The Denver Jewish news., 1919-01-29
HAIEA.

great bay of Acre Can easily be con-
verted into a port in the grand style.
Akaba will be the port of Palestine
on the Red Sea. During the war Kan
tara, ON the SueZ Canal, has beeh
u:adc, in effect. Il PaleStinIan port.
The railway connecting Egypt Win
Palestine crosses the canal at kantara,
and large docks have been construct
ed there. so that the ocean-Soing ships
discharge their cargOes for Palestine
at Kantara. Palestine will thus have
ports OH three fronts. The following
account of Haifa is summarized from
"Erez Israeli
What Jaffa is to Judaca and Je-
rusalem, Haifa is to Galilee and the
Hauran, the chici port for import ana
export, the centre of commerce, trade,
and industry. On the northern Slde
of Haifa, near tie River Kishon. there
opens the valley of Acre with ii forest
of palms which is mentioned in the
eleventh century. In the south, be
tween the narrow pass between the
sea and Carmc! is the beautiful
Templer colony. On the cast rises up
Mount Carmel. and reflects itself in
the blue waters of the sea. Haifa Is
not mentioned in the Bible nor i'll
the ApOcrypha. althO the environs of
Haifa. notably Carmel appear there.
This region is bound up with memories
Of Elijah tire prophet and his sue
cessor Elisha The Arabs. for this
reason. call Mount Carmel Jebel Mar
Elias. To the south of Haifa, on
Mount Carmel there is holy place
which is held-by Jews, Christians,
and Nfoslems a,ike-to he the grave
of Elijah
Haifa itself is not mentioned until
after the destruction of the second
Temple. Rabbi benjamin of Tudela
mentions it. and some people think
that the ancient city Of SycaminuS,
which is mentioned in the Talmud
and in classical writings. WAS Haifa.
There was Jewish colony in Haifa
after the destruction of the Temple.
and the town is frequently mentioned
in the Tnlmud The Jews of Haifa
We're notorious for their bad Hebrew
accent. They could not pronounce cor
rectly the aleph and other sounds. In
the days of the Talmud it was cen
ire of Jewishing learning. and many
sageS were born there. .efter many
centuries Jews were found i'll Haifa
in the eleventh century the town was
wholly Jewish. The Bacdud Caliph
gave it the Jews for Il fixed yearly
rent Haifa was even the centre of
shipbuildins Ghe Persian traveller
Nuzri ChuSru mentions that IN 1o4t
very large ships We're built at Haifal.
and the shipwrights were probably
Jews.
The Jewish community of Halih
played an important part i'll the social
life of Jewry in Palestine. When the
Crusaders came Tancred received
Galilee aS his share. and in LOO he
themselves hcroically. but after Il siege
hy land and sea Haifa fell The
Crusaders anninilatcd absolutely the
Jewish colony. and Rabbi Benjamin of
Tudela, who came some 60 years later.
did not find single Jew there. In
1177 Suladin recOnquered the town.
and under MOSlcm rule Jews came
back to Haifa, and Rabbi Israel Chile
I, ,.prnrurrnity in
Haifa which WIS renowned for its
piety. Travellers in the fifteenth. SiN-
teeuth. and seventeenth centuries men
ton Haifa very little. Nolncy. IN
1888. is content with the short an
nouncement tha; the village of Haifa
j. not far from Acre. The Sheikh of
Acre suggested to ConStantinople the
turtificatiuu OF Haifa. and the Gov.
ernineut nut up Il cannon there.
In the first half of the nineteenth
century Haifa was still quite unim-
portant. Consul Rogers. i'll 1853. esti-
mated the populat tiOn lit only 1000. Ii:
1877 the population consisted of lilo
Moslcms. 1000 Jews. 1000 Greeks, GOO
Catholics. 30 Mnronites. and 40 Lat
ins. From, that time on the population
grew rapidly. In 1S9S the populn-
ton was 1900. in 1913 10000. The
chief factors in the rapid growth of
Haifa were % the foundation of the
Tcmplcr colony in 1S6S t2) the jew
iSh colonies in Samaria and Galilrc.
lnl fbp construction of the He'd it2
Hallway. Haifa has grown to some
extent at the expense or Acre. because
Mount Carmel giveS protection to the
harbour Of Haifa when the harbour
the Jewish Technical college at llaifa