Sakhnin
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|---|---|
City (from 1995) | |
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • ISO 259 | Saḥnin, Saknin (Israeli pronunciation) |
 View of Sakhnin | |
 Emblem of Sakhnin | |
  Sakhnin  Sakhnin | |
| Coordinates:32°52′N35°18′E / 32.867°N 35.300°E /32.867; 35.300 | |
| Grid position | 177/252PAL |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Northern |
| Founded | 1500 BCE(as Sagone) 1995(Israeli city) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mazen Ghnaim |
| Area | |
• Total | 9,816dunams (9.816 km2; 3.790 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[1] | |
• Total | 33,201 |
| • Density | 3,382/km2 (8,760/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | Sukhnin, from personal name,[2] |
Sakhnin (Arabic:سخنين;Hebrew:סַחְ'נִין orסִכְנִיןSikhnin) is a city inIsrael'sNorthern District. It is located in theLower Galilee, about 23 kilometres (14 mi) east ofAcre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. In 2023 its population was 33,201;[1] 95% of the population was Muslim and 5% was Christian.[3]
Sakhnin is built over three hills and is located in avalley surrounded bymountains, the highest one being 602 meters high. Its rurallandscape is almost entirely covered byolive andfig groves as well asoregano andsesame shrubs.
Settlement at Sakhnin dates back 3,500 years to its first mention in 1479 BCE byThutmose II, whoseancient Egyptian records mention it as a centre for production ofindigo dye.
Sakhnin is situated on an ancient site, where remains fromcolumns andcisterns have been found.[4] Itwas mentioned as Sogane, a town fortified in 66, byJosephus.[5] Acistern, excavated near themosque in the old city centre, revealed pottery fragments dating from the 1st to the 5th century CE.[6]
Haninah ben Teradion, who was arrested by the Roman authorities for heresy (minut),[7] is said to have run a Torah academy there. It may be the village Kfar Sikhnin referred to in rabbinical accounts of the aftermath of the trial of RabbiEliezer ben Hyrcanus for heresy.[8]
In 1961Bellarmino Bagatti, during a visit to the village, was shown a tomb venerated by Christians, Jews and Muslims, which local tradition identified as that ofJames the Just. On returning to the village, he discovered that restoration had been undertaken and the site renamed the burial place of Rabbi Yehoshua of Sakhnin.Richard Bauckham has raised the possibility that the Yaakov of Sikhnin in accounts of rabbi Eliezer may beJames the grandson of Jude.[9]
In theCrusader era, it was known asZecanin.[10] In 1174 it was one of thecasalia (villages) given toPhillipe le Rous.[11] In 1236 descendants ofPhillipe le Rous confirmed the sale of thefief of Saknin.[12]
In 1596, Sakhnin appeared inOttomantax registers as being in thenahiya (subdistrict) ofAkka (Acre), part ofSafad Sanjak. It had a population of 66 households and 8 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olives, cotton, in addition to a water mill; a total of 12,138akçe.[13][14]
In 1838, Sakhnin was noted as a Muslim and Christian village in the Shaghur district, located betweenSafad, Acre andTiberias.[15] In 1859 the British Consul Rogers estimated the population to be 1,100, and the cultivated area 100feddans,[16] while in 1875Victor Guérin found 700 inhabitants, both Muslims andGreek Orthodox Christians.[17]
In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Sakhnin as follows: "A large village of stone andmud, amid fine olive-groves, with a small mosque. The water supply is from a large pool about half a mile to the south-east. The inhabitants are Moslems and Christians".[18] A population list from about 1887 showed that Sakhnin had about 1,915 inhabitants; 1,640 Muslims, 150 Catholic Christians and 125 Greek Christians.[19]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Sakhnin had a population of 1,575; 1,367Muslims and 208 Christians;[20] 87 Orthodox and 121 Greek Catholic (Melchite).[21] The population increased in the1931 census to a total of 1,891; 1,688 Muslims, 202 Christians, and 1 Jew, in a total of 400 houses.[22]
In the1945 statistics, Sakhnin had 2,600 inhabitants; 2310 Muslims and 290 Christians.[23] The total jurisdiction of the village was 70,192dunams of land.[24] 3,622 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 29,366 dunams for cereals,[25] while 169 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[26]
During the1948 Arab-Israeli war, Sakhnin surrendered to Israeli forces on July 18, 1948, duringOperation Dekel, but was re-captured by Arab forces shortly afterwards. It finally fell without battle duringOperation Hiram, 29–31 October 1948. Many of the inhabitants fled north but some stayed and were not expelled by the Israeli soldiers.[27] The town remained undermartial law until 1966.
In 1976, it became the site of the firstLand Day marches, in which sixIsraeli Arabs were killed by Israeli forces during violent protests of government expropriation of 5,000 acres (20 km2) of Arab-owned land near Sakhnin. Later that same year, three more civilians were killed during clashes with the police. Two natives of the city were killed in Jerusalem during theal-Aqsa Intifada in 2000.
The Israeli transcription of the Arabictoponym is an orthographic error, writingSakhnas instead of Sakhnin.[28]
In 2003, the town'sfootball club,Bnei Sakhnin, became one of the first Arab teams to play in theIsraeli Premier League, the top tier ofIsraeli football.[29] The following year, the club won theState Cup, and was the first Arab team to do so; consequently, it participated in theUEFA Cup the following season, losing out toNewcastle United. The team received a new home with the 2005 opening ofDoha Stadium, funded by the Israeli government and theQatarNational Olympic Committee, whose capital it is named after. The stadium has a capacity of 5,000.[29]
Sakhnin is also the hometown ofAbbas Suan, anIsraeli international footballer who previously played for Bnei Sakhnin.[citation needed] The town and their soccer team are the subject of the 2010 documentary filmAfter The Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United[30]
On 19 September 2008, Bnei Sakhnin played a game with the Spanish teamDeportivo de La Coruña.[31]
Sakhnin is home to two shrines:
A-Sheikh Siddiq (Arabic:النبي الصادق) is a shrine located in Sakhnin's historical core, close to the Christian cemetery. It features a Roman-period sarcophagus. The Arabs of Galilee, and theBedouin of Arab el-Na'im in particular, used to conduct pilgrimages to the shrine in order to make vows and seek for health for themselves and their progeny. The residents of Sakhnin used to beg the saint's forgiveness whenever they went near it out of fear, especially at night. According to a local legend,a-Sheikh Siddiq fought both the Romans and pagans. He was burned by the Romans together with his daughters as he was holding aTorah book. Guerin also referenced another tradition, that claimsa-Sheikh Siddiq was interred here next to his wife. Jewish tradition attributes this site to Rabbi Joshua of Sakhnin, anamora who lived in the village in the 4th century CE. Since the 13th century, the shrine has attracted Jewish and Muslim pilgrims alike.[32]
A second shrine,a-Sheikh Ismai'l, is located in the Al-Khalaila clan cemetery in the heart of Sakhnin's western district. This location most likely refers to a local saint rather than the biblical and QuranicIsma'il. Residents of the village claim that one of them had a dream in which the sheikh complained that the sewage water was polluting his tomb. Then, to stop the pollution, this resident constructed a drainage. Every Friday, the women of the Al-Khalaila clan light candles in the tomb.[32]
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