Shefa-'Amr

Shefa-'Amr, an aa Shfar'am (, ; , ) is a predominantly Arab ceety in the North Destrict o Israel. Accordin tae the Israel Central Bureau o Statistics (CBS), at the end o 2009 the ceety haed a population o 35,300.

 Etymology 
In the Roman Era, the toun wis kent as "Shofar Am", Ebreu for "horn o a naition".  It is thocht that this name is derived frae that o the Jewish Sanhedrin, which for a time wis locatit in the ceety an wis considered the naition's horn. Alternatively, the name coud be based on the literary Ebreu wird shefer שפר, meanin "beauty" or "guidness", i.e. "the beauty o the fowk". Accordin tae a popular Arab legend,  the Arab general Amr Ibn Al-Aas wis cured o an illness efter drinkin the local watter. Upon seein thair commander's recovery, his sodgers cheered "Shofiya Amr" (Arabic for "Amr wis healed"), an that wis the soorce o the name. The spring frae which he allegedly drank is locatit sootheast o the ceety. Ithers allege that the name "Shfar-am" wis chyngit tae an Arabic form "Shefa-'Amr" in the Mamluk period.

 History 
Airchaeological research in Shefa-'Amr indicates that the aurie haes been inhabited for centuries. It is unclear who the early indwallers wur, awtho thay mey hae been Canaanites. Shefa-'Amr is mentioned in the Talmud as ane o the ceeties that contained the seat o the Jewish Sanhedrin. It is again mentioned in connection wi Jewish revolts against the Romans, an Jewish graves an remains in caves datin tae the Roman era o rule in Palestine hae been foond thare.

Shefa-'Amr contains Byzantine remains, includin remains o a kirk an tombs.Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener: The Survey of Western Palestine. London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (1881) I:343, Guerin, I, 414, TIR, 230. All cited in Petersen, 2002, p.276 Unner the Crusaders the place wis kent as Safran, Sapharanum, Castrum Zafetanum, Saphar castrum or Cafram. The veelage (cried "Shafar Am) wis uised, atween 586-590 H., bi Saladin as a military base for attacs on Acre.Abu Shama RHC (or.), IV, 487. Yaqut, p304, Both cited in  Petersen, 2002, p. 277 Bi 1229, the place wis back in Crusader haunds, an it wis confirmed as such bi Sultan Baybars in the peace treaty o 1271 C.E. (670 H.), an bi Qulawun in 1283. Housomeivver, it apparently came unner Mamluk control in 1291 C.E.Ibn al-Furat, Cited in  Petersen, 2002, p. 277

Durin early Ottoman rule in Palestine, in 1564 C.E., the revenues o the veelage o Shefa-'Amr wur designatit for the new waqf o Hasseki Sultan Imaret in Jerusalem, established bi Hasseki Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana), the wife o Suleiman the Magneeficent.Singer, A., 2002, p.126 A firman datit 981 H. (1573 C.E.) mention that Shefa-'Amr wis amang a group o veelages in nahiya o Akka which haed rebelled against the Ottoman admeenistration. Bi 1577 C.E. the veelage haed accumulatit an arsenal o 200 muskets.Heyd, 1960, p84-85,n.2. Cited in Petersen, 2002, p.277. In the 1596 daftar, Shefa-'Amr wis pairt o the nahiya (subdestrict) o Akka wi a population o 91 hoosehaulds ("khana"). The taxable produce comprised "occasional revenues" an "goats an beehives". Its indwallers an aw peyed for the uise or awnership o an ile press.Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter and Kamal Abdulfattah (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. p. 192. Quoted in Petersen, 2002, p.277

It wis no till the aichteent century that the veelage rose tae real prominence. At the beginnin o the century the veelage wis unner control o Shaykh Ali Zaydani, uncle o DahEr el-Omar an leadin shaykh o lawer Galilee. It is an aa kent that thare wis a castle in the veelage at least as early as 1740. Efter Daher al-Omar's rise tae pouer in the 1740s, Ali Zaydani wis replaced wi his nephew, Uthman; a brither o Daher el-Omar. Efter el-Omar's daith in 1775, Jezzar Pasha alloued Uthman tae continue as a ruler o Shefa-'Amr in return for a promise o lealtie an advance payment o taxes. Jezzar Pasha alloued the fortress tae remain intact despite orders frae Constantinople that it shoud be destroyed.Cohen, 1973, p.106. Cited in Petersen, 2002, p.277 Several years later Uthman wis remuivit an replaced wi Ibrahim Abu Qalush, an appointee o Jezzar Pasha.Cohen, 1973, p.25. Cited in Petersen, 2002, p.277

Durin this period Shefa-'Amr wis a regional centre o some importance. The importance o the veelage wis due tae twa factors; firstly, its poseetion in the hert o the cotton growin aurie, seicontly its naitural an manmade defences. The significance o cotton tae the growthe o Shefa-'Amr is fundamental. Tax returns for the veelage attest tae the lairge returns expectit o this crop.Cohen, 1973, p.128. Cited in Petersen, 2002, p.277

 Geography 

Shefa-'Amr is an auncient ceety locatit in the North Destrict in Israel at the entrance tae Galilee. It is locatit 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) frae the Mediterranean Sea an 20 kilometres (12 mi) frae each o three ceeties, Haifa, Acre an Nazareth, which gies its indwallers ample opportunity for employment. The ceety is locatit on seiven hills, which gies it the name "Little Roum". The elevation o the ceety an its strategic location as the connection atween the valleys an muntains o Galilee made it mair nor ance the centre o its destrict, especially in the period o Otman the son o Dhaher al-Omar, who biggit a castle in it, an touers aroond it. If ye staund in a heich spot in the ceety ye can see a great view: the bay o Haifa wi the sea stretchin atween Haifa an Acre in the wast, an in ither directions the heich muntains o Galilee an the valleys surroondin the ceety.

Till 1900, the Jews o Shefa-'Amr wirked as fermers. Subsequently thay stairtit wirkin as merchants acause o the heich taxes. Therefore thay went tae live in Haifa an Acre, till in 1920 the last Jewish faimily wis forced oot the ceety in the wake o the 1920 Palestine riots. In 1919, when Breetain ruled the aurie, thay appyntit a military govrenor till 1948, when Israel wis foondit an Shefa-'Amr became a local cooncil.

The Mayor o Shefa-'Amr Ibraheem Nimr Hussein held the chairmanship o the Committee o Arab Mayors in Israel (later the Arab Follae-Up Committee) syne the inception o this committee in 1975. Orsan Yassin, the Mayor who replaced him in the 90's, did no want tae tak a pairt o this committee sae he resigned frae it an the chairmanship wis gien tae someane else.

 Demographics 

In 1596, Shafa'amr appeared in Ottoman tax registers as bein in the Nahiya o Akka o the Liwa o Safad.  It haed a population o 83 Christian hoosehaulds an 8 bachelors. Nae Jews wur notit, but thare haed been a vera sma nummer mentioned in the early decades o that century. The next definite indication o a Jewish presence wis in the 18t century.

Finn reportit wrote in 1877 that "The majority o the inhabitants are Druses.  There are a few Moslems an a few Christians; but [in 1850] there wur thirty Jewish families livin as agriculturists, cultivatin grain an olives on their awn landit property, maist o it family inheritance; some o these fowk wur o Algerine descent. They haed their awn synagogue an legally qualifee'd butcher, an their numbers haed ance been mari considerable." But "they efterwards dwindled tae twa families, the rest remuivin tae [Haifa] as that port rose in prosperity." Conder an Kitchener, who visitit in 1875, wis tauld that the community consistit o "2,500 souls—1,200 being Moslems, the rest Druses, Greeks, an Laitins."

At the time o the 1922 census o Palestine, Shafa Amr haed a population o 1263 Christians, 623 Muslims, an 402 Druses. Bi the 1931 census, it haed 629 occupee'd hooses an a population o 1321 Christians, 1006 Muslims, 496 Druses, an 1 Jew. A faur 1197 Muslims in 234 occupee'd hooses wis recordit for "Shafa 'Amr Suburbs". Statistics compiled bi the Mandatory govrenment in 1945 showed an urban population o 1560 Christians, 1380 Muslims, 10 Jews an 690 "ithers" (presumably Druses) an a rural population o 3560 Muslims.Government of Palestine, Village Statistics, 1945.

In 1951, the population wis 4450, o whom aboot 10% wur refugees frae ither veelages. Durin the early 1950s, aboot 25,000 dunams o the land o Shefa Amr wis expropriatit bi the follaein method: the land wis declared a closed military aurie, then efter eneuch time haed passed for it tae hae acome legally "uncultivatit", the Meenister o Agricultur uised his pouers tae "ensure that it wis cultivatit" bi givin it tae neighborin Jewish communities. Some o the land wis awned bi Jews.  Anither 7,579 dunams wis expropriated in 1953-4. The tot land hauldins o the veelage fell frae 58,725 dunams in 1945 tae 10,371 dunams in 1962.

Shfar'am's diverse population drawn frae several different communities gies the ceety a relatively cosmopolitan an multi-cultural ambiance.

Accordin tae CBS, in 2009 the releegious an ethnic makeup o the ceety wis maistly Israeli Arabs (consistin o 59.5% Muslim, 26.3% Christian, an 14.3% Druze). Accordin tae CBS, in 2009 thare wur 35,300 registered citizens in the ceety. The population o the ceety wis spread oot wi 44.3% 19 years o age or younger, 15% atween 20 an 29, 21.9% atween 30 an 44, 13.3% frae 45 tae 64, an 4.5% 65 years o age or aulder.

Population in Shefa-'Amr ower the years:

 Economy 
Accordin tae the CBS, as o the year 2000, thare wur as mony as 7,114 salaried an 872 sel-employed wirkers in the ceety. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried wirker in the ceety is ILS 3,836, a real chynge o 3.4% ower the course o 2000. Salaried males hae a mean monthly wage o ILS 4,543 (a real chynge o 5.3%) versus ILS 2,386 for females (a real chynge o -3.3%). The mean income for the sel-employed is 5,777. Thare are 507 fowk who receive unemployment benefits an 5,315 fowk who receive an income guarantee.

 Education 
In 2007, thare wur 23 schuils caterin tae a student population o 9,140: 11 elementary schuils wi 5,233 students an 12 heich schuils wi 3,907 students. In 2001, 57.7% o twalt grade students wur entitled tae a matriculation certificate. In the eastren pairt o the ceety, Mifal HaPayis haes biggit mony educational biggins: a public computer center, a public leebrar, a lairge events haw an mair.

 Cultur an the airts 
Beit almusica conservatory wis foondit in 1999 bi muisicker 'Aamer Nakhleh' in the centre o Shefa-'Amr. It affers a year-roond programs o muisic studies in various instruments, an haulds mony muisic performances an concerts.Beit al-Musica Conservatory Ivery year Shefa-'Amr haulds a muisic festival kent as the "Fort Festival." Arab childer frae aw ower the kintra compete in singin classic Arabic sangs an ane is chosen as "Best voice o the year." The Ba'ath choir, established bi Raheeb Haddad, performs aw ower the kintra an pairticipates in mony internaitional events. Reem Talhami is a weel kent classic sangster who gies concerts aw ower the Arab warld. Tayseer Elias is a leadin Arab muisicker an violin player.

Butrus Lusia is a Shefa'Amr painter who specializes in icons for Christian kirks.

The first plays in Shefa-'Amr wur performed in the 1950s bi the Christian scouts. Syne the 1970s, mony theaters hae opened. amang them the sons o Shefa-A'mr theater, Athar theater, hoose o the youth theater, Alghurbal Al Shefa-'Amry theater an Al Ufok theater. The lairgest theater in the ceety is the Ghurbal Establishment which is a naitional Arab theater. Sa'eed Salame, an actor, comedian an pantomimist, established an 3-day internaitional pantomime festival that is held annually.

Shefa-'Amr is famous for its mastic-flavored ice cream, bozet Shefa-'Amr. The Nakhleh Coffee Company is the leadin coffee producer in Israel's Arab community.

New restaurant-cafes hae been opened in pairts o the auld ceety; those places are becomin the main cafes the youth o Shefa-Amr chuise tae spend thair free time an special occasions in. Awt Cafe stairtit hauldin muisical nichts whaur local sangsters an instruments players lik Oud an ithers play for the croud o visitors. Bein a new trend in the ceety thir nichts are becomin a great success an the cafe in those nichts is aaways full o fowk who come tae enjoy a cultural nicht wi thair friends an families.

 The Shfar'am attack 
On August 4, 2005, an AWOL Israeli Defense Force sodger, Eden Natan-Zada, opened fire while aboard a bus in the ceety, killin fower Israeli Arab citizens an woundin twinty-twa ithers. Efter the shootin, Natan-Zada wis overcome bi nearbi crouds, lynched an beaten wi rocks. Accordin tae witnesses, the bus driver wis surprised tae see a kippah-wearin Jewish sodger makin his wey tae Shefa-'Amr (an owerwhelmingly Arab ceety) via public bus, sae inquired o Natan-Zada whether he wis certaint he wantit tae tak his current route. The fower fatalities wur Hazar an Dina Turki, twa sisters in thair early twenties, an twa men, Michel Bahouth (the bus driver) an Nader Hayek.  In the days follaein the attack, 40,000 fowk attendit mass funeral services for the victims. The sisters wur buriet in an Islamic cemetery an the men wur buried in the Christian Catholic cemetery. The woundit wur taken tae the Rambam Hospital in Haifa.

 Israel Unthirldom Day 
In Januar 2008, the mayor o Shefa-'Amr, Ursan Yassin, met wi offeecials o the Israeli state committee on the celebrations for the 60t anniversary o unthirldom, an annoonced that Shefa-'Amr intends tae tak pairt in the celebrations. He statit: "This is oor kintra an we completely disappruive o the statements made bi the Heicher Monitorin Committee. I want tae hauld a central ceremony in Shefa-'Amr, raise aw the banners an hae a huge feast. The 40,000 residents o Shefa-'Amr feel that they are a pairt o the State o Israel...The desire tae participate in the festivities is shared by maist o the residents. We will no raise oor childer tae hate the kintra. This is oor kintra an we want tae live in coexistence wi its Jewish residents."

 Landmarks 

A fort wis biggit in 1760 bi the Ottoman the son o the Ottoman ruler Daher al-Omar, at the time the govrenor o the aurie, for the purpose o securin the entrance tae Galilee. The fort wis biggit on remains o a Crusader fort cried "Le Seffram".  The first floor o the fort wis for the horse, the seicont floor wis whaur Dhaher lived. Daher's fort is considered the biggest remain o the Zidans in Galilee. Efter the establishment o the state, the fort wis uised as a polis station. Efter a new station wis biggit in the "Fawwar" neighbourhuid, it wis renovatit an convertit tae a youth centre club, which haes syne closed doun.
"The Tower" or "al Burj" is an auld Crusader fort locatit in the soothren pairt o the ceety.
The auld merket o Shefa-'Amr wis ance the bustlin hert o the ceety. Nou aw that remains is ane coffee shop whaur elderly men gather ivery day tae play backgammon an drink Arab coffee. Accordin tae the mayor o Shefa-Amr, Nahed Khazem, the govrenment haes providit a budget for impruivin an revivin the auld mercat an turnin the aurie aroond the fort intae a tourist attraction.

 Jewish steids 

Shefa'-Amr is hame tae an auld synagogue on the steid o an even aulder structur. It is recordit as bein active in 1845. A Christian resident o the toun haulds the keys.How the other fifth lives The synagogue wis renovatit in 2006. The tomb o Rabbi Yehuda Ben Baba, a well-kent rabbi frae the 2nt century. who wis captured an executit bi the Romans, is still staundin in Shefa-'Amr an mony Jewish believers come tae veesit it.

 Christian steids 
Byzantine period tombs are locatit in the middle o the ceety. Thay wur the graves o the 5t an 6t century Christian community. The tomb entrances are decoratit wi sculpturs o lions an Greek inscriptions which mak mention o Jesus.
In the centre o the ceety, whaur the Sisters o Nazareth convent staunds the day, wis a 4t century kirk cried St. Jacob's Kirk. This kirk is mentioned in the notes o Christian kirk historians, awtho the kirk is no still staundin the day (the kirk o the monastery is whaur it wis). Some marble columns remain, lik those uised tae big the earliest kirks.
St. Peter & St. Paul Kirk is locatit in ane o the toun's peaks near the fort, it haes a heich bell touer an a lairge purpie dome.  The kirk wis biggit bi Otman, who made a promise tae big it if his fort wis finished successfully, sae its history goes back tae that o the fort. The waws o the kirk stairtit tae get weak sae in 1904 the whole kirk wis strengthened an impruivit. It remains staundin the day an is the main kirk o the Greek Catholic community o Shefa-'Amr.

 Muslim steids 
Mosque o Ali Ibn Abi Talib (Auld Mosque) biggit near the castle in the days o Suleiman Pasha.

 Notable residents 
Mansour F. Armaly
Emile Habibi
Mohammad Barakeh
Zahi Armeli

 See an aa 
Leet o Arab localities in Israel

 References 

 Bibliography 

Abu Shama (d.1267) (1969): Livre des deux  jardins ("The Book of Two Gardens"). Recueil des Historiens des Croisades, Cited in Petersen (2002).
Cohen, A. (1973), Palestine in the Eighteenth Century: Patterns of Government and Administration, Hebrew Varsity, Jerusalem. Cited in Petersen, (2002)
Jeeran.com homepage  
Heyd, Uriel (1960): Ottoman Documents on Palestine, 1552-1615, Oxford Varsity Press, Oxford. Cited in Petersen (2002)
Herzog, Chaim an Shlomo Gazit, The Arab-Israeli Wars, Vintage beuks, 2005.
Ze'ev Vilnai, "Shefa-'Amr, Between the past and the present",Jerusalem 1962.
Petersen, Andrew (2002): A Gazetteer of Buildings in Muslim Palestine: Volume I (British Academy Monographs in Archaeology) Shafa Amr p. 276-280
Rogers, Mary Eliza, (1865):  Domestic Life in Palestine (An aa cited in Pettersen, 2002,)
Singer, A. (2002). Constructing Ottoman Beneficence: An Imperial Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem. Albany: State of New York Press.

 Freemit airtins 
Shefa-'Amr offeecial wabsteid  
Information aboot Shefa-Amr  

Category:Ceeties in Israel
Category:Arab localities in Israel
Category:Arab Christian localities in Israel
Category:Daher al-Omar fortifications