Greeks in Israel

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Greeks
Regions with significant populations
Jerusalem · Nazareth · Bethlehem
Languages
Greek, Hebrew, Yevanic, and Ladino
Religion
Greek Orthodox Church, Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Greeks in Lebanon, Greeks in Turkey

For millennia, the Greeks in Israel have been prominently present in

Eastern Greek Orthodox Church in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, in an arrangement that long predates the modern State of Israel.[1]

History

Classic period

In the late 330s BCE,

Tell Balatah).[2]

When the

Hasmonean Kingdom was absorbed into the Roman Empire, the area remained under the influence of the Greek language and culture. Especially during the Byzantine period, Palaestina reached its greatest prosperity in antiquity. Urbanization increased, large new areas were put under cultivation, monasteries proliferated and synagogues were restored. The cities of Palaestina Prima and Teria, such as Caesarea Maritima, Jerusalem, Scythopolis, Neapolis
, and Gaza reached their peak population, and the population west of the Jordan may have reached as many as one million.

Middle Ages

Since the 7th century, when the Arabs conquered the region, the Greek presence was reduced.[

Greek Jews who emigrated from Greece and live now in Israel, some of whom made aliyah over the previous centuries, with most moving to Israel after Israeli independence[citation needed
].

Modern era

The 1922 census of Palestine lists 1,315 Greek speakers in Mandatory Palestine (7 in Southern, 1,044 in Jerusalem-Jaffa, 19 in Samaria, and 245 in Northern), including 1,230 in municipal areas (760 in Jerusalem, 161 in Jaffa, 205 in Haifa, 4 in Gaza, 1 in Hebron, 6 in Nablus, 1 in Safad, 1 in Lydda, 12 in Nazareth, 20 in Ramleh, 1 in Tiberias, 29 in Bethlehem, 11 in Acre, 2 in Tulkarem, 1 in Ramallah, 4 in Beit Jala, 10 in Jenin, 1 in Beersheba, and 1 in Baisan).[4]

During the

WWII some of the Greek community went to Greece voluntarily to fight against the Axis powers.[5]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "Greek Catholic « See The Holy Land".
  2. ^ "Palestine in the Hellenistic Age - My Jewish Learning". myjewishlearning.com. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  3. ^ "Πατριαρχείον Ιεροσολύμων". jerusalem-patriarchate.info. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  4. ^ Palestine Census ( 1922).
  5. ^ "It's all Greek to me". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.

External links

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