Upper Galilee | |
|---|---|
 A lemon orchard in the Galilee | |
 Interactive map of Upper Galilee | |
| Coordinates:32°59′N35°24′E / 32.983°N 35.400°E /32.983; 35.400 | |
| Part of |  Israel Lebanon |
| Highest elevation | 1,208 m (3,963 ft) |
TheUpper Galilee (Hebrew:הגליל העליון,HaGalil Ha'Elyon;Arabic:الجليل الأعلى,Al Jaleel Al A'alaa) is a geographical region located in northernIsrael andsouthern Lebanon. Part of the largerGalilee region, it is characterized by its higher elevations and mountainous terrain. The term "Upper Galilee" is ancient, and has been in use since the end of theSecond Temple period. From a political perspective, the Upper Galilee is situated within the administrative boundaries of theNorthern District of Israel.
The Upper Galilee is known for its natural beauty, including lush landscapes,Mediterranean forests, and scenic vistas. Significant natural sites includeNahal Amud and theKeshet Cave. It's also an area where vineyards and wineries thrive, producing quality wines.Mount Meron stands as the highest point in the area, reaching an elevation of 1,208 meters above sea level.Safed is a main city in the region and also hosts anartists' quarter that was a major center ofIsraeli art.[1][2]
Although historical definitions encompass parts of southern Lebanon within the boundaries of the Upper Galilee, the Lebanese government does not use the term "Galilee" for any part of its territory.
Originally, the term "Upper Galilee" referred to a larger region, encompassing the mountainous regions of what is today northern Israel andsouthern Lebanon. The boundaries of this region were theLitani River in the north, theMediterranean Sea in the west, theLower Galilee in the south (from which it is separated by theBeit HaKerem Valley), and the upperJordan River and theHula Valley in the east.[3]
According to the first century Jewish historianJosephus, the bounds of Upper Galilee stretched fromBersabe in the Beit HaKerem Valley toBaca (Peki'in) in the north, and from Meloth toThella.[4] The extent of this region is approximately 470 km2.[5]
In present-day usage, thetoponym mainly refers only to the northern part of theGalilee that is under Israeli sovereignty. That is, the term today does not include the portion ofSouthern Lebanon up to the Litani River, or the corresponding stretches of theIsraeli Coastal Plain to the west, or theJordan Rift Valley to the east. These are considered to be separate geographical areas that are not part of “Upper Galilee.”[citation needed]
The Upper Galilee is home to numerous significantancient synagogues, dating fromRoman andByzantine times. Those include the synagogues ofBar'am,[6]Nabratein,[7]Gush Halav,[8]Huqoq,[9]Chorazin,[10]Meron[11] and a few others. Remains of synagogues has also been found inQision[12] andAlma.[13]
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Following the dissolution of theOttoman Empire and theBalfour Declaration in which theBritish Empire promised to create "A Jewish National Home" in Palestine, theZionist Movement presented to theVersailles Peace Conference a document calling for including in theBritish Mandate of Palestine the entire territory up to theLitani river—with a view to this becoming eventually part of a future Jewish state.
However, only less than half this area was actually included in British Mandatory Palestine, the final border being influenced both by diplomatic maneuverings and struggles between Britain and France and by fighting on the ground, especially the March 1920 battle ofTel Hai.
For a considerable time after the border was defined so to make the northern portion of the territory concerned part of the French mandated territory that became Lebanon, many Zionist geographers—and Israeli geographers in the state's early years—continued to speak of "The Upper Galilee" as being "the northern sub-area of theGalilee region ofIsrael andLebanon".
Under this definition, "The Upper Galilee" covers an area spreading over 1,500 km2, about 700 in Israel and the rest in Lebanon. This included the highland region ofBelad Bechara inJabal Amel located inSouth Lebanon,[14] which was at for some time known in Hebrew as "The Lebanese Galilee".[3] As defined in geographical terms, "it is separated from theLower Galilee by the Beit HaKerem valley; its mountains are taller and valleys are deeper than those in theLower Galilee; its tallest peak isHar Meron at 1,208 m abovesea level.Safed is one of the major cities in this region".
In recent decades, however, this usage has virtually disappeared from the general Israeli discourse, the term "Upper Galilee" being used solely in reference to the part located in Israel.
The Upper Galilee region, specifically the city ofSafed was a centre of Israeli and Jewish art since 1920 when theSchool of Paris painter,Yitzhak Frenkel visited the region and was the first to settle in Safed where he later established an art school.[15][16] In Safed was established theArtists' quarter of Safed. Safed harbored mysticism and was reminiscent of picturesque villages, which drew artists such as Frenkel,Marc Chagall,Moshe Castel,Mordechai Levanon and others.[15][17][18] Artists were drawn to the upper galilee due to its mountainous landscapes and "mysticsm". Prior to the air conditioner, Safed also attracted artists due to its climatic conditions which were more comfortable than Tel Aviv during the summer.[2] Safed also offered different themes for the artists, from the Klezmer musicians to the Hasidim and the city itself.[17][1]Mount Meron was also an object in artworks by Jewish artists with artists such as Frenkel andRolly Schaffer painting serene or fiery scenes of sunset over the mountain.[17]
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