Jish
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| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • ISO 259 | Ǧiš, Guš Ḥalav |
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  Jish  Jish | |
| Coordinates:33°1′34″N35°26′43″E / 33.02611°N 35.44528°E /33.02611; 35.44528 | |
| Grid position | 191/270PAL |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Northern |
| Founded | 2000 BC(Earliest settlement) 1300 BC(Gush Halav) |
| Government | |
| • Head of Municipality | Elias Elias |
| Area | |
• Total | 6,916dunams (6.916 km2; 2.670 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[1] | |
• Total | 3,232 |
| • Density | 467.3/km2 (1,210/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Arabs | 98.4% |
| • Jews and others | 1.6% |
| Name meaning | A lump of milk |
| Website | www |
Jish (Arabic:الجش,al-Jiŝ), also known by itsHebrew name ofGush Halab (Hebrew:גּוּשׁ חָלָב,Gūŝ Ḥālāḇ), or by itsclassical name ofGischala,[2][3] is alocal council inUpper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes ofMount Meron, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north ofSafed, inIsrael'sNorthern District.[4] In 2023, it had a population of 3,232,[1] which is predominantlyMaronite Catholic andMelkite Greek CatholicChristians (63%), with aSunni Muslim Arab minority (about 35.7%).[5][6]
Jish is the ancientGiscala orGush Halav, first mentioned in the historical record by theRoman-Jewish historianJosephus, who described it as the home ofJohn of Giscala and the last city in theGalilee to fall to theRomans during theFirst Jewish–Roman War (War 4:93).[7] Archeological excavations uncovered remains from theCanaanite andIsraelite periods;[7] later archaeological finds in Jish include two ancientsynagogues, a uniquemausoleum androck-cut tombs from theRoman andByzantine periods.[8] Historical sources dating from the 10th-15th centuries describe Jish (Gush Halav) as a village with a strongJewish presence.[8]
In the earlyOttoman era, Jish was wholly Muslim.[9] In the 17th century, the village was inhabited byDruze.[8] In 1945, underBritish rule, Jish had a population of 1,090 with an area of 12,602 dunams. The village was largely depopulated during the1948 Palestine war as part of the larger1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. After the war Jish was resettled not only by the original inhabitants, who were largelyMaronite Christians, but also by some Maronite Christians who were expelled from the razed villages ofKafr Bir'im and some Muslims who were expelled fromDallata.[10][11]
In 2010, the population of Jish was 3,000.[11]
Jish is the ancient Giscala.[12] The Arabic nameel-Jish is a variation of the site's ancient nameGush Halav inHebrew,[13] literally "block of milk" or "a lump of milk," which may be a reference to either the production of milk and cheese (for which the village has been famous since at least the earlyMiddle Ages[7]) or else to the fertile surroundings, which are well-suited for various forms ofagriculture.[14] Other scholars believe the nameGush Halav refers to the light color of the local limestone, which contrasts with the dark reddish rock of the neighboring village,Ras al-Ahmar.[7]
Settlement in Jish dates back 3,000 years. The village is mentioned in theMishnah asGush Halav, a city "surrounded by walls since the time ofJoshua Ben Nun" (m. Arakhin 9:6).[15]Canaanite andIsraelite remains from the Early Bronze and Iron Ages have also been found there.[7]
During theClassical period, the town was known asGischala, aGreek transcription of theHebrew nameGush Halav. Both Josephus and later Jewish sources from the Roman-Byzantine period mention the fineolive oil for which the village was known.[14] According to theTalmud, the inhabitants also engaged in the production ofsilk.[7]Eleazar b. Simeon, described in the Talmud as a very large man with tremendous physical strength, was a resident of the town. According to one version of events, he was initially buried in Gush Halav but later reinterred inMeron, next to his father,Shimon bar Yochai.[16][17]Jerome recorded thatPaul the Apostle lived with his parents in "Giscalis in Judea," which is understood to be Gischala.[18][19][20]
After the fall ofGamla, Gush Halav was the lastJewish stronghold in theGalilee andGolan region during theGreat Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-73 CE), and the home ofJohn of Giscala.[21][22]
Two ancientsynagogues were discovered at Jish. The first was located at the top of the hill, below the current Maronite Church. The second one was discovered at the foot of the hill, close to a spring; one of its columns is inscribed in Aramaic with the name of a particular "Yose son of Tanhum".[7] This synagogue went through several phases of construction and reconstruction, one destruction being dated by excavator Eric M. Meyers to theearthquake of 551.[23] In addition to Jewish structures and burial sites dated to the 3rd through 6th centuries,[8] both Jewish and Christian amulets have also been discovered nearby.[24] Christian artifacts from the Byzantine period have been found at the site.[25]
According to local tradition, two nearby rock-cut tombs contain the graves of 1st century BCE Jewish sagesShemaiah andAvtalyon.[7]
Historical sources from the 10th to the 15th centuries describe it as a large Jewish village,[8] and it is mentioned in the 10th century by Arab geographerAl-Muqaddasi.[26] Jewish life in the 10th and 11th centuries is attested to by documents in theCairo Geniza.[citation needed] In 1172, the Jewish travelerBenjamin of Tudela found about 20 Jews living there.[27] In 1322, during his journey through the Land of Israel,Ishtori Haparchi noted that the Jewish community of Gush Halav read theMegillat Esther inPurim on both the 14th and the 15th ofAdar.[28]
In 1596, Jish appeared inOttomantax registers as being in theNahiya ofJira, of theLiwa Safad. It had a population of 71 households and 20 bachelors, allMuslim. The villagers paid taxes on goats and beehives, but most of its taxes were in the form of a fixed sum: total taxes amounted to around 30,750akçe.[9][29]
In the 17th century, the village had been inhabited byDruze, but they later departed from it.[8] The Turkish travelerEvliya Çelebi, who passed by the village in 1648, wrote:
Then comes the village of Jish, with one hundred houses of accursed believers in the transmigration of souls (tenāsukhi mezhebindén). Yet what beautiful boys and girls they have! And what a climate! Every one of these girls has queenly, gazelle-like, bewitching eyes, which captivate the beholder—an unusual sight.[30]
According toYitzhak Ben-Zvi,Maronites first settled in Jish during the early 18th century. This may have happened as a result of theBattle of Ain Dara (1711), in which theQaysis defeated the Yamanis and drove many of them fromMount Lebanon. Ben-Zvi recorded a local tradition, according to which two families in the village preceded the Maronite immigration; One of them—the Hashouls, the oldest family in the village— were Maronites of Jewish ancestry and were originally known by the name Shaul.[31]
TheGalilee earthquake of 1837 caused widespread damage and over 200 deaths.[8] Three weeks afterward, contemporaries reported "a large rent in the ground...about a foot wide and fifty feet long." All the Galilee villages that were badly damaged at the time, including Jish, were situated on the slopes of steep hills. The presence of old landslides has been observed on aerial photographs. The fact that the village was built ondip slopes consisting of soft bedrock and soil has made it more vulnerable to landslides.[32] According toAndrew Thomson, no houses in Jish were left standing. The church fell, killing 130 people, and the old town walls collapsed. A total of 235 people died, and the ground was left fissured.[33][32] At the time, the village was noted as a mixed Muslim andMaronite village in the Safad district.[34]
At the end of the 19th century, Jish was described as a "well-built village of good masonry" with about 600 Christian and 200 Muslim inhabitants.[35]
A population list from about 1887 showedEl Jish to have about 1,935 inhabitants; 975 Christians and 960 Muslims.[36]
At the time of the1922 census of Palestine, Jish had a population of 721–380 Christians and 341 Muslims.[37] The Christians were classified as 71%Maronite and 29% Greek Catholic (orMelchite).[38] By the1931 census, Jish had 182 inhabited houses and a population of 358 Christians and 397 Muslims.[39]
In the1945 statistics, Jish had a population of 1,090; 350 Christians and 740 Muslims,[40] and the village spanned 12,602dunams, mostly Arab-owned.[41] Of this, 1,506 dunums were plantations and irrigable land, 6,656 used forcereals,[42] while 72 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[43]
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Israeli forces captured Jish on 29 October 1948, duringOperation Hiram.[44] A massacre was perpetrated by Israeli troops.[45] HistorianSaleh Abdel Jawad has estimated "at least 100 fatalities".[46] HistorianBenny Morris wrote that "the troops apparently murdered about 10 Moroccan POWs (who had served with the Syrian Army) and a number of civilians, including, apparently, four Maronite Christians, and a woman and her baby."[47]
The Israeli prime minister,David Ben-Gurion, ordered an investigation of the deaths[48] but noIDF soldiers were brought to trial,[49] though a military investigation concluded with the order that those responsible for the unjustified killings were to be tried 'immediately'.[50]
Many of the residents of Jish were forced to leave the village in 1948 and becamePalestinian refugees in Lebanon. Some Christians from the nearby town ofKafr Bir'im resettled in Jish,[10][11] where today they are citizens of Israel, but continue to press for theirright of return to their former villages.[10] In October 1950, Israeli forces raided Jish and detained seven suspected smugglers who were stripped, bound, and beaten. They were released without charge.[51]
Elias Chacour, now Archbishop of theMelkite Greek Catholic Church, whose family resettled in Jish, wrote that when he was eight years old he discovered a mass grave containing two dozen bodies.[52]
In December 2010, a hiking and bicycle path known as the Coexistence Trail was inaugurated, linking Jish withDalton, a neighboring Jewish village. The 2,500 meter-long trail, accessible to people with disabilities, sits 850 meters above sea level and has several lookout points, including a view of Dalton Lake, where rainwater is collected and stored for agricultural use.[53]
Jish is known for its efforts to reviveAramaic as a living language. In 2011, the IsraeliMinistry of Education approved a program to teach the language in Jish elementary schools. Some localMaronite activists in Jish say that Aramaic is essential to their existence as a people, in the same way thatHebrew andArabic are for Jews and Arabs.[11]
Today, 55% of the inhabitants of Jish areMaroniteChristians, 10% percent areMelkites and 35% percent are Muslims.[5][6] The population of the village was 3,232.
In 2022, 63% of the population was Christian and 37% was Muslim.[54]
Jish is located inUpper Galilee, in the Northern district of Israel. The town is close to Mount Meron, the tallest standing mountain of Galilee. Recently, a new road has connected Jish with the nearby Jewish village of Dalton.
The tombs ofShmaya andAbtalion, apair of Jewish sages who taught in Jerusalem in the early 1st century BCE, are located in Jish.[14]
According to tradition, the Israelite prophetJoel was also buried there.[55] The structure traditionally believed to be his tomb is situated on the western outskirts of the modern village, and contains several ancientrock-cut tombs.[56]
According to Christian tradition, the parents ofSaint Paul were from Jish.[57]John of Giscala, the son of Levi, was born in Jish. Other churches in Jish are a small Maronite Church that was rebuilt after the1837 earthquake and the Elias Church, the largest in the village, which operates a convent.
Eighteen archaeological sites have been excavated to date in Jish and vicinity. Archaeologists have excavated twosynagogues in use since the Roman and Byzantine periods (3rd to 6th centuries CE).[8] One synagogue is located at the top of the village and the other east of it.[58] On the remains of the upper synagogue, found by Kitchener of thePalestine Exploration Fund, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of Mar Boutros was built. Jewish-Christian amulets were discovered nearby.[24]
Coins indicate that Jish had strong commercial ties with the nearby city ofTyre. On Jish's western slope, a mausoleum was excavated, with stonesarcophagi similar to those seen at the large Jewish catacomb atBeit She'arim National Park. The inner part of the mausoleum contained ten hewnloculi, burial niches known in Hebrew askokhim. In the mausoleum, archaeologists found several skeletons, oil lamps and a glass bottle dating to the fourth century CE.[citation needed]
A network of secret caves and passageways in Jish, some of them located under private homes, is strikingly similar to hideaways in the Judean lowlands used during theBar Kokhba revolt.[59]
Paul...was of the tribe of Benjamin and the town of Giscalis in Judea. When this was taken by the Romans he removed with his parents to Tarsus in Cilicia.
Aiunt parentes apostoli Pauli de Gyscalis regione fuisse Iudaeae
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