Jahula جاحولا | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: Ain Jahula=The spring of the large rock[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Jahula (click the buttons) | |
  Jahula Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°07′29″N35°34′02″E / 33.12472°N 35.56722°E /33.12472; 35.56722 | |
| Palestine grid | 203/281 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Date of depopulation | May, 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,869dunams (3.869 km2; 1.494 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 420[2][3] |
Jahula (Arabic:جاحولا) was aPalestinianArab village in theSafad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine on May 1, 1948, by the Palmach's First Battalion ofOperation Yiftach. It was located 11 km northeast ofSafad.
In 1945, the village had a population of 420. The village had one mosque and a shrine for a local sage known as al-Shaykh Salih.[5]
Jahula was situated near theTiberias—Al-Mutilla highway, in the foothills.[5]
The Jahula area had been occupied from the seventh through the third millennium BC, according to archaeological excavations conducted in 1986.[5] Pottery remains from theRoman andByzantine periods have been found in the area.[6]
Jahula was recorded in theOttomancensus of 1596 as belonging to thenahiya (subdistrict) of Jira, part ofSafad Sanjak, and at the time it had 5Muslim households; an estimated population of 28 inhabitants. They paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on crops such aswheat andbarley, and rearedgoats,bees, andwater buffalos. Total revenue was 1,550akçe.[7][8]
In 1838, it was noted as a village in the Safad district,[9] while in 1875Victor Guérin report passing through the village (which he calledKharbet Djaouleh), finding only a few of the houses inhabited.[10]
In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine found atAin Jahula "a large perennial spring, with a stream flowing to the march of the Huleh; a large supply of good water".[11]
The villagers of Jahula were predominantlyMuslim. Their mosque, about 1 km north of the village, was the location of a shrine to Shaykh Salih.[5]
Most villagers were engaged in agriculture, and a spring on the north side of the village supplied water.[5] Some villagers worked in quarries north of the village.[5]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Jahula had a population of 214; all Muslims,[12] increasing in the1931 census to 357; still all Muslims, in a total of 90 houses.[13]
In the1945 statistics Jahula had a population of 420 Muslims,[2] with 3,869dunums of land, according to an official land and population survey.[3] 1,626 dunums were allocated to grain farming,[5][14] while 64 dunams were classified as urban land.[15]
Jahula was depopulated during the1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine on May 1, 1948, by thePalmach's First Battalion ofOperation Yiftach.[5][16]Benny Morris writes that the cause of depopulation is unknown, while the American HistorianRosemarie Esber gives as depopulation cause: "Directmortar attacks on civilians, siege, shooting at fleeing Arabs".[16]
Presently, the Israeli Kibbutz ofYiftach is 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) northwest of the village site; there are no settlements on village lands.[5]
Of the village site the Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi wrote in 1992: "The only remains of the destroyed village are a few stone terraces. The site is enclosed by barbed wire, and cactuses and trees grow on it. The village spring is still in use by Israelis. Parts of the village land are planted incotton andwatermelons, while other parts are wooded and hilly."[5]
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