Malha المالحةמלחה | |
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| Etymology: The salt-pan[1] | |
 Village boundaries of Maliha in the Mandatory Palestine period | |
| Palestine grid | 167/129 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jerusalem |
| Date of depopulation | 21 April 1948, 15 July 1948[2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 13,449dunams (13.449 km2; 5.193 sq mi) |
| Population (1948[5]) | |
• Total | 1,940[4][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Secondary cause | Military assault byYishuv forces |
Malha is aneighborhood in southwestJerusalem, betweenPat,Ramat Denya andKiryat Hayovel in theValley of Rephaim. Before 1948, Malha was anArab village known asal-Maliha (Arabic:المالحة).
Malha is now an upscale neighborhood featuring theMalha Shopping Mall,Teddy Stadium, and theJerusalem Technology Park.
Excavations in Malha revealedIntermediate Bronze Age domestic structures.[6] A dig in theRephaim Valley carried out by theIsrael Antiquities Authority in the region of theMalha Shopping Mall andBiblical Zoo uncovered a village dating back to theMiddle Bronze Age II B (1,700 – 1,800 BCE). Beneath this, remains of an earlier village were found from theEarly Bronze Age IV (2,200 – 2,100 BCE).[7]
According to the archaeologists who excavated there in 1987–1990, Malha is believed to be the site ofManahat, aCanaanite town on the northern border of theTribe of Judah (Joshua 15:58–59[clarification needed]).[8] Remains of the village have been preserved at the Biblical Zoo.[8]
Malha was aGeorgian village in the fifth century, in the time of KingVakhtang I Gorgasali, who was canonized by theGeorgian Orthodox Church.[9] There was a connection to the nearby GeorgianMonastery of the Cross and other Georgian religious establishments around Jerusalem, with travellers noticing distinct habits among Malha's residents for centuries.[9] Eventually they adopted Islam and integrated into the surrounding Arab society.[9] By the 18th and 19th centuries, little more than the faint traces of a church, the few remaining locals naming themselves "Gurjs", Georgians, and their right of working the lands of the Monastery of the Cross remained as witness of the Georgian past.[10]
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In the 1596tax records al-Maliha, (namedMaliha as-Suqra), was part of theOttoman Empire,nahiya (subdistrict) ofJerusalem under theLiwa of Jerusalem. It had a population of 52Muslim households, an estimated 286 persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, and olive and fruit trees, goats and beehives; a total of 8,700akçe. 1/3 of the revenue went to awaqf.[13]
In 1838 it was noted byEdward Robinson asel Malihah, a Muslim village, part of theBeni Hasan district.[14][15]
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 showedMalha with a population of 340, in 75 houses, though the population count included men, only.[16][17]
During a visit in the 1870s,Clermont-Ganneau recorded a local tradition stating that the residents could be categorized into two distinct origins: one group hailing fromTransjordan and another fromEgypt. Ganneau pointed out the locals' "peculiar" way of speaking, where their "a" sounds were long and similar to "o." He documented several findings including a broken inscription,rock-cut tombs, and a box of bones, shown to him by the locals. He also mentioned Ain Yalo, a nearbyspring highly celebrated by the locals.[18]
In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) described the village as being of moderate size, standing high on a flat ridge. To the south was Ayn Yalu.[19]
In 1896 the population of Malha was estimated to be about 600 persons.[20]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Malhah had a population 1,038, all Muslims,[21] increasing in the1931 census to 1,410; 1,402 Muslims and 8 Christians, in a total of 299 houses.[22] Georgian researcher, B.V. Khurtsilava, connected the steep population rise between 1868 (c. 200), to 1896 (some 600) and the 1920s-30s (c. 100–1400) with a strong influx of people of various ethnic backgrounds.[23]
In the1945 statistics the population of Malha was 1,940; 1,930 Muslims and 10 Christians,[4] and the total land area was 6,828dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of the land, a total of 2,618 dunams were plantations and irrigable land and 1,259 were for cereals,[24] while a total of 328 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[25]
In the1948 Arab-Israeli War, the village of al-Maliha, with a population of 2,250, was occupied as part of the battle for south Jerusalem.[26] In the early part of the war, Al-Maliha, along withal-Qastal,Sur Baher andDeir Yassin, signed non-aggression pacts with theHaganah.[27] On April 12, 1948, in the wake of theDeir Yassin Massacre, villagers from al Maliha,Qaluniya andBeit Iksa began to flee in panic.[28] TheIrgun attacked Malha in early morning hours of July 14, 1948. Several hours later, the Palestinian Arabs launched a counter-attack and seized one of the fortified positions. When Irgun reinforcements arrived, the Palestinian militia retreated and Malha was in Jewish control, but 17 Irgun fighters were killed and many wounded.[29] The remaining Arab inhabitants either fled or were expelled toBethlehem, which remained underJordanian control. The depopulated homes were occupied byJewish refugees from Middle Eastern countries, mainlyIraq. Some of the land in Malha had been purchased before the establishment of the state by theValero family, a family ofSephardiJews that owned large amounts of property in Jerusalem and environs.[30]
The firstPalestinian fedayeen raid in Israel took place in November 1951 in Malha when a woman, Leah Festinger, was killed by infiltrators fromShuafat, at the time part ofJordan.[31]
Under the aegis of theJerusalem Municipality, the neighborhood was modernised and a large housing development was established on the nearby hill and its eastern slopes. At the bottom of the hill are theMalha Shopping Mall,Teddy Stadium,Pais Arena Jerusalem,Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and theJerusalem Malha Railway Station. Malha is now considered an upscale neighborhood. Schools include a vocational high school (ORT) and an elementary school, the Shalom School. TheJerusalem Technology Park houses many companies, including some high-tech start-ups as well as international media offices.[32] In 2019, plans were approved for the construction of 30-floor towers in the technology park.[33]
A line of theJerusalem Light Rail is being built from Jerusalem's Central Bus Station to the Malha sports complex.[34]
31°45′08″N35°10′55″E / 31.75222°N 35.18194°E /31.75222; 35.18194
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