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Coordinates: 31°48′55.00″N 35°13′48.00″E / 31.8152778°N 35.2300000°E / 31.8152778; 35.2300000
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The town of Shuafat was to be the most northernmost point of the [[Corpus separatum (Jerusalem)|''corpus separatum'' proposed in 1947 for Jerusalem and its surrounding villages]], which "in view of its association with three world religions" was to be "accorded special and separate treatment from the rest of Palestine and should be placed under effective United Nations control".<ref name=Waart>{{cite book|title=Dynamics of Self-Determination in Palestine: Protection of Peoples As a|author=Paul Jacob Ignatius Maria de Waart|page=216|year=1994|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-08286-7|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=8bfkImTG1MgC&pg=PA216&dq=accorded+special+and+separate+treatment+from+the+rest+of+Palestine+and+should+be+placed+under+effective+United+Nations+control}}</ref>
The town of Shuafat was to be the most northernmost point of the [[Corpus separatum (Jerusalem)|''corpus separatum'' proposed in 1947 for Jerusalem and its surrounding villages]], which "in view of its association with three world religions" was to be "accorded special and separate treatment from the rest of Palestine and should be placed under effective United Nations control".<ref name=Waart>{{cite book|title=Dynamics of Self-Determination in Palestine: Protection of Peoples As a|author=Paul Jacob Ignatius Maria de Waart|page=216|year=1994|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-08286-7|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=8bfkImTG1MgC&pg=PA216&dq=accorded+special+and+separate+treatment+from+the+rest+of+Palestine+and+should+be+placed+under+effective+United+Nations+control}}</ref>
===Jordanian era===
===Jordanian era===
During the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] [[Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni]] led the village's residents in an attack against the neighboring Jewish village of [[Neve Yaakov]]. The villagers refused anything less than a full conquest of Neve Yaakov lest their village suffer a reprisal from the Jews. In April, the Jewish [[Palmach]] captured the village in the course of [[Operation Yevusi]] and expelled the inhabitants. The Palmach began demolishing buildings, but ultimately withdrew following a battle at the [[Tomb of Samuel]]. On 13 May, the villagers were again expelled, this time by order of the Transjordanian [[Arab Legion]], which was preparing for an invasion through the area.<ref>{{cite book
During the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] [[Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni]] led the residents of Shuafat in an attack against the neighboring Jewish villages of [[Neve Yaakov]] and [[Atarot]]. The villagers refused anything less than a full conquest of Neve Yaakov lest their village suffer a reprisal from the Jews. However, the Jews received advanced warning of the attack and fled.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ajhs.org/scholarship/chapters/chapter.cfm?documentID=285 |title=American Newlyweds in Israel, 1948 |date=11 April 2011 |accessdate=25 April 2011 |publisher=[[American Jewish Historical Society]]}}</refIn April, the Jewish [[Palmach]] captured the village in the course of [[Operation Yevusi]] and expelled the inhabitants. The Palmach began demolishing buildings, but ultimately withdrew following a battle at the [[Tomb of Samuel]]. On 13 May, the villagers were again expelled, this time by order of the Transjordanian [[Arab Legion]], which was preparing for an invasion through the area.<ref>{{cite book
|author=Benny Morris
|author=Benny Morris
|title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949
|title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949

Revision as of 12:59, 19 May 2013

The Jerusalem Light Rail in Shuafat

Shu'fat (Arabic: شعفاط Šuʿafāṭ), also Shuafat and Sha'fat, is a Palestinian Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, forming part of north-eastern Jerusalem.[1] Located on the old Jerusalem-Ramallah road about three miles north of the Old City, Shu'fat has a population of 35,000 residents. Shu'fat refugee camp was established by King Hussein in 1965 to house Palestinian squatters from the Moroccan Quarter of the Old City.[2]

Shu'fat borders Pisgat Ze'ev and Beit Hanina on the north, Shu'fat refugee camp on the east, French Hill on the south, and Ramat Shlomo on the west.[3][4] Shu'fat is located in the part of the West Bank which was included in the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem after its occupation in 1967.

History

Shuafat Road

Antiquity

The place was known to the Canaanites and Crusaders as Dersophath;.[5][dubious – discuss][6] Biblical identifications include Gebim, a village in north Jerusalem whose inhabitants fled the approaching Assyrian army, according to the Book of Isaiah,[7] Mizpah in Benjamin,[8] and Nob.[9] Tell el-Ful, on the neighborhood's outskirts, is believed to have been King Saul's capital of ancient Israel at Gibeah.[10] Jordan's King Hussein also built a palace here. Shuafat has been the site of intermittent habitation since at least 2000 BC,[5] and a number of ancient artifacts have been discovered there.

The remains of a Crusader structure in the center of the village that was possibly a church.[6]

Following a 1991 archaeological dig in Shuafat by Alexander Onn and Tzvi Greenhut, a room dating to the 2nd century BC was identified as a prayer room or synagogue, making one of the oldest ever found. However the site was can no longer be identified and has been questioned.[11][12][13][14]

During an archaeological salvage dig conducted near the Shuafat refugee camp in preparation for the laying of the tracks for the Jerusalem Light Rail system, the remains of an ancient Roman settlement, dating back to the Roman Empire were discovered. The settlement was described as a 'sophisticated community impeccably planned by the Roman authorities, with orderly rows of houses and two fine public bathhouses to the north.' The findings are said be the first indication of an active Jewish settlement in the area of Jerusalem after the city fell in 70 A.D.. The main indication that the settlement was a Jewish one is the assemblage of stone vessels found there. Such vessels, for food storage and serving, were only used by Jews because they were believed not to transmit impurity. Archaeologists believe stone basins discovered at the site were used to hold ashes from the destroyed Temple.[1][15]

Ottoman era

Local legend holds that the modern settlement was established several hundred years ago by immigrants from the Hejaz.[16][17]

In 1596, the village was inhabited by eight Muslim families who paid taxes on wheat, barley, vineyards and other agricultural produce.[18] In 1883 it was described as follows: "A small village, standing on a flat spur immediately west of the watershed, surrounded with olive-trees. It has wells to the north. There is a sacred chapel of Sultan Ibrahim in the village."[8] The census of 1931 recorded 539 Muslims living there.[19]

British Mandate era

The town of Shuafat was to be the most northernmost point of the corpus separatum proposed in 1947 for Jerusalem and its surrounding villages, which "in view of its association with three world religions" was to be "accorded special and separate treatment from the rest of Palestine and should be placed under effective United Nations control".[20]

Jordanian era

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni led the residents of Shuafat in an attack against the neighboring Jewish villages of Neve Yaakov and Atarot. The villagers refused anything less than a full conquest of Neve Yaakov lest their village suffer a reprisal from the Jews. However, the Jews received advanced warning of the attack and fled.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

After the war, Shuafat was occupied by Jordan, which subsequently, in April 1950, unilaterally declared it had annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Construction of the Shuafat refugee camp began in 1964 by the UN, to alleviate the crowded conditions in the Askar camp.[21] Construction was completed in 1966. On the orders of King Hussein, the Red Cross transferred 500 Arab squatters from hovels in the burnt out Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, to the camp.[22][23] According to David Bedein, Jordan intended to renovate the Jewish Quarter, but the plan became obsolete in the wake of the Six Day War in 1967.[24]

State of Israel

After the Six-Day War, the town and refugee camp were annexed by Israel and became part of the Jerusalem municipal district.[1] The residents were offered Israeli citizenship, but most refused it. Many accepted permanent residency status instead.[1]

Shuafat seen from the south

The Shuafat refugee camp is the only Palestinian refugee camp located inside Jerusalem or any other Israeli-administered area. While its residents carry Jerusalem identity cards, which grants them the same privileges and rights as regular Israelis, the camp itself is largely serviced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, even though 40 - 50% of the camp's population are not registered refugees. The Israeli West Bank barrier was partially constructed between the camp and the rest of Shuafat and Jerusalem. Some health services are provided by Israeli clinics in the camp. The Israeli presence is limited to checkpoints controlling entry and exit. According to Ir Amim, the camp suffers from high crime because Israeli Police rarely enter due to security concerns, while the Palestinian Civil Police Force does not operate in Israeli-administered municipalities. Unlike other UN-run refugee camps, residents of Shuafat camp pay taxes to the Israeli authorities.[3][25]

In a survey conducted as part of the research for the book Negotiating Jerusalem (2000), it was reported that 59% of Israeli Jews supported redefining the borders of the city of Jerusalem so as to exclude Arab settlements such as Shuafat, in order to ensure a "Jewish majority" in Jerusalem.[26]

In July 2001, the Israeli authorities destroyed 14 homes under construction in Shuafat on the orders of then mayor Ehud Olmert, who said the structures were built without permits. No one was yet living in them.[27] The families acknowledged they do not own the land they built on, but believed they had permission to build there from Islamic Trust religious authorities. Olmert said the houses were being contructed on public land in a "green area." [28]According to Isabel Kershner of the New York Times, Shuafat suffered from an absence of municipal planning, overcrowding, and potholed roads in 2007.[1]

As prime minister, Ehud Olmert questioned whether the annexation of areas like Shuafat into the Jerusalem area was necessary.[29] The Israeli initiative to transfer control of the area to the Palestinian National Authority led to a split in the community: A camp official favored being under Palestinian sovereignty, while the neighborhood's mukhtar rejected the plan, citing his residents' participation in Israeli elections as well as the danger of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel[30]

Urban development

In 2012, Sorbonne scholar Prof. Sylvaine Bulle cited the Shuafat refugee camp for its urban renewal dynamic, seeing it as an example of a creative adaptation to the fragmented space of the camps towards creating a bricolage city, with businesses relocating from east Jerusalem there and new investment in commercial projects.[31]

Transportation

Jerusalem Light Rail
Red Line
Legend
 Neve Yaakov
Yitzhak Tabenkin
Mazal Keshet
Moshe Dayan North
Heil Ha-Avir
Sayeret Dukhifat
Pisgat Ze'ev Center
Yekuti'el Adam
Beit 'Hanina
Shu'afat
Es-Sahl
Depot
 Giv'at Ha-Mivtar
Ammunition Hill
Shim'on Ha-Tsadik
Shivtei Israel
Damascus Gate
City Hall
Jaffa Center
Ha-Davidka
Mahane Yehuda
Ha-Turim
Central Bus Station Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station Jerusalem central bus station
Kiryat Moshe
He-'Halutz
Denia Square
Yefeh Nof
Mount Herzl
Shmaryahu Levin
Kiryat HaYovel West
Mifletzet Park
Henrietta Szold East
Kiryat Menachem
Ora Junction
Medical School
Hadassah Ein Kerem

Three stations of the First 'Red' Line of the Jerusalem Light Rail are situated in Shuafat: Shuafat North, Shuafat Central and Shuafat South.[32][33]

The neighbourhood’s Main Street, Shuafat Road, was previously part of route 60. In the 1990s a new route was built to the east of the neighbourhood, a dual carriageway with 3 lines in each direction, relieving traffic congestion along the road.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Isabel Kershner (June 5, 2007). "Under a Divided City, Evidence of a Once United One". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  2. ^ T. Abowd, The Moroccan Quarter: A History of the Present, in: Jerusalem Quarterly File (Institute of Jerusalem Studies), no. 7 (2000), pp. 6-16 [1] (retrieved October 16, 2012)
  3. ^ a b "New checkpoint opened at entrance to Shuafat". The Jerusalem Post. 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Jerusalem Neighborhood Profile: Shuafat Refugee Camp" (DOC). Ir Amim. 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b Mariam Shahin (2005). Palestine: A Guide. Interlink Books. p. 334. ISBN 1-56656-557-X.
  6. ^ a b Denys Pringle (1997). Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: An Archaeological. Cambridge University Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-521-46010-7.
  7. ^ Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Wm. B. Eerdmans. 2000. p. 487. ISBN 0-8028-2400-5.
  8. ^ a b C. R. Conder, Survey of Western Palestine, Vol. III (1883) pp13-14.
  9. ^ C. Geikie, The Holy Land and the Bible (1887), pp158–159.
  10. ^ Discovering the World of the Bible, LaMar C. Berrett
  11. ^ The Book of Acts in Its Palestinian Setting, Richard Bauckham
  12. ^ The Cambridge History of Judaism: The late Roman-Rabbinic period, William David Davies, Louis Finkelstein, Steven T. Katz
  13. ^ The ancient synagogue from its origins to 200 A.D.: Anders Runesson, Donald D. Binder, Birger Olsson
  14. ^ The Ancient Synagogue: "Birthplace of Two World Religions"
  15. ^ Amiram Barkat (2 January 2006). "Shuafat dig reveals first sign of Jewish life after destruction of Second Temple". Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  16. ^ Beit Hanina Community Center
  17. ^ [2]
  18. ^ Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (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. 120
  19. ^ Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns, and Administrative Areas (1932), p43
  20. ^ Paul Jacob Ignatius Maria de Waart (1994). Dynamics of Self-Determination in Palestine: Protection of Peoples As a. BRILL. p. 216. ISBN 90-04-08286-7.
  21. ^ Meron Benvenisti, Jerusalem: The Torn City, Isratypeset, 1976, p.69
  22. ^ Beyond the Wall, Ir Amim Report, January 2007
  23. ^ Doson, Nandita and Sabbah, Abdul Wahad (editors) Stories from our Mothers (2010), pp.18-19
  24. ^ http://israelbehindthenews.com/Oct-13-98.htm
  25. ^ "Jerusalem Neighborhood Profile: Shuafat Refugee Camp" (DOC). Ir Amim. 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  26. ^ Jerome M. Segal (2000). Negotiating Jerusalem. SUNY Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-7914-4537-2.
  27. ^ Violence flares in Jerusalem as Israeli bulldozers destroy dozen 'illegal' homes
  28. ^ Tracy Wilkinson (July 10, 2001). "Israel Razes 14 Arab Homes at Refugee Camp". Los Angeles Times. p. in print edition A-4. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  29. ^ "Olmert hints at possible concessions in Jerusalem". Ynet. October 15, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  30. ^ "Shuafat area residents split over plan to divide Jerusalem in two". The Jerusalem Post. 2007. Retrieved 2012-02-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  31. ^ Esther Zandberg (2008-10-23). "Their Shoafat outshines her Paris". HAARETZ. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  32. ^ Stations
  33. ^ "The Jerusalem Light Rail Map", Citypass, retrieved 2009-11-08

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shuafat.

31°48′55.00″N 35°13′48.00″E / 31.8152778°N 35.2300000°E / 31.8152778; 35.2300000

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