Alma
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  Alma  Alma | |
| Coordinates:33°3′4″N35°30′0″E / 33.05111°N 35.50000°E /33.05111; 35.50000 | |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Northern |
| Council | Merom HaGalil |
| Affiliation | Hapoel HaMizrachi |
| Founded | 1 September 1949 |
| Founded by | Libyan Jews |
| Population (2023)[1] | 857 |
Alma (Hebrew:עַלְמָה,Arabic:علما) is a religious Jewishmoshav in theUpper Galilee in northernIsrael. It falls under the jurisdiction of theMerom HaGalil Regional Council. In 2023, it had a population of 857.[1] It is built on the basaltic plateau 10 km north ofSafed, and about 4 km south of theLebanese border. Prior to the1948 Arab-Israeli War, it was populated byPalestinian Arabs.[2]
Under theJudaea Province, a Jewish town was situated at this spot. Ceramics from theByzantine era have been found here.[3] Alma had several nearbykhirbas, and fragments of inscriptions from an ancientsynagogue were found at the site of the village in the 20th century.[2] Remains of a ruined watch-tower was found on the crest of the ridge, and a quarter of a mile south of those there were three perfectdolmens, not very large.[4]
The name Alma is first mentioned in theCrusader period, from a personal name.[5] The Jewish community existed until the 17th century.[6]Benjamin of Tudela (1130–1173) said that during his visit, he found 50 Jewish families living in Alma.[7]
TheCrusaders called the village "Alme"; it remained under their rule until 1187.[8] While travelling though the region in the 12th century CE,Benjamin of Tudela noted that Alma contained fiftyJewish inhabitants and a "large cemetery of theIsraelites", where several sages mentioned in theMishnah andTalmud were buried.[9] An anonymous Hebrew manuscript of the period mentions that the village's inhabitants were Jews and Muslims, and the lord apparently Frankish. The narrative tells that on everyShabbat Eve, Jews and Muslims light candles on the tomb of RabbiEleazar ben Arach, atanna and a localtzadik (righteous man), and mentions a nearby miracle-working tree.[8]
Two inscriptions discovered in 'Alma indicate the presence of anancient Jewish synagogue at the site.[10] One inscription was discovered on alintel fragment featuring a bilingualHebrew andAramaic inscription, with its right halfrepurposed. It conveys a blessing of peace for the location and thepeople of Israel, along with a dedication by the artisan.[a][10] The dating corresponds with that of theBar'am synagogues, and the unusual first-person usage, similar toJerusalem epitaphs, acknowledges Levi as both a name andtitle. Additionally, a second inscription—a two-line Aramaic inscription[b]—was found in secondary use in the modern synagogue of 'Alma.[10]
An anonymous Hebrew manuscript of the period mentions that the village's inhabitants were Jews and Muslims, and the lord apparently Frankish. The narrative tells that on everyShabbat Eve, Jews and Muslims light candles on the tomb of RabbiEleazar ben Arach, atanna and a localtzadik (righteous man), and mentions a nearby miracle-working tree.[8]
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At the beginning of the period ofOttoman rule over Palestine,Moshe Basola passed through Alma during 1521-1523. He noted that there were 15 Jewish families and one synagogue there,[11] though no Jews are listed in the early Ottomantax registers.Rhode hypothesize that Basola have counted some Jews who went back and forth between Alma andSafad, and were listed/taxed there.[12]
In the Ottoman tax registers of 1596, the village is listed as forming part of thenahiya ("subdistrict") of Jira in theliwa' ("district") ofSafad.[13] It had a relatively large population of 1,440,[14] consisting of 288 Muslim households and 140 Muslim bachelors, together with seven Jewish households and one Jewish bachelor. The village paid taxes on goats, beehives, a water-powered mill, and a press that was used for processing olives or grapes.[13][15] Total tax revenue amounted to a substantial 51,100akce.[14] Alma's prosperity was attributed to its close proximity to Safad.[16]
Edward Robinson andEli Smith, who travelled to the region in 1838, give the full name of the village as 'Alma el-Khait (Arabic:علماالخيط).[17]
James Finn, the British consul to Jerusalem who travelled around Palestine between 1853 and 1856, describes the village of Alma as being situated in an area in which volcanic basalt was abundant. Around the village, women and children were gathering olives from the trees by beating them with poles and then collecting the fallen fruit. He notes that the small district in which the village is located is known by the locals as "theKhait" (Arabic for "string") and that they "boast of its extraordinary fertility in corn-produce."[18]
Victor Guérin visited in 1875, and noted that 200 Muslim inhabitants lived there.[19] InThe Survey of Western Palestine (1881), Alma is described as a village built of stone with about 250 "AlgerineMohammedan" residents, situated in the middle of a fertile plain with a few gardens.[20]
A population list from about 1887 showedAlma to have about 1,105 Muslim inhabitants.[21]
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Alma was in theSafad Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine. The population of Alma in the1922 census consisted of 309 Muslims,[22] increasing to 712 Muslims in 148 occupied houses by1931.[23]
In the1945 statistics, the population had reached 950,[24][25] still all Muslim.[26]
The villagers were heavily involved in agriculture, including raising livestock and growing crops.[2] During the 1942/43 season olive trees were recorded as being grown on 750 dunums of village land, 550 dunums of which were fruit-bearing trees. It was the largest olive grove in Safad district.[2] In 1944–45 983 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards and 7,475 dunums were devoted to cereal crops.[2][27]
The village comprised a total area of 19,498dunums of which 17,240 dunums was run by Arabs and the rest public. The population of the village was entirely Arab in ethnicity and Muslim in religion.[27] They had their own mosque and elementary school, which pupils fromal-Rihaniyya also attended.[2]
A large number of inhabitants were employed in cereal farming, which occupied about 38% of the land area.[27] Some land was also allocated for irrigation and plantation, and the growing of olives.
Types of landuse indunams by Arabs in 1945:[27][28]
| The land ownership of the village before occupation in dunums:[24]
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The village was captured by the Israeli forces from the local Arab population inOperation Hiram on 30 October 1948. Israeli historianBenny Morris has documented that Alma was the one village in the area where the villagers were uprooted and/or expelled by the Israeli forces, in spite of the fact that they had not offered any resistance.[29]
Alma was repopulated on 1 September 1949 by immigrants to Israel fromLibya. In 1953, a group ofconverts to Judaism, known as theJews of San Nicandro, arrived from Italy. They later abandoned Alma to live in other nearbymoshavim. After the Italians left,Cochin Jews arrived fromIndia.[6] By 1968, Alma's inhabitants were mostly from Libya andTunisia. The economy is based on hillculture (vineyards, deciduous fruit, olives, vegetables) and cattle.[2] In its early years of development, Alma was associated withHapoel HaMizrachi.
| Year | Jews | Muslims | Others | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12th century[9] | 50 | ? | |||||
| 1521[11] | 15 | ? | |||||
| 1596[14] | 8 households | 428 households | 1,440 | ||||
| 1875[19] | 200 | ||||||
| 1881[20] | 250 | ||||||
| 1887[21] | 1,105 | ||||||
| 1922[22] | 309 | ||||||
| 1931[23] | 712 | ||||||
| 1945[24][30] | 950 | ||||||
| 1948:Israeli independence. Expulsion of Arab Muslim population | |||||||
| 2022 | 857 | ||||||
Near the moshav's cemetery lie the remnants of what has been identified as asynagogue, perhaps dating to the 3rd century, though it has never been systematically excavated or properly researched. Also nearby are several tombs, including those of two prominent Sages (tannaim) of the 1st and 2nd centuriesCE, one belonging toEleazar ben Arach, and one which is traditionally recognized asEliezer ben Hurcanus' tomb.[6]
Alma is located about 600 m above sea level, in an area called Alma Heights, bordered by theDishon Stream. The Dishon Stream Nature Reserve is located next to the village, as well as the Circassian villageRehaniya.
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