Shuafat (Arabic:شعفاط,romanized: Šuʿafāṭ), alsoShu'fat andSha'fat,[1] is a mostlyPalestinian Arab neighborhood ofEast Jerusalem, forming part of north-easternJerusalem.[2] Located on the old Jerusalem–Ramallah road about three miles north of theOld City, Shu'fat has a population of 35,000 residents.
Next to the Shuafat neighbourhood there is arefugee camp of the same name, which was established by KingHussein of Jordan in 1965 to house Palestinian refugees from the Jerusalem,Lydda, Jaffa, and Ramleh areas, after the Muascar camp in theJewish Quarter of the Old City had beenclosed.[3]
Shuafat bordersPisgat Ze'ev andBeit Hanina on the north, Shu'fat refugee camp on the east,French Hill on the south, andRamat Shlomo on the west.[4][5] Shu'fat is located in the part of the West Bank which was included in the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem after its occupation in 1967.
Conder andKitchener suggested that Shuafat's name derives from the Jewish kingJehoshaphat, but it could be a corruption of Mizphe or Sapha. It is possible that the name of this town was altered by the Crusaders or that it was slightly modified from the wordSh'af (plural Sh'afat), which means mountain top.[6]
Edward Henry Palmer gave "p.n" as the meaning for the name, (""p.n": (proper name) after a name, mean either that it is a common Arabic personal appellation, or that it is a word to which no meaning can be assigned"), and added "The village is said by the peasantry to have been named after a kingShafat (perhapsJehoshaphat)."[7]
Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau reported several traditions regarding the name of the village. According to one tradition, told by a local woman, Sha'fat was known in ancient times under the name ofAlaikou. According to a second tradition, it was known in the past asDeir Mahruk, "the burned covent". A third tale, "evidently of Christian origin", also linked the place to Jehoshaphat. It asserted that "there was once upon a time at Sha'fat a king named Yachafat, who is mentioned in theTora; it was he who gave his name to the country". Clermont-Ganneau noted that the Hebrew name Jehoshaphat does not contain the 'ayin that exists in Sha'fat, and therefore, this tale was an "entirely artificial tradition", which was possibly influenced by the nearbyvalley of Josaphat.[8]
The area of Shuafat has been intermittently settled, with the oldest architectural findings dating to the Chalcolithic period 7000 years ago.[9] Findings from the 2nd–1st century BC revealed the presence of a fortified agricultural settlement by that period.[10][11][12] The settlement reached its largest size in the Roman period, between 70–130 CE, before being abandoned or destroyed after the 135 CEBar Kokhba Revolt, only to be re-inhabited on a smaller scale in the 2nd–4th centuries.[13]
Late 19th-century Biblical historians have suggested that it might be linked toMizpah in Benjamin,[14] andNob,[15] while one 21st-century review suggestedGebim, though cautioning that it remains uncertain.[16]
Following a 1991archaeological dig conducted by Alexander Onn and Tzvi Greenhut which unearthed a 2nd century BCE fortified agricultural settlement near Shuafat, an underground room in the complex was dated to the early first century BCE, and identified as a prayer room or synagogue. Subsequently, this interpretation of the site was strongly questioned.[10][11][12] In 2008, Rachel Hachlili stated that the structure is no longer considered to have been a synagogue.[17] The settlement was abandoned after being severely damaged by the31 BCE earthquake.[12]
Jewish tombs dating to this period have also been discovered atRamat Shlomo, at what was formerly known as Shuafat Ridge.[18] A large quarry, possibly linked toHerod's expansion of the Second Temple, dating to the period has also been found in Ramat Shlomo.[19]
During an archaeologicalsalvage dig conducted near the Shuafat refugee camp in preparation for the laying of the tracks for theJerusalem Light Rail system, the remains of a Jewish settlement from theRoman period were discovered.[20] The settlement was on the main Roman road leading northward from Jerusalem towardsShechem/Flavia Neapolis.[21] It was inhabited between the two main revolts of the Jews against the Romans, as it was established after thedestruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE and was suddenly abandoned around 130 CE, shortly before the outbreak of theBar Kokhba revolt (132–36).[22][2] This settlement is thought to have been inhabited by elite Jewish families, including priests, who stayed close to Jerusalem after its destruction, possibly in anticipation of the temple's future restoration.[23] It is described as a 'sophisticated community impeccably planned by the Roman authorities, with orderly rows of houses and two fine publicbathhouses to the north.'[2]
At the time of its discovery, the site was said to be the first indication of an active Jewish settlement in the area of Jerusalem after the city fell in 70 CE,[24] and with a presumed total surface area of c. 11dunams (minimum length 310 m, width c. 35 m),[20] it was also considered the largest Jewish settlement of the time "in the vicinity of Jerusalem".[25] The main indication that the settlement was a Jewish one is the large and varied assemblage ofchalkstone vessels found there.[24] Such vessels, for food storage and serving, were only used by Jews because they were believed not to transmit impurity.[24] Some of the vessels discovered there belong to a type only found after 70 CE.[22] An even more conclusive archaeological evidence of the Jewish character of a settlement is the presence ofJewish ritual baths, several of which were found during later work.[24][2][13]
The presence of the public bathhouses, the delay in finding Jewish ritual baths, and the discovery of imported Italian and Greek wine produced by non-Jews, which the verypurity-concerned Jews of the time would have avoided, made researchers at first speculate whether the settlement might have been a mixed Jewish-Roman (pagan) one, with the bathhouses operated by Jews for the benefit of Roman soldiers.[24][21] The quality of the buildings and other findings, such rich coin hoards, cosmetics, stone vessels and imported wine, attest to the wealth of the inhabitants.[25][24]
The abandoned or destroyed site was resettled on a smaller scale in the second–fourth centuries CE, with agricultural terraces recently exposed west of Shuʽfat Street.[13]
The place was known to theCrusaders asDersophath orDersophach.[26][27] In March 1179, it was noted that its revenues went to theabbey of St Mary ofMount Sion as the result of a grant made by Anselm de Parenti.[28]
Remains of aCrusader structure in the center of the village have been found.[26]Guérin thought it was possibly a church: "One [house] which still today bears the nameEl-Kniseh (the church), presents the remains of a Christian sanctuary facing east, whose windows were pointed and which dates in all likelihood from the Middle Ages. Some fineashlars of antique appearance had been used, along with other smaller material, in the construction of this little church."[29] However,Schick found no church, "simply an old Crusading building with two preserved windows. The walls are about 6 feet thick, against which thefellaheen houses are built and so it is not easy to recognise. It was a kind ofkhan built in the usual Crusading way, with avault a little higher in the middle than semi-circular."[30] Seikh 'Abd-allah's tomb was built on top of this church.[31]
Archaeologists discovered that agricultural terraces from the area were built and covered with topsoil during theMamluk period (1260–1516).[13]
The village was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 Shuafat appeared in Ottomantax registers as being in theNahiya of Quds of theLiwa ofQuds. It had eightMuslim families who paid taxes on wheat, barley, vineyards and other agricultural produce; a total of 2,200akçe.[32]
In 1838,Edward Robinson described Shuafat as a small Muslim village with the remains of an old wall,[33][34] whilede Saulcy, who saw it in 1851, wrote that "this village has the appearance of a castle of the middle ages with a squarekeep."[35]
The French explorerGuérin visited in 1863 and noted that the village was situated on an elevated plateau "from which one can make out perfectly the cupolas and minarets of Jerusalem," and that it counted 150 inhabitants. He described the houses as for the most part fairly old andvaulted internally.[36] He noted the remains of a church calledal-Kanisa, facing east. He thought it was a Frankish church.[37] He also passed by in 1870.[38] An official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed 23 houses and a population of 90, counting men only.[39][40]
In 1883, thePalestine Exploration Fund'sSurvey of Western Palestine described Shuafat as "A small village, standing on a flat spur immediately west of the watershed, surrounded with olive-trees. It haswells to the north. There is a sacred chapel of Sultan Ibrahim in the village."[14] In 1896 the population ofScha'fat was estimated to be about 276 persons.[41]
The Ottomans built a road in the same place as the old Roman road linking Jerusalem to Nablus.[21]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Sha'afat had a population of 422, all Muslims,[42] increasing in the1931 census to 539, still all Muslims, in 123 houses.[43]
In the1945 statistics the population of Shu'fat was 760, all Muslims,[44] and it had 5,215dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.[45] 484 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 2,111 for cereals,[46] while 62 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[47]
The town of Shuafat was to be the most northernmost point of thecorpus separatum proposed in 1947 for Jerusalem and its surrounding villages, which "in view of its association with three world religions" was to be "accorded special and separate treatment from the rest of Palestine and should be placed under effective United Nations control".[48]
In mid-February, during the1948 Arab–Israeli War,Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, leader of Palestinian irregulars in the area, tried to persuade the residents of Shuafat to attack the neighbouring Jewish village ofNeve Yaakov but the invitation was declined.[49][50] On 13 May the villagers were evacuated on orders from theArab Legion. Shortly afterwards thePalmach captured Shuafat, destroying many of the buildings.[51] Shuafat was then occupied byJordan, whichannexed the West Bank in April 1950.[52]
Jordan'sking Hussein alsobuilt a palace here.[53]
In 1961, the population of Shuafat was 2,541,[54] of whom 253 were Christian.[55]
In the wake of the 1948 war, theRed Cross accommodated Palestinian refugees in the depopulated and partly destroyedJewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City.[56] This grew into the Muaska refugee camp managed byUNRWA, which housed refugees from 48 locations now in Israel.[57] Over time many poor non-refugees also settled in the camp.[57] Conditions became unsafe for habitation due to lack of maintenance and sanitation, but neither UNRWA nor the Jordanian government wanted the negative international response that would result if they demolished the old Jewish houses.[57]
In 1964, a decision was made to move the refugees to a new camp constructed on mostly Jewish land near Shuafat.[57] Most of the refugees refused to move, since it would mean losing their livelihood, the market and the tourists, as well as reducing their access to the holy sites.[57] In the end, many of the refugees were moved to Shuafat by force during 1965 and 1966.[56][57]
After theSix-Day War in 1967, East Jerusalem, including the town and refugee camp, wasoccupied and later annexed by Israel and were incorporated into the Jerusalem municipal district.[2][58] The residents were offered Israeli citizenship, but most refused it as they considered the area to be illegally occupied. Many accepted permanent residency status instead.[2]
According toARIJ, Israel has illegally and unilaterally redrawn the boundaries of Jerusalem Municipality, and confiscated 3,989dunams of Shu’fat land (47% of the total town's area) in order to establish fiveIsraeli settlements:[59]
The Shuafat refugee camp is the onlyPalestinian refugee camp located inside Jerusalem or any other Israeli-administered area. While its residents carry Jerusalem identity cards, which grants them the same privileges and rights as regular Israelis, the camp itself is largely serviced by theUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency, even though 40 - 50% of the camp's population are not registered refugees. TheIsraeli West Bank barrier was partially constructed between the camp and the rest of Shuafat and Jerusalem. Some health services are provided by Israeli clinics in the camp. The Israeli presence is limited to checkpoints controlling entry and exit. According toIr Amim, the camp suffers from high crime asIsraeli Police rarely enter due to security concerns and thePalestinian Civil Police Force do not operate in Israeli-administered municipalities. Unlike other UN-run refugee camps, residents of Shuafat camp pay taxes to the Israeli authorities.[4][61]
The Shuafat Ridge next to the township was declared a 'green zone' to stop Palestinians in Shuafat from building there, until the opportunity arose to unfreeze its status as a green area and open it up for a new Jewish neighbourhood, as Teddy Kollek openly admitted.[62]
In a survey conducted as part of the research for the bookNegotiating Jerusalem (2000), it was reported that 59% of Israeli Jews supported redefining the borders of the city of Jerusalem so as to exclude Arab settlements such as Shuafat, in order to ensure a "Jewish majority" in Jerusalem.[63]
In July 2001, the Israeli authorities destroyed 14 homes under construction in Shuafat on the orders of then mayorEhud Olmert, who said the structures were built without permits. No one was yet living in them.[64] The families acknowledged they do not own the land they built on, but believed they had permission to build there from Islamic Trust religious authorities and argue that obtaining permits to build legally is nearly impossible. Olmert said the houses were being constructed on public land in a "green area" and posed a security threat to the Jews of Pisgat Zeev.[65] According toIsabel Kershner of theNew York Times, Shuafat suffered from an absence of municipal planning, overcrowding, and potholed roads in 2007.[2]
As prime minister,Ehud Olmert questioned whether the annexation of areas like Shuafat into the Jerusalem area was necessary.[66] The Israeli initiative to transfer control of the area to thePalestinian National Authority led to a split in the community: A camp official favored being under Palestinian sovereignty, while the neighborhood'smukhtar rejected the plan, citing his residents' participation in Israeli elections as well as the danger ofPalestinian rocket attacks on Israel.[67]
In 2012, Sorbonne scholar Prof. Sylvaine Bulle cited the Shuafat refugee camp for its urban renewal dynamic, seeing it as an example of a creative adaptation to the fragmented space of the camps towards creating abricolage city, with businesses relocating from east Jerusalem there and new investment in commercial projects.[68]
Three stations of the First 'Red' Line of theJerusalem Light Rail are situated in Shuafat: Shuafat North, Shuafat Central and Shuafat South.[69][70]
The neighbourhood'sMain Street, Shuafat Road, was previously part ofroute 60. In the 1990s a new route was built to the east of the neighbourhood, a dual carriageway with 3 lines in each direction, relievingtraffic congestion along the road.
In 2014, the 16-year-oldMohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped from near his home in Shuafat. He was then murdered by his kidnappers, who were Jewish extremists.
The case for a synagogue or prayer hall at this site appears to have evaporated.
Unless further excavations or more detailed information can strengthen the case for the identification of this building as a synagogue, the authors believe the claim should be withdrawn.
shuafat.
A Second Temple Period Tomb on the Shuafat Ridge, North Jerusalem
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