Arraba
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|---|---|
City (from 2016) | |
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • ISO 259 | ʕarrabba |
| • Also spelled | Arrabe (official) 'Arrabat-Batuf (unofficial) |
 Entrance to Arraba | |
  Arraba  Arraba | |
| Coordinates:32°51′2″N35°20′20″E / 32.85056°N 35.33889°E /32.85056; 35.33889 | |
| Grid position | 181/250PAL |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Northern |
| Government | |
| • Head of Municipality | Ahmad Nassar[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 8,250dunams (8.25 km2; 3.19 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | |
• Total | 26,810 |
| • Density | 3,250/km2 (8,420/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Arabs | 99.9% |
| • Others | 0.1% |
| Name meaning | The steppe or plateau of the Buttauf[3] |
Arraba (Hebrew:עראבה;Arabic:عرّابة), also known as 'Arrabat al-Battuf, is anArab city inIsrael. It is located in theLower Galilee in theNorthern District, within Sakhnin valley, adjacent toSakhnin andDeir Hanna, and climbing a bit on Yodfat range to its south, while also owning some lands south of that in theBeit Netofa Valley (Sahl al-Battuf) to the north ofNazareth area. Arraba attained local council status in 1965, and city status in 2016. In 2023, its population was 26,810.[2] In 2022, 98.8% of the population was Muslim and 1.2% was Christian.[4]
During theRoman period, Arraba was aJewish settlement known asArab orGabara, and was home to thepriestly family of Petahiah. In the fifth or sixth century CE, it was inhabited byChristians, as evidenced by the discovery of a church. TheArabMuslim tribe ofZayadina arrived in Arraba in the middle of the 17th century and later gained control of the town. In the 18th century,Zahir al-Umar, an autonomous ruler ofGalilee, lived in Arraba. In the lateOttoman period, the town had a sizable Christian minority, but since then, many have emigrated toHaifa, leaving only a small number of Christian households in the predominantly Muslim city.
Arraba isidentified with the ancientJewish village calledArab, mentioned inJosephus' writings by its pronunciation in the Greek,Gabara,[5][6] but in theMishnah and theJerusalem Talmud asArab.[7][8][9][10] The first-century Jewish rabbi and leaderYohanan ben Zakkai is said to have lived there eighteen years.[11][12] During theFirst Jewish-Roman War,Vespasian sacked the city, killing those of its Jewish citizens who had not already fled.[13] The place is presumed to have been resettled by Jews in the third-fourth centuries, since the town is mentioned as being the place of residence of one of thepriestly courses known as Pethahiah, as inscribed in theCaesarea Inscription.[14]
Arabba is home to the grave ofHanina ben Dosa, a Jewish scholar who lived in the village during the first and second generations after thedestruction of the Second Temple.[10][15]
In the 5th or 6th century CE, there were Christians living here, as witnessed by a church whose mosaic floor and inscription have been unearthed.[16][17] The church was destroyed either at the end of the 6th century or the beginning of the 7th century.[6]
The oldest settled section of Arraba lies at the village's south-east side, near the Christian church. Archaeological artefacts have been discovered there dating back to the Roman and Byzantine periods.[18]
In theCrusader era, it was known asArabiam.[19] In 1174, it was one of thecasalia (villages) given toPhillipe le Rous.[20] In 1236, descendants ofPhillipe le Rous confirmed the sale of thefief of Arraba.[21] In 1250, it was one of the casalia belonging to theTeutonic knights, aCrusader order.[10]
In the 13th century, Arrabah is mentioned bySyrian geographerYaqut al-Hamawi in his famous workMu'jam al-Buldān (1224–1228), as a "place in the province ofAcca".[22][23]
The village was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 with all ofPalestine, and in 1596 Arraba appeared in thetax registers as being in theNahiya ("Subdistrict") ofTabariyya, part ofSanjak Safad. It had an allMuslim population of 125 households and 2 bachelors. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on wheat, barley, summer crops or fruit trees, cotton, and goats or beehives; a total of 11,720akçe. 1/4 of the revenue went to awaqf.[24][25]
At some point in the mid-17th century theZayadina, an Arab Muslim tribe, immigrated to Arraba. Itssheikh ("chief") later acquired control of the town and its district after wresting control of the area from theDruze sheikh ofSallama. Sallama and other Druze villages in the vicinity were subsequently destroyed, Druze suzerainty over theShaghur district came to an end and the Zayadina consequently gained significant influence in the area, including the role of tax collector of Shaghur on behalf of theOttomanwali ("governor") ofSidon Province.[26] Arraba became home toZahir al-Umar, a later sheikh of the Zayadina tribe. According to local legend, he sought refuge there after killing aTurkish soldier. He won the support of the local sheikh, Muhammad Nasser, by helping him settle a score with a neighboring village, which set off a series of campaigns that led to the conquest of the entireGalilee. A building said to be the home of Zahir is still standing.[27]
In 1838,Arabeh was noted as a Muslim and Christian village in theEsh-Shagur district, located betweenSafad,Acca andTiberias.[28]
In 1875Victor Guérin found Arrabah to have 900 Muslim inhabitants and 100 Greek-Orthodox Christians.[29] In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Arrabet al Buttauf as "A large stone-built village, containing about 1,000 Moslems and Christians, and surrounded by groves of olives and arable land. Water is obtained from a large birkeh andcisterns. This was the place whereDhaher el Amr´s family was founded, and was long occupied by them."[30]
A population list from about 1887 showed thatArrabet had 970 inhabitants; about 80% Muslim and 20% Catholic Christians.[31]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Arrabeh had a population of 984 people, of which 937 were Muslim and 47 were Christian.[32] Among the Christians, 42 were Melkite, 4 Orthodox and one was Anglican.[33] At the time of the1931 census, Arraba had 253 occupied houses and a population of 1187 Muslims and 37 Christians.[34]
In the1945 statistics the population was 1,800; 1,740 Muslims and 60 Christians,[35] with 30,852dunams (a dunam is a unit of area equivalent to 1000 square metres or one-tenth of ahectare) of land, according to an official land and population survey.[36] 3,290 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 14,736 dunams for cereals,[37] while 140 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[38]
In 1948, duringOperation Hiram (October 29–31), the town surrendered to the advancing Israeli army. Many of the inhabitants fled but some remained.[39] Arraba became a local council in 1965. The village remained underMartial Law until 1966.
Arraba was home to the firstLand Day demonstrations in 1976 demanding the state of Israel to stop the expropriation of Palestinian Arab lands. Together withSakhnin andDeir Hanna, it formed what is called the triangle of Land Day. Israel's reaction to control the protest was forceful and six people were killed by Israeli police. The reason for the Land Day follows:
On March 11, 1976, theIsraeli government published anexpropriation plan including lands in theGalilee. It affected some 20,000dunams of land between the Arab villages ofSakhnin and Arraba.[40] The land was said to be used for security purposes but was also used to build new Jewish settlements.[41] David McDowall identifies the resumption ofland seizures in the Galilee and the acceleration of land expropriations in theWest Bank in the mid-1970s as the immediate catalyst for both the Land Day demonstration and similar demonstrations that were taking place contemporaneously in the West Bank. He writes:"Nothing served to bring the two Palestinian communities together politically more than the question of land."[42]
Arraba became a city in 2016. In the late 2010s, Arraba native andHarvard graduate,Nuseir Yassin, gained international acclaim with hisNas Daily videos.[43] In one of the chapters he invites the entire State of Israel to visit his parental home in Arraba.
The symbol of the local council is an onion, awatermelon and acantaloupe which symbolize the crops for which Arraba is famous.Throughout history Arraba was mostly anagricultural village depending mainly on theal-Batuf Plain (Hebrew name:Beit Netofa Valley) to grow crops. However, currently the dependence on agriculture is declining rapidly due to the rise in population, urbanization and a subsequently more modern lifestyle.[citation needed]
Arraba houses the tomb ofHanina Ben Dosa, a Jewish scholar andmiracle worker who lived in the first century CE.[10][15] It is known to locals as "maqam as-Siddiq".[44]
Arraba is also home to the shrine ofash-Sheikh Dabus, attributed to aSufi sheikh from the 17th century by local tradition. Alternative traditions suggest the shrine is associated with the family ofZahir al-Umar, or a commander fromSaladin's army. Theash-Sheikh Dabus shrine is located 50 meters away from Hanina Ben Dosa's tomb, within the cemetery belonging to the Na'amneh and Hatib families.[44]
In the 1870s, Guerin saw the mosque which he thought had probably once been a church on the basis of its east–west orientation. Inside there were twomonolithic columns which he took as further proof of its antiquity.[29]
Andrew Petersen, an archaeologist specializing inIslamic architecture, surveyed the place in 1994, and found several interesting buildings.[27]The modern-day mosque was built in 1953 on the site of an older building.[27] Opposite the mosque is a palatial house with anablaq entrance made of black and white masonry. This is the house associated with the family ofZahir al-'Umar/Dhaher el-Omar.[27]
The town's football clubAhva Arraba dissolved in 2019 due to debts. It was replaced by a new club, Hapoel Arraba.
Nuseir Yassin, 28, a native of Arrabe in the Lower Galilee, operates a Facebook page with over 17 million subscribers. He rose to popularity featuring one-minute daily videos of his worldly travels.
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