Galilee

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Tzfat, the "Capital" of the Galilee, seen with the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Kinneret in the background

An orchard in the Upper Galilee

Mediterranean forest in Galilee

Panorama of the Harod valley, part of the Jezreel Valley

Galilee (Hebrew: הגליל‎ ha-Galil, lit:circuit, district; Arabic: الجليل‎ al-Jaleel), is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative Northern District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee, Lower Galilee, and Western Galilee, the region makes up one-third of Israel, extending from Biblical Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the ridges of Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa to the south, and from the Jordan Valley to the east across the plains of the Jezreel Valley and Akko to the shores of the Mediterranean and Israel's coastal plain in the west.

Most of the Galilee consists of rocky terrain, at heights of between 500 and 700 meters. There are several high mountains including Mount Tabor and Mount Meron in the region which relatively low temperatures and high rainfall in comparison to elsewhere in Israel. As a result of this climate, flora and wildlife thrive in the region, whilst many birds annually migrate from colder climates to Africa and back through the Hulah-Jordan corridor. The streams and waterfalls, the latter mainly in the Upper Galilee, along with vast fields of greenery and colorful wildflowers, as well as numerous towns of biblical importance, make the region a popular tourist destination in Israel.

Due to its high rainfall (900-1200 mm), mild tempratures (in comparison to other regions of Israel) and high mountains (The Meron's elevation is 1,000-1,208 meters), the upper Galilee region contains some unique flora and fauna which appear no where else in Israel: prickly juniper (juniperus oxycedrus), lebanese cedar (cedrus libani), which grows in a small grove on Mount Meron, cyclamens, paeonias and rhododendron ponticum which sometimes appears on Meron.

1 History
2 Modern Galilee
3 Regions
4 See also
5 References

[edit] History

According to the Bible, Solomon rewarded Hiram for certain services by giving him the gift of an upland plain among the mountains of Naphtali. Hiram called it "the land of Cabul". In Isaiah (8:23), the region is referred to as "the District of the Nations" (גְּלִיל - הַגּוׁיִם; lit:G’lîl Haggôyim), with much of this name being retained in its present name of Galil or HaGalil. During the Hasmonaean period, with the revolt of the Maccabees and the decline of the Seleucid Empire, the Galilee was conquered by the newly independent state of Judaea, and the region was resettled by Jews.

In Roman times, the country was divided into Judea, Samaria, and the Galilee, which comprised the whole northern section of the country, and was the largest of the three regions. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, ruled Galilee as tetrarch.

Galilee, ca. AD 50

The Galilee region was the home of Jesus during at least thirty years of his life. The first three Gospels of the New Testament are mainly an account of Jesus' public ministry in this province, particularly in the villages of Nazareth and Capernaum. Galilee is also cited as the place where Jesus cured a blind man.

After the Arab caliphate took control of the region in 638, it became part of the jund (military district) of Urdunn (Jordan). The Shia Fatimids conquered the region in the 900s; a breakaway sect, venerating the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim, formed the Druze religion, centered in and to north of, the Galilee. The Eastern Galilee, however, retained a Jewish majority for most of its history. During the Crusades, Galilee was organized into the Principality of Galilee, one of the most important Crusader seigneuries.

The Jewish population of the Galilee increased significantly following their expulsion from Spain and welcome from the Ottoman Empire. The community for a time made Tzfat an an international center of cloth weaving and manufacturing, as well as a key site for Jewish learning.[1] Today it remains one of Judaism's four holy cities and a center for kabbalah.

In the mid 18th century, the Galilee was caught up in a struggle between the Bedouin leader Dhaher al-Omar and the Ottoman authorities who were centered in Damascus.

In the early 20th century, the Galilee was inhabited by Arabs, Druzes and Jews, whilst the Ottomans also settled minorities from elsewhere in their empire including Circassians and Bosniaks here. Two Circassian villages remain in the Galilee region today. The Jewish population was increased significantly by Zionist immigration.

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war nearly the entire Galilee came under Israel's control. A large portion of the population fled, leaving entire villages empty; however, a large Israeli Arab community remained based in towns including Nazareth and Shefa-'Amr, due especially to a successful rapprochement with the Druze. The kibbutzim around the Sea of Galilee were sometimes shelled by the Syrian army's artillery until Israel seized the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War.

During the 1970's and the early 1980's, the PLO launched several attacks on towns of the Upper and Western Galilee from Lebanon. Israel initiated Operation Litani (1979) and Operation Peace For Galilee (1982) with the stated objectives of destroying the PLO infrastructure in Lebanon and protecting the citizens of the Galilee. Israel occupied much of Southern Lebanon until 1985 when it withdrew to a narrow security buffer zone.

Until the year, 2000, Hezbollah, and earlier Amal, continued to fight the Israeli Defence Forces, sometimes shelling Upper Galilee communities with Katyusha rockets. In May 2000, Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak unilaterally withdrew IDF troops from southern Lebanon, maintaining a security force on the Israeli side of the international border recognized by the UN. However, clashes between Hezbollah and Israel continued along the border, and UN observers condemned both for their attacks.

The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict was characterized by round-the-clock Katyusha rocket attacks (with a greatly extended range) by Hezbollah on the entire Galilee, with long-range ground-launched missiles, hitting as far south as the Sharon plain, Jezreel Valley, and Jordan Valley below the Sea of Galilee.

[edit] Modern Galilee

Rainbow Cave (a natural arch) on the northern ridge of Nahal Betzet, Galilee.

Today the Galilee is home to a large Israeli Arab population, with a particularly large Druze population. The central portion of the Galilee also known as the "Heart of the Galilee" stretching from the border with Lebanon to the northern edge of the Jezreel Valley including the cities of Nazareth, Sakhnin, Shaghur, Tamra and Kafr Kanna has an Arab population of 78%. The Jewish Agency has attempted to increase the Jewish population in this area,^[1] but the non-Jewish population continues to grow. In 2006, out of the 1.2 million residents in the Galilee area some 53.1% were of various minorities, while only 46.9% were Jewish.^[2]

The largest cities in the region are Acre, Nahariya, Nazareth, Tzfat, Karmiel, Shaghur, Afula, and Tiberias. The port city of Haifa serves as a commercial center for the whole region.

Because of its hilly terrain, most of the settlements in the Galilee are small villages connected by relatively few roads. A railroad runs south from Nahariya along the Mediterranean coast. The main sources of livelihood throughout the area are in the fields of agriculture and tourism. Industrial parks are being developed, bringing further employment opportunities to the local population which includes many recent immigrants. The Israeli government is contributing funding to the private initiative, The Galilee Finance Facility, organised by the Milken Institute and Koret Economic Development Fund.^[3]

The Galilee is a popular destination for vacationing Israelis from other parts of the country who enjoy its scenery, recreational, and gastronomic offerings. Many kibbutzim and moshav families operate Zimmers (German: "room", the local term for a B&B). Numerous festivals are held throughout the year, especially in the autumn and spring holiday seasons. These include the Acco Festival of Alternative Theater,[2] the olive harvest festival, and music festivals featuring Anglo-American folk, klezmer, Renaissance, and chamber music.

[edit] Regions

The Galilee is often divided into the following sub-regions:

The Western Galilee, also known the "Northern Coastal Plain", stretches from north of Haifa up to Rosh HaNikra on the Israel-Lebanon border.
The Lower Galilee covers the area from Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa in the south to the Beit HaKerem Valley in the north. Its eastern border is the Jordan River.
The Upper Galilee extends from the Beit HaKerem Valley northwards into southern Lebanon. Its eastern border is the Sea of Galilee and the mountains of the Golan Heights. The "Finger of the Galilee" (Hebrew: אצבע הגליל‎, Etzba HaGalil) is a panhandle along the Hulah Valley; it contains the towns Metulla and Qiryat Shemona and the rivers of Dan and Banias.