Zalafa

This article is about a Palestinian village that forms part of the Israeli local council of Ma'ale Iron. For the depopulated Palestinian village, see Khirbat Zalafa.
Zalafa
  • זלפה‎
  • زلفة‎

Zalafa, in 2011
Zalafa
Coordinates: 32°32′56″N 35°11′17″E / 32.54889°N 35.18806°E / 32.54889; 35.18806Coordinates: 32°32′56″N 35°11′17″E / 32.54889°N 35.18806°E / 32.54889; 35.18806
Grid position 159/211 PAL
District Haifa
Founded 17th century
Population (2008)
 • Total 4,000
Name meaning "the cisterns"[1]

Zalafa (Arabic: زلفة‎, Hebrew: זלפה‎) is an Arab village in Israel's Haifa District. The village is in the Wadi Ara area of the northern Triangle, 4 kilometers northeast of Umm al-Fahm. Since 1996, it has been under the jurisdiction of the Ma'ale Iron local council whose headquarters is located in the village.[2] The village is divided into three neighborhoods: East, West and al-Murtafi'a. In the 2008 census, Zalafa's population was 4,000, all of whom are Muslims.[3]

History

Ottoman and British Mandate periods

According to local tradition, Zalafa was established in the mid-17th century by people from the nearby town of Umm al-Fahm.[4] In 1870, French explorer Victor Guérin found the village abandoned,[5] and in 1882 it was described as "a small ruined village with a well" by the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP).[6]

The village's clay and straw houses were built close to each other for security reasons. Clan divisions were reflected in the distribution of the houses. Zalafa's residents drew water from nearby springs and the village lacked basic services such as schools, clinics, local government, banks, etc.[7] Following the Jewish migrations to Palestine, many of Zalafa's residents worked in Jewish-owned fields and settlements. In addition to being a new source of income, the work experience instilled in the residents advanced skills that improved their way of life.[7]

In the 1922 census the population of the village was 156, all of whom were Muslim.[8] In the 1931 census there were 198 Muslims inhabitants living in 43 houses,[9] increasing to 340 in 1945.[10][11] In 1944/45 a total of 2,677 dunums of village land was allocated for grains, 65 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[12] and eight dunams were classified as built-up areas.[13]

1948 war and after

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War the village and the surrounding area came under Iraqi control. In March 1949 Jordanian forces replaced the Iraqi forces in Wadi Ara.[14] On 3 April 1949, Israel and Jordan signed an armistice agreement, in which Israel would receive the Wadi Ara area, including Zalafa.[15] In 1949, Givat Oz was established near the village.[16]

In 1961 Zalafa's population was 480.

Zalafa is one of the villages of Wadi Ara that lacked municipal status after the establishment of Israel.[17] On 16 Jaunary 1979, Interior Minister Yosef Burg offered to establish a local council for Zalafa which would have included nearby Aqqada (800 meters from Zalafa), Swisa (1,400 meters from Zalafa) and al-Murtafi'a (connected to the village), which were in the municipal boundaries of Umm al-Fahm. Although al-Murtafi'a was in the municipal boundaries of Umm al-Fahm it was actually part of Zalafa. The residents of Aqqada and Swisa refused the arrangement and considered their villages as part of Umm al-Fahm, though they already received civil services such as water and education from Zalafa. Burg doubted that Zalafa could bear the financial and administrative burden of having a local council because the population of Zalafa at the time was 1,700 and with the three other villages, 3,10; thus it would have been a very small local council.[18]

Zalafa was under the administration of mukhtars (village headmen) until 1992 when the Interior Ministry established the Nahal Iron regional council, including seven other villages. The locals' objected to the administrative arrangement, and sought independent municipal status for each village. To allay local concerns, the Interior Ministry established an investigative committee to examine other options, and in 1996, decided to split the regional council into two local councils: Ma'ale Iron, which includes Zalafa, and Basma.[2] Al-Murtafi'a is today part of Zalafa.[3] Since January 2004, the seat of Ma'ale Iron has been in a building in Zalafa leased by the local council.[2]

Geography

The village is situated on a high hill, which allowed the residents to better defend themselves. It borders the Megiddo Regional Council to the north, with Givat Oz to the northeast and borders the municipal boundaries of Umm al-Fahm from the south. It is 1,600 meters west of the West Bank. Zalafa's soil is fertile with an abundance of underground water, which helped the development of agriculture, the village's primary source of income and sustenance in its early history. Wadi Zalafa, a stream of the Kishon River, flows through the center of the village. North of the village is another stream that flows into the Kishon River as well.[7]

Sports

Zalafa has a local football team called "Hapoel Bnei Zalafa", participating in Liga Bet. The team hosts matches in a soccer fields located in Umm el-Fahm.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Palmer, 1881; Zelefeh: "the cisterns" p. 156
  2. 1 2 3 "Historical background". Ma'ale Iron Regional Council (in Hebrew). Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 "מפקד האוכלוסין 2008 - עלה עירון - איזור סטטיסטי 2" [2008 Census - Ma'ale Iron - Statistical area 2] (PDF) (in Hebrew). Ministry of Interior (Israel). Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "זלפה" [Zalafa] (in Hebrew). Mapa. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Guérin, 1875, p. 232
  6. ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 72
  7. 1 2 3 "Zilpha village". Umm El Fahem Archive. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p. 30.
  9. ↑ Mills, 1932, p. 71
  10. ↑ Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 17.
  11. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 55.
  12. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 100
  13. ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 150.
  14. ↑ The Politics of Partition; King Abdullah, The Zionists, and Palestine 1921-1951 Avi Shlaim Oxford University Press Revised Edition 2004 ISBN 0-19-829459-X pp. 299, 312
  15. ↑ "Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Morris, 2004, p. xxii, location #127
  17. ↑ Peretz, Issac (16 May 1986). "הודעה בדבר בצגת רשימות הבוחרים לכנסת לשנת פנקס החוברים ה'תשמ"ו/ה'תשמ"ז - 1986-1987" [Announcement about presentation of the lists of electors for the Knesset for Electoral Register year 5746-7 (1986-7)]. Ministry of Interior (Israel) (Maariv). Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  18. ↑ "הישיבה הארבע-מאות-ארבעים-וארבע של הכנסת התשיעית" [The 444th comitee of the Ninth Knesset] (PDF) (in Hebrew). Knesset's Archive. 13 May 1981. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  19. ↑ "הפועל בני זלפה" [Hapoel Bnei Zalafa] (in Hebrew). The Israeli Football Association. Retrieved 23 April 2016.

Bibliography

External links

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