Rameh
| |
|---|---|
Local council (from 2005) | |
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • ISO 259 | Ráma |
| • Also spelled | Rame (official) al-Rama (unofficial) |
 | |
  Rameh  Rameh | |
| Coordinates:32°56′21″N35°22′02″E / 32.93917°N 35.36722°E /32.93917; 35.36722 | |
| Grid position | 184/260PAL |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Northern |
| Area | |
• Total | 6,118dunams (6.118 km2; 2.362 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[1] | |
• Total | 8,413 |
| • Density | 1,375/km2 (3,562/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Arabs | 99.8% |
| • Jews and others | 0.2% |
| Name meaning | "Lofty" or "Elevated"[2] |
Rameh (Arabic:الرامة;Hebrew:רָמָה; alternatively spelledar-Rame orar-Rama) is anArabtown in theNorthern District ofIsrael. Located east ofNahf andKarmiel, in 2023 it had a population of 8,413.[1] Around half of the inhabitants are Christians, mostlyGreek Orthodox andGreek Catholic, over a third areDruze and the remainder are Muslims.
A village council was established for Rameh under the British in 1922, of the first inMandatory Palestine. Rameh's Christian and Muslim residents were temporarily expelled after its capture by Israeli forces in the1948 Arab-Israeli War, but they returned to the village, which also became home to many internally displaced Palestinians from nearby villages. A village council was established in 1954 by the Israeli government to oversee village affairs; from 1959 on, council members were elected. As of the 1960s, the people of Rameh have been noted for their high levels of education and standards of living. The village was home to the well-known poetSamih al-Qasim, the Greek Orthodox archbishopAtallah Hanna and artistMira Awad.
The village is well known for its diverse cuisine, which draws many visitors from across the country. It is also noteworthy for being surrounded by vastolive groves and forproducing high-qualityolive oil.[3][4][5]
The village is situated on an ancient site, atop a hill at the edge ofBeit HaKerem Valley.
Edward Robinson identifies Rameh with the ancient Ramah of Asher (Joshua 19:29), citing its location and ancientsarcophagi discovered on a hill outside the village as evidence.[6]
Rameh features ruins of several structures dating from the Late Roman and Byzantine periods. To the east are remains ofRoman baths, dating to the 2nd to 4th century, and oil presses from the same period. South and southeast of the village, remains of building foundations were discovered, including anAramaic inscription on alintel, which indicate a 3rd to 4th-centurysynagogue.[7][8] The inscription, consisting of two uneven lines of roughly incisedJewish script, is accompanied by reliefs depicting twocherub-like figures flanking a wreath. The text translates to "Remembered for the good be Rabbi ʾElʿazar son of Peraḥiah(?) and his sons … the gate …".[9]
To the northeast of the Roman bath are the remains of a largebasilica. It was excavated in 1972 and very large column bases were found, together withpolychromemosaics representing fauna and flora.[7][8]
Many remains of pottery vessels dated to the Late Roman period (4th–5th centuries CE) have also been found,[10] together with building remains from theByzantine period.[11]
In 1517, Rameh was with the rest of Palestine incorporated into theOttoman Empire after it was captured from theMamluks, and by 1596, it was a village under the administration of thenahiya ("subdistrict") ofAkka (Acre), part ofSafad Sanjak, with a population of 96 households, allMuslim. It paid taxes onsilk spinning (dulab harir),[12] goats, beehives, and a press that was used for processing either olives or grapes, in addition to paying a fixed, or lump sum; a total 21,986akçe. Half of the revenue went to awaqf (religious endowment).[13][14]
A map fromNapoleon's invasion of 1799 byPierre Jacotin showed the place, named as "Ramah".[15] Rameh was entirely destroyed in theGalilee earthquake of 1837, with 180 of its inhabitants killed.[16] The following year, Rameh was noted as Christian and Druze village in the Shaghur district, located betweenSafed, Acre andTiberias.[17][18]Victor Guérin visited the village in 1875, and found it to have 800 inhabitants, half Christian and halfDruze.[19] In 1881 thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as "a village, built of stone, of good materials, containing a Greek chapel and about 600 Christians and 500 Druzes; it is situated in plains, with large olive-groves, gardens and vineyards; five perennial springs near the village, and severalcisterns in it."[20] A population list from about 1887 showed that Rameh had about 1,125 inhabitants; 575 Muslims, 425 Druze and 125 Greek Catholics.[21]
Under theBritish Mandatory administration in Palestine, a municipal council was established for Rameh on 15 October 1922.[22] In the1922 census of Palestine, Rameh had a total population 847; 624 Christians, 195 Druze and 28 Muslims.[23] Among the Christians, 474 were Greek Orthodox, 47 Roman Catholics, 102 Greek Catholic (Melkites) and oneMaronite.[24] The population increased in the1931 census to 1,142 residents living in 254 houses. The religious breakdown of the population was 746 Christians, 326 Druze and 70 Muslims.[25]
In the1945 statistics Rameh had a population of 1,690; 1,160 Christians, 440 "others"(Druze), and 90 Muslims.[26] with 24,516dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[27] Of this, 8,310 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 3,078 used for grains,[28] while 56 dunams were built-up land.[29]
Rameh was captured by Israeli forces from theGolani Brigade without resistance on 30 October 1948 followingOperation Hiram.[30] Another Israeli unit entered the village during the next day and expelled 1,000 of its Muslim and Christian inhabitants on the threat of death, though the Druze were allowed to remain.[31] The historianBenny Morris surmises that the expulsion order may have been driven by local Druze pressure to expel Rameh's Christians or a punitive response to the public support from one of Rameh's leading Christian notables, Father Yakub al-Hanna, forFawzi al-Qawuqji, the leader of theArab Liberation Army (ALA), one of the principal Arab forces in the Galilee during the1948 Arab-Israeli war.[31] The Israeli unit departed the village on 5 November and Rameh's expelled residents returned to the village after having camped out in the surroundingwadis (dry river beds) and caves.[31] Their return was likely enabled by the intervention of the Israeli officerBen Dunkelman of the7th Brigade, who protested the expulsion order.[31] Many Christians expelled from the captured village ofIqrit settled in Rameh.[32]
In 1954 alocal council was appointed to administer Rameh's local affairs.[33] Members of the 13-council were elected for the first time in 1959.[33] In 1989 Fathinah Hana was elected head of Rameh's local council, one of three Arab women elected heads of municipal or local councils in Israel, the other two being Samiyah Hakhim inNazareth and Nahidah Shehadeh inKafr Yasif; before them, only one Arab woman in Israel had been elected to the position,Violet Khoury of Kafr Yasif in 1979–1988.[34] Rameh is home of the Abu Latifs, aDruzecrime family which operate mainly in thenorth, and one of main three Arab crime organizations in Israel.[35]
In 2017, 53% of the residents of Rameh wereChristian,[36] 31% wereDruze[37] and 16% wereMuslim. In 2022, 49.8% of the population was Christian, 31.4% was Druze and 18.8% was Muslim.[38]
Writing in the 1960s, the historian Jacob Landau noted that Rameh was "distinguished by its high level of education and standard of living, expressed in the home, dress and general behaviour".[33] At the time at least, theGreek Orthodox community was the largest religious group in the village and held the most influence over its local affairs, followed by theGreek Catholics (Melkites).[33] TheDruze maintained significant numbers in Rameh, but were politically divided at the time into two factions, while the smaller Christian communities, namely theRoman Catholics, and the Muslims, most of whom wereinternally displaced refugees from nearby villages, wielded little political influence.[33] The Druze of Rameh are generally known to be the "least traditionally minded [Druze] in Israel", according to the historian Robert Betts.[39]
In alphabetical order by surname, article excluded:
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