture and food options, including restaurants where fresh fish and seafood is served.

Yefet Street street

Yefet Street is one of the main streets of Jaffa and historical road from old Jaffa to the south. It was named after Noah's son Japhet, founder of the city according to one legend. Previously called "Ajami Street", after Ibrahim al-Ajami, the Persian saint. The street passes over water at Yehuda Hyamit Street bridge that was built during the British Mandate.

The Farkash Gallery collection is the largest collection in the world of vintage historical Israeli posters. The collection contains posters from time period ranging from pre-state Israel to the present day. The collection was founded in 1948 by the Farkash family and is located in Old Jaffa. Today the Farkash Gallery is run by Aharon Farkash.

Immediately opposite Old Jaffa: Abouelafia Bakery, Abu Hassan Restaurant

^Forms the eastern border of Old Jaffa and continues south along Ajami, Jaffa.

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Haifa Place in Israel

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Yishuv Jewish settlements in pre-Israel Palestine

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Jaffa Clock Tower building in the greater Tel Aviv

The Jaffa Clock Tower stands in the middle of the north end of Yefet Street in Jaffa. The tower, built of limestone, incorporates two clocks and a plaque commemorating the Israelis killed in the battle for the town in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

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Operation Hametz was a Jewish operation towards the end of the British Mandate of Palestine, as part of the 1948 Palestine war. It was launched at the end of April 1948 with the objective of capturing villages inland from Jaffa and establishing a blockade around the town. The operation, which led to the first direct battle between the British and the Irgun, was seen as a great victory for the latter, and enabled the Irgun to take credit for the complete conquest of Jaffa that happened on May 13.

Abu Kabir

Abu Kabir was a satellite village of Jaffa founded by Egyptians following Ibrahim Pasha's 1832 defeat of Turkish forces in Ottoman era Palestine. During the 1948 Palestine war, it was mostly abandoned and later destroyed. After Israel's establishment in 1948, the area became part of south Tel Aviv. Officially named Giv'at Herzl, the name of an adjacent Jewish neighborhood, the name Abu Kabir continued to be used. Part or all of Abu Kabir was officially renamed Tabitha by the Tel Aviv municipality in 2011.

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Ajami is a predominantly Arab neighborhood in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel, situated south of Old Jaffa and north of the Jabaliyya neighborhood on the Mediterranean Sea.

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References

  1. ↑ inisrael.com, ByTech Ltd. -. "Old Jaffa Tel Aviv travel guide". www.inisrael.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 Robert Barzelay (24 January 2017). "Exploring Jaffa: Israel's Ancient Port City". Culture Trip. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  3. ↑ Kedar, B.Z. (1999). The Changing Land: Between the Jordan and the Sea: Aerial Photographs from 1917 to the Present. Wayne State University Press. p. 96. ISBN   978-0-8143-2915-3 . Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  4. ↑ Pinsker, S.M. (2018). A Rich Brew: How Cafés Created Modern Jewish Culture. NYU Press. p. 249. ISBN   978-1-4798-2789-3 . Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  5. ↑ LeVine, M. (2005). Overthrowing Geography: Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and the Struggle for Palestine, 1880–1948. University of California Press. p. 56. ISBN   978-0-520-24371-2 . Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 Hughes, M. (2009) 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, pp. 314–354.
  7. 1 2 3 Arnon Golan (1995), The demarcation of Tel Aviv-Jaffa's municipal boundaries, Planning Perspectives, vol. 10, pp. 383–398.
  8. 1 2 Rebecca Amir (13 May 2018). "The art awakening transforming Jaffa". Israel21C. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  9. ↑ Léopold Lambert (7 August 2017). "PALESTINE REPORT PART 5: THE COLONIAL AND GENTRIFYING VIOLENCE OF ARCHITECTURE IN JAFFA". FUNAMBULIST. Retrieved 3 August 2018.

Coordinates: 32°3′16.13″N34°45′10.94″E / 32.0544806°N 34.7530389°E / 32.0544806; 34.7530389

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