Abu Ghosh
Abu Ghosh
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Coordinates: 31°48′17″N 35°6′39″E / 31.80472°N 35.11083°E | |
Grid position | 160/134 PAL |
Country | Israel |
District | Jerusalem District |
Founded | 7000 BCE (earliest settlement) 16th century (Abu Ghosh clan arrives) |
Area | |
• Total | 2,500 dunams (2.5 km2 or 600 acres) |
Population (2022)[1] | |
• Total | 7,942 |
• Density | 3,200/km2 (8,200/sq mi) |
Abu Ghosh (
History
Prehistory
Abu Ghosh is located in one of the earliest areas of human habitation in Israel.[2] Archaeological excavations have revealed three Neolithic settlement phases, the middle phase is dated to the 7th millennium BCE.[3]
Identification with biblical Kiriath-jearim
The old Arabic name of Abu Ghosh, Qaryat al-'Inab (
In the 19th century,
Roman period
Legio X Fretensis of the Roman army had a station house in Abu Ghosh until the end of the 3rd century CE.[2]
Early Muslim period
In 1047,
Crusader period
The
Ottoman period
In the early
There are several versions on the origins of the Abu Gosh clan: According to one version, Abu Ghosh is the name of an Arab family who settled at the location in the early 16th century.
The Abu Gosh family controlled the pilgrimage route from
In 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village, named Kuryet el'-Enab, located in the Beni Malik district.[19]
It was attacked again in 1853 during a civil war between feudal families under Ahmad Abu Ghosh who ordered his nephew Mustafa to go to battle. A third attack on Abu Ghosh, carried out by the Ottoman military forces, helped and executed[clarification needed] by British forces, took place during the military expedition against the feudal families in the 1860s. The Abu Ghoshes were among the well-known feudal families in Palestine. They governed 22 villages.[20] The sheikh of Abu Ghosh lived in an impressive house described by pilgrims and tourists as a "true palace ... a castle ... a protective fortress ..."[21]
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Abu Ghosh had 148 houses and a population of 579, though the population count included men only.[22][23]
In the 19th century, the village was also referred to as Kuryet el' Enab.[24]
In 1896 the population of Abu Ghosh was estimated to be about 1,200 persons.[25]
At the beginning of the 20th century Qariat el-'Inab functioned as a '
Kiryat Anavim, the first kibbutz in the Judean Hills, was founded near Abu Ghosh in 1914, on land purchased from the Abu Ghosh family.[27]
British Mandate
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Enab had a population 475, 450 Muslims and 25 Christians,[28] increasing in the 1931 census to 601; 576 Muslims and 25 Christians, in 138 houses.[29]
When
In the 1945 Village Statistics the population of Qaryat el 'Inab (Abu Ghosh) was 860; 820 Muslims and 40 Christians,[32] with a total of 7,590 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.[32][33] Of this, a total of 1,517 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 3,274 for cereals,[32][34] while 21 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[32][35]
During the
During Operation Nachshon the Haganah reconsidered an attack on Abu Ghosh due to opposition of the Lehi, whose local commanders were on good terms with the mukhtar (village chief).[38]
Israel
1948 war
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Har'el Brigade headquarters were located in Abu-Ghosh.[39] Many of the villagers left Abu Ghosh during the heavy fighting in 1948, but most returned home in the following months.
The Israeli government, subsequently on peaceful terms with the village, invested in improving the infrastructure of the village.[40]
Abu Ghosh mayor Salim Jaber attributed in 2007 the good relations with Israel to the great importance attached to being hospitable: "We welcome anybody, regardless of religion or race."[41] According to a village elder interviewed by The Globe and Mail: "Perhaps because of the history of feuding with the Arabs around us we allied ourselves with the Jews ... against the British. We did not join the Arabs from the other villages bombarding Jewish vehicles in 1947. The Palmach fought many villages around us. But there was an order to leave us alone. The other Arabs never thought there would be a Jewish government here. ... During the first truce of the War of Independence, I was on my way to Ramallah to see my father and uncles, and I was captured by Jordanian soldiers. They accused me of being a traitor and tortured me for six days."[41]
Martial law (1949–1966)
During the early years of the State of Israel the village was subjected to repeated searches by the army and anyone who had not registered as resident in November 1948 could be expelled. One case attracted a lot of public criticism. In June 1950, the IDF and police deported 105 men and women believed to be "infiltrators" to Jordan. In an open letter to the Knesset, the inhabitants of Abu Ghosh claimed that the army had "surrounded our village, and taken our women, children and old folk, and thrown them over the border and into the Negev Desert, and many of them died in consequence, when they were shot [trying to make their way back across] the borders."[42] The letter further stated that they woke up to "shouts blaring over the loudspeaker announcing that the village was surrounded and anyone trying to get out would be shot. ... The police and military forces then began to enter the houses and conduct meticulous searches, but no contraband was found. In the end, using force and blows, they gathered up our women, and old folk and children, the sick and the blind and pregnant women. These shouted for help but there was no saviour. And we looked on and were powerless to do anything save beg for mercy. Alas, our pleas were of no avail... They then took the prisoners, who were weeping and screaming, to an unknown place, and we still do not know what befell them."[42]
Knesset member Moshe Erem accused the army of excessive force, a charge that Prime Minister Ben-Gurion denied. He also defended the policy of expulsions. Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett, concerned about international reaction, argued that there should be more searches with fewer people being deported at one time and then only adult males. One of the issues causing concern in this case was that some of those expelled had been resident in Abu Ghosh for over a year. In the wake of public pressure, the vast majority of villagers were allowed to return.[42] In July 1952, MK Beba Idelson objected to the deportation of an Abu Ghosh woman, who was said to have cancer, and her four children. The police minister Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit rejected the claim that the woman had cancer.[43] The village remained under martial law until 1966.
21st century
In 2017, Abu Ghosh was described as a "
Archaeology
In 2017 an archaeological dig began at Deir el-'Azar, the site of the convent, led by
The hilltop shows signs of intensive settlement activity during the Iron IIC period (700–586 BCE), when the rectangular podium at the summit was reconstructed.
Local government
Abu Ghosh is governed by a local council, and is part of the Jerusalem District. The current mayor of Abu Ghosh is Salim Jaber. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Abu Ghosh had a population of 7,942 in 2022.[1]
Religious sites
Benedictine St Mary of the Resurrection Abbey
The Crusader church at the historical entrance to the village, now at the centre of the
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Abu Ghosh, the Benedictine monastery
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the Benedictine monastery and its surroundings
Church of Notre Dame
The Church of Notre Dame de l'Arche d'Alliance (
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The statue ofMadonna and Childabove the Church of Notre Dame
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Church of Notre Dame and its surroundings
Abu Ghosh mosques
Abu Ghosh's historic mosque is in the town center, near the Crusader church, and is dedicated to Uzair-biblical Ezra (Quran 9:30).[52] The new Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque, completed in 2014, is the largest mosque in Israel and was built with money donated by the Chechen government.[53]
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The historical mosque of Abu Ghosh
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The new Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque
Music and culture
The Abu Gosh Music Festival is held twice a year, in the fall and late spring, with musical ensembles and choirs from Israel and abroad performing in and around the churches in Abu Ghosh.[54] The monks believe that holding concerts on the grounds of their churches is a "fine symbol of friendship and welcome. Jews coming to a Muslim community to hear music in a Christian church...is a small, white pebble in the path that we want."[55]
Local cuisine
Abu Ghosh is popular among Palestinians and Israelis for its Middle Eastern restaurants and hummus.[56]
In 2007, Abu Ghosh was described as the "hummus capital of Israel."[57] In January 2010, Abu Ghosh secured the Guinness World Record for preparing the largest dish of hummus in the world. Jawdat Ibrahim, owner of Abu Ghosh hummus restaurant, organized the event, which brought together 50 Jewish and Israeli-Arab chefs. The winning 20-foot (6.1 m) dish weighed 4,087.5 kilograms (8992.5 pounds), about twice as much as the previous record set by Lebanon in October 2009.[58][59][60] In May 2010, Lebanon regained the Guinness World Record, more than doubling Abu Ghosh's January 2010 total.[61]
Chametz ceremony
Since 1997, Jaaber Hussein, a Muslim Arab-Israeli hotel food manager from Abu Ghosh, has signed an agreement with
Gallery
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Abu Ghosh 1948
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Abu Ghosh 1948. Police station in foreground.
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Abu Ghosh Police Station used as headquarters by Harel Brigade, 1948
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View of Abu Ghosh 1948
See also
References
- ^ a b "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sharon, 1997, pp. 3-13
- ISBN 0-8264-8571-5
- ^ "1 Samuel 6 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre". mechon-mamre.org.
- JSTOR 3768522.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Israel Finkelstein, Thomas Römer, Christophe Nicolle, Zachary C. Dunseth, Assaf Kleiman, Juliette Mas & Naomi Porat, Excavations at Kiriath-jearim near Jerusalem, 2017: preliminary report, Semitica 60 (2018), pp. 31–83, accessed 30 January 2019
- ^ Conder, "The Survey of Western Palestine, Memoirs", vol. 3, pp. 43-ff.
- ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, p. 18.
- ^ Khusraw, 1897, p. 22
- ^ le Strange, 1890, p. 481
- . Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-521-39037-8. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
David Roberts ' lithograph purporting to be of beautiful church of St George in which the place of his Lydda is evidently of Abu Ghosh
- ^ Toledano, 1984, p. 294, has Inab at location 35°06′05″E 31°48′25″N.
- ^ ISBN 0-8143-2909-8.
- ^ "Chechnya Leader Inaugurates $10m Mosque in Israel". Haaretz.
- ^ Spyridon, 1938, p. 79.
- ^ "2BackToHomePage3".
- ^ Rood, 2004, pp. 123–124
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, 2nd appendix, p. 123
- ^ Finn, 1878, p. 230
- ISBN 0-88728-234-2
- ^ Socin, 1879, p. 142
- ^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 118, noted 149 houses in Karjet el-'Ineb
- ^ Survey of Western Palestine, 1870. Index page 3.
- ^ Schick, 1896, p. 125
- ^ Macalister and Masterman, 1905, p. 353
- ^ a b "Army of shadows: Palestinian collaboration with Zionism, 1917 – 1948 / Hillel Cohen". Archived from the original on 9 July 2010.
- ^ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p. 14
- ^ Mills, 1932, p. 40
- ^ Army of Shadows: Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917–1948, By Hillel Cohen, Page 78
- ^ No balm in Gilead: a personal retrospective of mandate days in Palestine (1989), By Sylva M. Gelber, page 21
- ^ a b c d Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 25
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 58 Archived 3 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 103
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 153
- Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs), June 2000
- ^ Army of Shadows: Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917–1948, Hillel Cohen, Page 232–244
- ISBN 1-85168-467-0. p.91.
- ^ Har'el: Palmach brigade in Jerusalem, Zvi Dror (ed. Nathan Shoḥam), Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishers: Benei Barak 2005, p. 273 (Hebrew)
- ^ My World as a Jew: The Memoirs of Israel Goldstein, Volume 2, (Associated University Presses, 1984) Page 163
- ^ a b c One Muslim key to Passover's food ritual, The Globe and Mail, 5 April 2007
- ^ a b c Morris, pp. 267–69
- ISBN 0-19-827850-0. p.152
- ^ Kirschner, Ison=bel (26 September 2017). "Palestinian Gunman Kills 3 Israelis at West Bank Crossing". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ Ben Zion, Ilan (8 February 2017). "Archaeologists to break ground at biblical site where Ark of the Covenant stood". Times of Israel. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- ^ a b Nir Hasson, Israeli Excavation Reveals New Findings About the Ark of the Covenant, Haaretz, 11 December 2018, accessed 30 January 2019
- ^ Assaf Kleiman, Preliminary Report on the 2017 Season, at the website of The Shmunis Family Excavations at Kiriath-Jearim: A Joint Tel Aviv University/Collège de France Project, 21 July 2018, accessed 30 January 2019
- ^ "A Crusader era church, great Middle Eastern food, and the battle for the road to Jerusalem". Travel blog by Ethan Bensinger, 2007.
- ^ a b Women of Bible lands: a pilgrimage to compassion and wisdom By Martha Ann Kirk, page 143
- ^ "The Catholic Church of the Holy Land » Benedictines: Mount Olivet. Abu Gosh".
- ^ Israel and the Palestinian Territories: The Rough Guide, by Daniel Jacobs, Shirley Eber, Francesca Silvani, 1998, page 126
- ^ Colorful Crusader Churches: Visiting the Monastery of the Resurrection. By Jonathan Klawans, 2 August 2023, for Bible History Daily, BiblicalArchaeology Society.Accessed 7 August 2023.
- ^ The New Mosque of Abu Ghosh: 23 March 2014 Inauguration ceremony
- ^ CoMedia Group LTD. "פסטיבל אבו גוש: עמוד הבית".
- ^ Steinberg, Jessica. "The monk and the moshavnik who produce coexistence concerts in a Muslim village". www.timesofisrael.com.
- ISBN 978-0822391203.
- ^ Israel & the Palestinian territories, Lonely Planet, 2007, Michael Kohn, page 145
- ^ "Abu Gosh mashes up world's largest hummus". YNet. AFP. 8 January 2010.
- ^ "Abu Ghosh secures Guinness world record for largest dish of hummus". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
- ^ Jack Brockbank (12 January 2010). "The largest serving of hummus". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
- ^ Fox, Zoe (9 May 2010). "Lebanon breaks Israel's hummus world record". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ Ben Lynfield (6 April 2009). "The Muslim guardian of Israel's daily bread". The Independent. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
Bibliography
- Barron, J. B., ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H. H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (pp. 18, 43, 132–133)
- Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945. Government of Palestine.
- Finn, J. (1878). E. A. Finn (ed.). Stirring Times, or, Records from Jerusalem Consular Chronicles of 1853 to 1856. Edited and Compiled by His Widow E. A. Finn. With a Preface by the Viscountess Strangford. Vol. 1. London: C.K. Paul & co.
- Hadawi, S. (1970). Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine. Palestine Liberation Organization Research Centre. Archived from the original on 8 December 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- Hartmann, M. (1883). "Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem türkischen Staatskalender für Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht (1871)". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 6: 102–149.
- Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- ISBN 0-19-827929-9.
- Mukaddasi (1886). Description of Syria, including Palestine. London: Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society.
- Nasir-I-Khusrau; et al. (1897). Vol IV. A journey through Syria and Palestine (1047 CE.). The pilgrimage of Saewolf to Jerusalem. The pilgrimage of the Russian abbot Daniel. London: Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society.
- Palmer, E. H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (p. 321)
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 2. Boston: Crocker & Brewster. p. 335
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
- Rood, Judith Mendelsohn (2004). Sacred Law In The Holy City: The Khedival Challenge To The Ottomans As Seen From Jerusalem, 1829–1841. BRILL. ISBN 9789004138100.
- Schick, C. (1896). "Zur Einwohnerzahl des Bezirks Jerusalem". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 19: 120–127.
- ISBN 90-04-10833-5.
- Socin, A. (1879). "Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 2: 135–163.
- Spyridon, S. N. (1938). "Annals of Palestine". Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society. XVIII: 65–111.
- OCLC 1004386.
- Toledano, E. (1984). "The Sanjaq of Jerusalem in the Sixteenth Century: Aspects of Topography and Population". Archivum Ottomanicum. 9: 279–319.
External links
- Welcome To Qaryet al-'Inab/Abu Goush
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: IAA, Wikimedia commons