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On 4 January 1948 the [[Lehi (group)|Lehi]] detonated a truck bomb outside the 3-storey 'Serrani', Jaffa's Ottoman built Town Hall, killing 26 and injuring hundreds. The driver was reported to be wearing the uniform of the [[Royal Irish Fusiliers]].<ref>The Scotsman newspaper, 6th January 1948</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=LeBor|first=Adam|title=Jaffa: Divided it fell|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jaffa-divided-it-fell-523525.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=21 January 2006}}</ref><ref>Walid Khalidi states that 25 civilians were killed and dates the attack as occurring on 4 January. 'Before their Diaspora', 1984. p.316, picture p.325</ref><ref>Benny Morris, 'The Birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, 1947-1949', Cambridge University Press, 197. ISBN 0 521 33028 9. Attributes attack to 'LHI' ([[Lehi (group)|Lehi]]), doesn't number and gives date as 4th January. p. 46</ref>
On 4 January 1948 the [[Lehi (group)|Lehi]] detonated a truck bomb outside the 3-storey 'Serrani', Jaffa's Ottoman built Town Hall, killing 26 and injuring hundreds. The driver was reported to be wearing the uniform of the [[Royal Irish Fusiliers]].<ref>The Scotsman newspaper, 6th January 1948</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=LeBor|first=Adam|title=Jaffa: Divided it fell|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jaffa-divided-it-fell-523525.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=21 January 2006}}</ref><ref>Walid Khalidi states that 25 civilians were killed and dates the attack as occurring on 4 January. 'Before their Diaspora', 1984. p.316, picture p.325</ref><ref>Benny Morris, 'The Birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, 1947-1949', Cambridge University Press, 197. ISBN 0 521 33028 9. Attributes attack to 'LHI' ([[Lehi (group)|Lehi]]), doesn't number and gives date as 4th January. p. 46</ref>


On April 25, 1948, [[Irgun]] launched an offensive on Jaffa. This began with a mortar bombardment which went on for three days during which twenty tons of high explosive were fired into the town.<ref>Morris page 95; Menachin Begin, 'The Revolt - story of the Irgun'. Translated by Samuel Katz. Hadar Publishing, Tel Aviv. 1964. Page 355 - 371.</ref>. On April 27 the British Government, fearing a repetition of the mass exodus from [[Haifa]] the week before, ordered the British Army to confront the Irgun and their offensive ended. Simultaneously the [[Haganah]] had launched [[Operation Chametz]] which over-ran the villages East of Jaffa and cut the town off from the interior.<ref>Morris, page 100.</ref>
On April 25, 1948, [[Irgun]] launched an offensive on Jaffa. This began with a mortar bombardment which went on for three days during which twenty tons of high explosive were fired into the town.<ref>Morris page 95; Menachem Begin, 'The Revolt - story of the Irgun'. Translated by Samuel Katz. Hadar Publishing, Tel Aviv. 1964. Page 355 - 371.</ref>. On April 27 the British Government, fearing a repetition of the mass exodus from [[Haifa]] the week before, ordered the British Army to confront the Irgun and their offensive ended. Simultaneously the [[Haganah]] had launched [[Operation Chametz]] which over-ran the villages East of Jaffa and cut the town off from the interior.<ref>Morris, page 100.</ref>


The population of Jaffa on the eve of the attack was between 50,000 - 60,000, with some 20,000 people having already left the town. 'Then a strange phenomenon was revealed before our eyes: the mass flight from Jaffa. Arab civilians and a variety of "Arab" fighters suddenly began to leave the town in panic'.<ref>Morris, page 95</ref> By 30 April there were 15,000 - 25,000 remaining.<ref>Morris page 100</ref><ref>Begin, page 363. </ref> In the following days a further 10,000 - 20,000 people fled by sea. When the Haganah took control of the town on May 14 around 4,000 people were left.<ref>Morris, page 101: 'On 18 May Ben-Gurion visited the conquered city for the first time and commented:"I couldn't understand: Why did the inhabitants of Jaffa leave?"'</ref> The town and harbour's warehouses were extensively looted.<ref>Jon Kimche, 'Seven Falen Pillars; The Middle East, 1915 - 1950'. Secker and Warburg, London. 1950. page 224 :'the orgy of looting and wanton destruction which hangs like a black pall over almost all the Jewish military successes.'</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/952270.html Wellsprings of memory - Haaretz - Israel News<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The remaining Arab residents were forced into the [[Ajami, Jaffa|Ajami]] neighborhood, surrounded by barbed wire, where martial law was in effect for a year.
The population of Jaffa on the eve of the attack was between 50,000 - 60,000, with some 20,000 people having already left the town. 'Then a strange phenomenon was revealed before our eyes: the mass flight from Jaffa. Arab civilians and a variety of "Arab" fighters suddenly began to leave the town in panic'.<ref>Morris, page 95</ref> By 30 April there were 15,000 - 25,000 remaining.<ref>Morris page 100</ref><ref>Begin, page 363. </ref> In the following days a further 10,000 - 20,000 people fled by sea. When the Haganah took control of the town on May 14 around 4,000 people were left.<ref>Morris, page 101: 'On 18 May Ben-Gurion visited the conquered city for the first time and commented:"I couldn't understand: Why did the inhabitants of Jaffa leave?"'</ref> The town and harbour's warehouses were extensively looted.<ref>Jon Kimche, 'Seven Falen Pillars; The Middle East, 1915 - 1950'. Secker and Warburg, London. 1950. page 224 :'the orgy of looting and wanton destruction which hangs like a black pall over almost all the Jewish military successes.'</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/952270.html Wellsprings of memory - Haaretz - Israel News<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The remaining Arab residents were forced into the [[Ajami, Jaffa|Ajami]] neighborhood, surrounded by barbed wire, where martial law was in effect for a year.

Initially, the mayor of Jaffa mayor, Yousef Heikal, told the residents not to leave. He left the country for three days. Upon his return, he reported that Jaffa would soon be occupied by the Jews and he was leaving with his family. According to an old-time resident, "People then started to leave by ships and trains. All the routes to the Arab countries were opened, and people could leave for free. The Arab countries were responsible. After a week there was nothing left but cats and dogs. We few families who stayed went to live in the orange groves."<ref>{{cite news|last=LeBor|first=Adam|title=Jaffa: Divided it fell|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jaffa-divided-it-fell-523525.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=21 January 2006}}</ref>


==Boundary demarcation of Tel Aviv-Jaffa ==
==Boundary demarcation of Tel Aviv-Jaffa ==

Revision as of 16:25, 18 November 2010

For other uses, see Jaffa (disambiguation).
Jaffa skyline
St. Peter's Church in Jaffa


Jaffa (Template:Lang-he-n, Yāfōⓘ; Arabic: يَافَا, Yāfāⓘ; Latin: Joppe; also Japho, Joppa as transliteration from the Greek "Ιόππη") is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world.[1] Jaffa has been incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.

Etymology

The name of the city is supposedly mentioned in Egyptian sources and the Amarna Letters as Yapu. There are several legends about the origin of the name Jaffa. Some say it is named for Japheth, one of the sons of Noah, who built it after the Great Flood.[citation needed] The Hellenist tradition links the name to "Iopeia", which is Cassiopeia, the mother of Andromeda. An outcropping of rocks near the harbor is reputed to have been the place from which Andromeda was rescued by Perseus. Pliny the Elder associates the name with Jopa, the daughter of Aeolus, god of wind. The Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi mentions it under the name Yaffa, which is used by Arabic speakers today.

History

Antiquity

Painting of Jaffa in 1887

Tel Yafo (Jaffa Hill) rises to a height of 40 meters (130 ft) and offers a commanding view of the coastline; hence its strategic importance in military history. The accumulation of debris and landfill over the centuries made the hill even higher. Archaeological evidence shows that Jaffa was inhabited some 7,500 years BCE.[2] Jaffa's natural harbor has been in use since the Bronze Age. Jaffa is mentioned in an Ancient Egyptian letter from 1440 BCE, glorifying its conquest by Pharaoh Thutmose III, whose general, Djehuty hid armed Egyptian warriors in large baskets and sent the baskets as a present to the Canaanite city's governor. The city is also mentioned in the Amarna letters under its Egyptian name Ya-Pho, ( Ya-Pu, EA 296, l.33). The city was under Egyptian rule until around 800 BCE.

Jaffa is mentioned four times in the Hebrew Bible, as one of the cities given to the Hebrew Tribe of Dan (Book of Joshua 19:46), as port-of-entry for the cedars of Lebanon for Solomon's Temple (2 Chronicles 2:15), as the place whence the prophet Jonah embarked for Tarshish (Book of Jonah 1:3) and as port-of-entry for the cedars of Lebanon for the Second Temple of Jerusalem (Book of Ezra 3:7). Jaffa is mentioned in the Book of Joshua as the territorial border of the Tribe of Dan, hence the nowadays term "Gush Dan", used for the center of the coastal plain. Many descendants of Dan lived along the coast and earned their living from shipmaking and sailing. In the "Song of Deborah" the prophetess asks: "דן למה יגור אוניות": "Why doth Dan dwell in ships?"[3]

After the Canaanite and Philistean domination, King David and his son King Solomon conquered Jaffa and used its port to bring the cedars used in the construction of the First Temple from Tyre. The city remained often in Jewish hands even after the split of the Kingdom of Israel. In 701 BCE, in the days of King Hezekiah (חזקיהו), Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded the region from Jaffa.

After a period of Babylonian occupation, under Persian rule, Jaffa was governed by Phoenicians from Tyre. Then it knew the presence of Alexander the Great's troops and later became a Seleucid Hellenized port until it was taken over by the Maccabean rebels (1 Maccabees x.76, xiv.5) and the refounded Jewish kingdom. During the Roman repression of the Jewish Revolt, Jaffa was captured and burned by Cestius Gallus. The Roman Jewish historian Josephus (Jewish War 2.507-509, 3:414-426) writes that 8,400 inhabitants were massacred. Pirates operating from the rebuilt port incurred the wrath of Vespasian, who razed the city and erected a citadel in its place, installing a Roman garrison there.

The New Testament account of St. Peter's resurrection of the widow Tabitha (Dorcas, Gr.) written in Acts 9:36–42 takes place in Jaffa. St. Peter later had here a vision in which God told him not to distinguish between Jews and Gentiles as told in Acts 10:10–16.

Medieval period

Jaffa Museum in Old Saray building

A fairly unimportant Roman and Byzantine locality during the first centuries of Christianity, Jaffa did not have a bishop until the fifth century AD. In 636 Jaffa was conquered by Arabs. Under Islamic rule, it served as a port of Ramla, then the provincial capital. Jaffa was captured in 1100 after the First Crusade, and was the centre of the County of Jaffa and Ascalon, one of the vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. One of its counts, John of Ibelin, wrote the principal book of the Assizes of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. During the period of the Crusades, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela (1170) sojourned at Jaffa, and found there just one Jew, a dyer by trade. Saladin conquered Jaffa in 1187. The city surrendered to King Richard the Lionheart on September 10, 1191, three days after the Battle of Arsuf. Despite efforts by Saladin to reoccupy the city in July 1192 (see Battle of Jaffa) the city remained in the hands of the Crusaders. On September 2, 1192, the Treaty of Jaffa was formally signed, guaranteeing a three-year truce between the two armies. In 1268, Jaffa was conquered by Egyptian Mamluks, led by Baibars. In the 14th century, the city was completely destroyed for fear of new crusades. According to the traveler Cotwyk, Jaffa was a heap of ruins at the end of the 16th century. [citation needed]

Ottoman period

Arab woman in Jaffa, 1889

In 1515 Jaffa was conquered by the Ottoman Sultan Salim I. The seventeenth century saw the beginning of the re-establishment of churches and hostels for Christian pilgrims en route to Jerusalem and the Galilee. During the eighteenth century the coastline around Jaffa was regularly besieged by pirates and this led to the inhabitants relocating to Ramleh and Lydd where they relied on messages from a solitary guard house to inform them when ships were approaching the harbour. The landing of goods and passengers was notoriously difficult and dangerous. Until well into the twentieth century, ships had to rely on teams of oarsmen to bring their cargo ashore.[4]

Boatmen waiting to land passengers, circa 1911

Residential life in the city was reestablished in the early nineteenth century. In 1820 Isaiah Ajiman of Istanbul built a synagogue and hostel for the accommodation of Jews on their way to the holy cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias and Safed. The appointment of Mahmud Aja as Ottoman governor in marked the beginning of a period of stability and growth for the city, interrupted by the 1832 conquest of the city by Muhammed Ali of Egypt. Growth resumed after the 1842 return of the Levant to Ottoman rule courtesy of the combined efforts of the British and French navies. The city walls were dismantled in 1872.[citation needed] On March 7, 1799 Napoleon I of France captured the town in what became known as the Siege of Jaffa, ransacked it, and killed scores of local inhabitants. Many more died in an epidemic that broke out soon afterwards.[5] The governor who was appointed after these devastating events, Muhammad Abu-Nabbut, commenced wide-ranging building and restoration work in Jaffa, including the Mahmoudiya Mosque and Sabil Abu Nabbut. During the 1834 Arab revolt in Palestine, Jaffa was besieged for forty days by 'mountaineers in revolt against Ibrahim Pasha. [6]

American missionary Ellen Clare Miller, visiting Jaffa in 1867, reported that the town had a population of 'about 5000, 1000 of these being Christians, 800 Jews and the rest Moslems.'[7][8]

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the population of Jaffa had swelled considerably. A group of Jews left Jaffa for the sand dunes to the north, where in 1909 they held a lottery to divide the lots acquired earlier. The settlement was known at first as Ahuzat Bayit (Hebrew: אחוזת בית), but an assembly of its residents changed its name to Tel Aviv on 21 May 1910. Other Jewish suburbs to Jaffa were founded at about the same time. In 1904, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1864–1935) moved to Palestine and took up the position of chief rabbi of Jaffa.[9]In 1917, the Ottoman authorities expelled the entire civilian population. While the Muslim evacuees were allowed to return before long, the Jewish evacuees remained in camps (and some in Egypt) until after the British conquest.[10]

Under the British mandate

See also: Jaffa riots
British soldiers outside Jaffa municipality building
Alhambra Cinema, 1937

During 1917–1920, there were thousands of Jewish residents in Jaffa. A wave of Arab attacks during 1920 and 1921 caused many Jewish residents to flee and resettle in Tel Aviv. The 1921 riots (known in Hebrew as Meoraot Tarpa) began with a May Day parade that turned violent. The Arab rioters attacked Jewish residents and buildings. The Hebrew author Yosef Haim Brenner was killed by Arabs in Jaffa. At the end of 1922, Jaffa had 32,000 residents and Tel Aviv, 15,000. By 1927, the population of Tel Aviv was up to 38,000. The Jews of Jaffa lived on the outskirts of Jaffa, close to Tel Aviv, whereas the old city was predominantly Arab.

The 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, also known as the Great Arab uprising, inflicted great economic and infrastructural damage on Jaffa. On April 19, 1936, the Arab leadership of Palestine declared a general strike which paralyzed the economy. The strike began in the Port of Jaffa, which had become a symbol of Arab resistance.[11]. Military reinforcements were brought in from Malta and Egypt to subdue the rioting which spread throughout the country. Jaffa's old city, with its maze of homes, winding alleyways and underground sewer system, provided an ideal escape route for the rioters fleeing the British army.[11] In May, municipal services were cut off, the old city was barricaded, and access roads were covered with glass shards and nails.[11] In June, British bombers dropped boxes of leaflets in Arabic requesting the inhabitants to evacuate that same day.[11] On the evening of June 17, 1936, 1,500 British soldiers entered Jaffa and a British warship sealed off escape routes by sea. The British Royal Engineers blew up homes from east to west, leaving an open strip that cut through the heart of the city from end to end. On June 29, security forces implemented another stage of the plan, carving a swath from north to south.[11] The mandatory authorities claimed the operation was part of a "facelift" of the old city.[11]

In 1945, Jaffa had a population of 101,580, of whom 53,930 were Muslims, 30,820 were Jews and 16,800 were Christians.[12] The Christians were mostly Greek Orthodox and about one sixth of them were Greek-Catholic. One of the most prominent members of the Arab Christian community was the Arab Orthodox publisher of Filastin, Issa Daoud El-Issa.

1947 UN Partition Plan and 1948 War

In 1947, the UN Special Commission on Palestine recommended that Jaffa be included in the planned Jewish state. Due to the large Arab majority, however, it was instead designated as part of the Arab state in the 1947 UN Partition Plan.[13]

Following the inter-communal violence which broke out following the passing of the UN partition resolution the mayors of Jaffa and Tel Aviv tried to calm their communities.[14] One of the main concerns for the people of Jaffa was the protection of the citrus fruit export trade which had still not reached its pre-Second World War highs.[15] In February Jaffa's Mayor, Yussuf Haykal, contacted David Ben-Gurion through a British intermediary trying to secure a peace agreement with Tel Aviv. But both Ben Gurion's Haganah and the commander of the militia in Jaffa were opposed.[16]

At the beginning of 1948 Jaffa's defenders consisted of one Brigade of around 400 men organised by the Muslim Brotherhood.[17]

Ruins of the 'Serrani' after the Irgun bomb attack

On 4 January 1948 the Lehi detonated a truck bomb outside the 3-storey 'Serrani', Jaffa's Ottoman built Town Hall, killing 26 and injuring hundreds. The driver was reported to be wearing the uniform of the Royal Irish Fusiliers.[18][19][20][21]

On April 25, 1948, Irgun launched an offensive on Jaffa. This began with a mortar bombardment which went on for three days during which twenty tons of high explosive were fired into the town.[22]. On April 27 the British Government, fearing a repetition of the mass exodus from Haifa the week before, ordered the British Army to confront the Irgun and their offensive ended. Simultaneously the Haganah had launched Operation Chametz which over-ran the villages East of Jaffa and cut the town off from the interior.[23]

The population of Jaffa on the eve of the attack was between 50,000 - 60,000, with some 20,000 people having already left the town. 'Then a strange phenomenon was revealed before our eyes: the mass flight from Jaffa. Arab civilians and a variety of "Arab" fighters suddenly began to leave the town in panic'.[24] By 30 April there were 15,000 - 25,000 remaining.[25][26] In the following days a further 10,000 - 20,000 people fled by sea. When the Haganah took control of the town on May 14 around 4,000 people were left.[27] The town and harbour's warehouses were extensively looted.[28][29] The remaining Arab residents were forced into the Ajami neighborhood, surrounded by barbed wire, where martial law was in effect for a year.

Initially, the mayor of Jaffa mayor, Yousef Heikal, told the residents not to leave. He left the country for three days. Upon his return, he reported that Jaffa would soon be occupied by the Jews and he was leaving with his family. According to an old-time resident, "People then started to leave by ships and trains. All the routes to the Arab countries were opened, and people could leave for free. The Arab countries were responsible. After a week there was nothing left but cats and dogs. We few families who stayed went to live in the orange groves."[30]

Boundary demarcation of Tel Aviv-Jaffa

Alleyway in Jaffa's Old City
Building in Jaffa's American colony

The boundaries of Tel Aviv and Jaffa became a matter of contention between the Tel Aviv municipality and the Israeli government during 1948.[31] The former wished to incorporate only the northern Jewish suburbs of Jaffa, while the latter wanted a more complete unification.[31] The issue also had international sensitivity, since the main part of Jaffa was in the Arab portion of the United Nations Partition Plan, whereas Tel Aviv was not, and no armistice agreements had yet been signed.[31] On 10 December 1948, the government announced the annexation to Tel Aviv of Jaffa's Jewish suburbs, the Arab neighborhood of Abu Kabir, the Arab village of Salama and some of its agricultural land, and the Jewish 'Hatikva' slum.[31] On 25 February 1949, the abandoned Arab village of Sheikh Muanis was also annexed to Tel Aviv.[31] On 18 May 1949, the Arab neighborhood of Manshiya and part of Jaffa's central zone were added, for the first time including land that had been in the Arab portion of the UN partition plan.[31] The government decided on a permanent unification of Tel Aviv and Jaffa on 4 October 1949, but the actual unification was delayed until 24 April 1950 due to concerted opposition from Tel Aviv's mayor Israel Rokach.[31] The name of the unified city was Tel Aviv until 19 August 1950, when it was renamed as Tel Aviv-Yafo in order to preserve the historical name Jaffa.[31]

Economy

Jaffa lighthouse

In the 19th century, Jaffa was best known for its soap industry. Modern industry emerged in the late 1880s.[32] The most successful enterprises were metalworking factories, among them the machine shop run by the Templers that employed over 100 workers in 1910.[32] Other factories produced orange-crates, barrels, corks, noodles, ice, seltzer, candy, soap, olive oil, leather, alkali, wine, cosmetics and ink.[32] Most of the newspapers and books printed in Palestine were published in Jaffa.

In 1859, a Jewish visitor, Dr L.A. Frankl, found sixty-five Jewish families living in Jaffa, 'about 400 soul in all.' Of these four were shoemakers, three tailors, one silversmith and one watchmaker. There were also merchants and shopkeepers and 'many live by manual labour, porters, sailors, messengers, etc.'[33]

Until the mid-19th century, Jaffa's orange groves were mainly owned by Arabs, who employed traditional methods of farming. The pioneers of modern agriculture in Jaffa were American settlers, who brought in farm machinery in the 1850s and 1860s, followed by the Templers and the Jews.[34]From the 1880s, real estate became an important branch of the economy. A 'biarah' (a watered garden) cost 100,000 piastres and annually produced 15,000, of which the farming costs were 5,000: 'A very fair percentage return on the investment.' Water for the gardens was easily accessible with wells between ten and forty feet deep.[35][36] Jaffa's citrus industry began to flourish in the last quarter of the 19th century. E.C. Miller records that 'about ten million' oranges were being exported annually, and that the town was surrounded by 'three or four hundred orange gardens, each containing upwards of one thousand trees'.[37] Shamuti oranges were the major crop, but citrons, lemons and mandarin oranges were also grown.[38] Jaffa had a reputation for producing the best pomegranates.[39]

Demography

Jaffa port

Modern Jaffa has a heterogeneous population of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. In 2010, the population was 54,000: 40,000 Jews (74%) and 14,000 (26%) Arab citizens of Israel.[citation needed] The majority of the Arab population lives in the renewed southwestern neighborhood of Ajami.[citation needed]

Socioeconomic and political problems

Jaffa suffers from drug problems, high crime rates and violence. Some Arab residents have alleged that the Israeli authorities are attempting to Judaize Jaffa by evicting Arab residents from houses owned by the Amidar government-operated public housing company. Amidar representatives say the residents are illegal squatters.[40] The 2010 film Port of Memory explores these themes, following the lives of Palestinians inhabiting the area, staving off expulsion.[41]The Tel Aviv municipality had been accused of trying to erase the city's Arab past. In the early 1950s, many Arabic street names were replaced by Hebrew names.

Mosques

Al-Bahr overlooking Jaffa seashore

Al-Bahr Mosque, overlooking the harbor, is depicted in a painting from 1675 by the Dutch painter Lebrun. It may be Jaffa's oldest existing mosque, although the original date of construction is unknown and changes to the structure have been made since then, such as the addition of a second floor and reconstruction of the upper part of the minaret. It was used by fishermen and sailors frequenting the port, and residents of the surrounding area. According to local legend, the wives of sailors living in Jaffa prayed there for the safe return of their husbands. The mosque was renovated in 1997.[42]

Mahmoudia Mosque was built in 1812 by Abu Nabbut, governor of Jaffa from 1810-1820.[43] Outside the mosque is a water fountain (sabil) for pilgrims.[44]Nouzha Mosque on Jerusalem Boulevard is Jaffa's main mosque today.

Urban development

From the 1990s onwards, efforts have been made to restore Arab and Islamic landmarks, such as the Mosque of the Sea and Hassan Bek Mosque, and document the history of Jaffa's Arab population. Parts of the Old City have been renovated, turning Jaffa into a tourist attraction featuring old restored buildings, art galleries, theaters, souvenir shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes and promenades. Beyond the Old City and tourist sites, many neighborhoods of Jaffa are poor and underdeveloped. However, real-estate prices have risen sharply due to gentrification projects in al-Ajami and Lev Yafo.[45] The municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa is currently working to beautify and modernize the port area, and are expanding the boardwalk along the sea from Bat Yam to Tel Aviv. They are also constructing a light rail that will travel from Bat Yam to Petach Tikvah and throughout the Gush Dan territory.

Landmarks

Jaffa clock tower

The Clock Square with its distinctive clocktower was built in 1906 in honor of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The Saraya (governor's palace) was built in the 1890s.[46] St. Peter's Church is a Franciscan church and hospice built in the 19th century on the remains of a Crusaders fortress; Napoleon is believed to have stayed there. St. Michael's Church, restored in 1994, serves Romanian Christians. St. Tabitha chapel serves the Russian Christian community, with services in Russian and Hebrew. St. Peter's Church was built in 1895 on the site of St. Peter's resurrection of Tabitha. Inside the monastery is the site of the house where St. Tabitha lived with her family. Immanuel Church, built 1904, serves today a Lutheran congregation with services in English and Hebrew. Andromeda rock is the rock to which beautiful Andromeda was chained in Greek mythology.[citation needed] The Zodiac alleys are a maze of restored alleys leading to the harbor. Jaffa Hill is a center for archaeological finds, including restored Egyptian gates, about 3,500 years old. The Libyan Synagogue'(Beit Zunana) was a synagogue built by a Jewish landlord, Zunana, in the 18th century. It was turned into a hotel and then a soap factory, and reopened as a synagogue for Libyan Jewish immigrants after 1948. In 1995, it became a museum. Jaffa Lighthouse is an inactive lighthouse located in the old port.

Jaffa Museum

The Jaffa Museum is located in an 18th century Ottoman building constructed on the remains of a Crusader fortress. In 1811, Abu Nabout turned it into his seat of government. In the late 19th century, the governmental moved to the "New Saraya," and the building was sold to a wealthy Greek-Orthodox family who established a soap factory there. Since the 1960s, it has housed an archaeological museum.[47]

Archaeology

Excavations on Rabbi Pinchas Street in the flea market have revealed walls and water conduits dating to the Iron Age, Hellenistic period, early Islamic period, Crusader period and Ottoman era. A limestone slab (50 cm × 50 cm or 20 in × 20 in) engraved with a menorah discovered on Tanchum Street is believed to be the door of a tomb.[48]

Transportation

Jaffa promenade

Bus

Currently Jaffa is served by bus only. Dan is the biggest bus company in the area. It operates frequent service to various neighborhoods of Tel Aviv, and also connects Jaffa to Bat Yam.

Light rail

The Red Line of the planned Tel Aviv Light Rail will cross Jaffa north to south along Jerusalem Boulevard.

Jaffa Railway Station

Main article: Jaffa Railway Station

Jaffa Railway Station was the first railway station in the Middle East, it served as the terminus for the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. The station was opened in 1891 and closed in 1948; during 2005-2009 the station was restored and converted to an entertainment and leisure venue.

Film

Jaffa flea market

Clash of the Titans (1981 film) is set in ancient Joppa. The 2009 Oscar nominated film Ajami is set in modern Jaffa.

See also

References

  1. ^ Hai, Yigal (January 15, 2008). "Archaeological discoveries may prove barrier to Jaffa port rejuvenation" (Document). Haaretz. {{cite document}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Excavations at Ancient Jaffa (Joppa). Tel Aviv University
  3. ^ Judges 5:17
  4. ^ W.M. Thomson, 'The Land and the Book'. c. 1860. page 515.
  5. ^ Jaffa: A City in Evolution Ruth Kark, Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Jerusalem, 1990, pp.8-9
  6. ^ Thomson. page 515.
  7. ^ Ellen Clare Miller, 'Eastern Sketches - notes of scenery, schools and tent life in Syria and Palestine'. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Company. 1871. page 97. see also Miller's populations of Damascus, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nablus and Samaria
  8. ^ Thompson (above) writing in 1856 has '25 years ago the inhabitants of the city and gardens were about 6000; now there must be 15,000 at least...' Considering the length of time he lived in the area this may be a more accurate count.
  9. ^ Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, Jewish Virtual Library.
  10. ^ Friedman, Isaiah (1971). German Intervention on Behalf of the "Yishuv", 1917 , Jewish Social Studies, Vol. 33, pp. 23–43.
  11. ^ a b c d e f The Land That Become Israel: Studies in Historical Geography, ed. Ruth Kark, Yale University Press & Magnes Press, 1989, "Aerial Perspectives of Past Landscapes," Dov Gavish, pp.316-317
  12. ^ Supplement to a Survey of Palestine (p. 12-13) which was prepared by the British Mandate for the United Nations in 1946-7
  13. ^ 'The area of the Arab enclave of Jaffa consists of that part of the town-planning area of Jaffa which lies to the west of the Jewish quarters lying south of Tel-Aviv, to the west of the continuation of Herzl street up to its junction with the Jaffa-Jerusalem road, to the south-west of the section of the Jaffa-Jerusalem road lying south-east of that junction, to the west of Miqve Israel lands, to the north-west of Holon local council area, to the north of the line linking up the north-west corner of Holon with the north-east corner of Bat Yam local council area and to the north of Bat Yam local council area. The question of Karton quarter will be decided by the Boundary Commission, bearing in mind among other considerations the desirability of including the smallest possible number of its Arab inhabitants and the largest possible number of its Jewish inhabitants in the Jewish State.' UN Partion Plan details.Resolution 181 (II). Future government of Palestine A/RES/181(II)(A+B) 29 November 1947
  14. ^ Dov Joseph, 'The Faithful City', Simon and Schuster, 1960. Library of Congress number: 60-10976. page 24: 'In an exchange of letters between Mayor Yisrael Rokach of Tel Aviv and Mayor Youssef Haikal of Jaffa, both agreed to call upon the residents to maintain peace and quite'.
  15. ^ 'A survey of Palestine', printed 1946-1947. Reprinted ISP, Washington, 1991 ISBN 0-8728-211-3. page 474: Exports of citrus fruit total value in Palestine Pounds, 1938/39 = P£4,355,853. 1944/1945 = P£1,474,854. Ironically, due to the Nazi conquest of Holland, Tel Aviv's trade in polished diamonds had increased over three-fold to P£3,235,117. page 476
  16. ^ Benny Morris, 'The birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, 1947-1949', Cambridge University Press, 1987, ISBN 0 521 33028 9. Page 47.
  17. ^ Herbert Pritzke 'Bedouin Doctor - The adventures of a German in the Middle East', Translated by Richard Graves. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London. 1957. Copyright Ullstein and Co, Vienna, 1956. Page 149: 'At that time the Arab Brigade in Jaffa consisted of seven Germans, one hundred and fifty Jugoslavs, thirty Egyptians and two hundred Lebanese and Syrians. There were very few Palestinians among them as these preferred irregular warfare with the National Guard ...'
  18. ^ The Scotsman newspaper, 6th January 1948
  19. ^ LeBor, Adam (21 January 2006). "Jaffa: Divided it fell". The Independent.
  20. ^ Walid Khalidi states that 25 civilians were killed and dates the attack as occurring on 4 January. 'Before their Diaspora', 1984. p.316, picture p.325
  21. ^ Benny Morris, 'The Birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, 1947-1949', Cambridge University Press, 197. ISBN 0 521 33028 9. Attributes attack to 'LHI' (Lehi), doesn't number and gives date as 4th January. p. 46
  22. ^ Morris page 95; Menachem Begin, 'The Revolt - story of the Irgun'. Translated by Samuel Katz. Hadar Publishing, Tel Aviv. 1964. Page 355 - 371.
  23. ^ Morris, page 100.
  24. ^ Morris, page 95
  25. ^ Morris page 100
  26. ^ Begin, page 363.
  27. ^ Morris, page 101: 'On 18 May Ben-Gurion visited the conquered city for the first time and commented:"I couldn't understand: Why did the inhabitants of Jaffa leave?"'
  28. ^ Jon Kimche, 'Seven Falen Pillars; The Middle East, 1915 - 1950'. Secker and Warburg, London. 1950. page 224 :'the orgy of looting and wanton destruction which hangs like a black pall over almost all the Jewish military successes.'
  29. ^ Wellsprings of memory - Haaretz - Israel News
  30. ^ LeBor, Adam (21 January 2006). "Jaffa: Divided it fell". The Independent.
  31. ^ a b c d e f g h Arnon Golan (1995), The demarcation of Tel Aviv-Jaffa's municipal boundaries, Planning Perspectives, vol. 10, pp. 383-398.
  32. ^ a b c Jaffa: A City in Evolution Ruth Kark, Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Jerusalem, 1990, pp.256-257.
  33. ^ Dr Frankl, translated by P. Beaton, 'The Jews in the East'. Volume 1. Hurst and Blackett, London, 1859. page 345. He adds 'The community is poor, and receives no alms from any quarter.' which resulted in some envy of the 'our bethren' in Jerusalem.
  34. ^ Jaffa: A City in Evolution Ruth Kark, Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Jerusalem, 1990, pp. 244-246.
  35. ^ Thompson. Page 517
  36. ^ Jaffa: A City in Evolution Ruth Kark, Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Jerusalem, 1990, p.262.
  37. ^ Miller page 97: 'The orange gardens are the finest in the East; and during the late winter and early spring, little white sailed vessels from Greece, Constantinople and the islands of the Archipelago, lie in calm weather at a short distance from the coast, waiting to carry away the fruit'.
  38. ^ Jaffa: A City in Evolution Ruth Kark, Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Jerusalem, 1990, pp. 242.
  39. ^ Thomson p.517: Sidon has best banannas, Jaffa the best pomegranates, oranges of Sidon are more juicy and have richer flavour. Jaffa oranges hang on the trees much later, and will bear shipping to distant regions.'
  40. ^ Protesters rally in Jaffa against move to evict local Arab families 28/4/07, Haaretz
  41. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1420561/
  42. ^ Al-Bahr mosque in Jaffa
  43. ^ http://www.artmag.com/galeries/israel/jafphco/aisjaco6.html
  44. ^ http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=7227
  45. ^ Changes in the air for Ajami - JPost
  46. ^ Tel-Aviv/Yafo Municipality
  47. ^ Old Jaffa Museum
  48. ^ http://www.biblicalproductions.com/archeological_excavations.htm

Bibliography

  • Segev, Tom (1998). 1949, the First Israelis. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 0805058966.
  • Levine, Mark (2005). Overthrowing Geography, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and the Struggle for Palestine, 1880-1948. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520239946.
  • Yahav, Dan (2004). Yafo, kalat ha-yam : me-ʻir roshah li-shekhunot ʻoni, degem le-i-shiṿyon merḥavi (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Tamouz. OCLC 59707598.
  • Chelouche, Yosef Eliyahu (2005). Arashat Hayai: 1870-1930 (English: Reminiscences of My Life: 1870-1930) (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Babel. ISBN 9655120961. OCLC 62317894.
  • Šārôn Rôṭbard, Šārôn (2005). ʻÎr levānā, ʻîr šeḥôrā (English: White City, Black City) (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Babel. ISBN 9655120953. OCLC 260080254.
  • Lebor, Adam (2007). City of Oranges. Arabs and Jews in Jaffa. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0747586020.
  • Weill-Rochant, Catherine (2008). L'atlas de Tel Aviv : 1908-2008 (in French). Paris: CNRS Éditions. ISBN 2271066581.
  • Morris, Benny (1987). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521330289.
  • "Jaffa - Bride of the Sea" or "Yaffo - Kalat Hayam" 2000, By Israeli artist Natali Lipin (views of the city Old Jaffa). Language - Hebrew/English.
  • Yavin, Shmuel (2006). Bauhaus in Jaffa: Modern Architecture in an Ancient City. Tel Aviv: Bauhaus Center. ISBN 9659060629.

External links

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