above sea level), overlooking Wadi Ara. Umm al-Fahm is the social, cultural and economic center for residents of the Wadi Ara and Triangle
regions.
Etymology
Umm al-Fahm literally means "Mother of Charcoal" in Arabic.[2] According to local lore, the village was surrounded by forests which were used to produce charcoal.[4]
History
Several archaeological sites around the city date to the
Hellenistic, Roman, early Muslim and the Middle Ages.[5]
Mamluk era
In 1265 C.E. (663 H.), after
Mamluk na'ib al-saltana (viceroy) of Syria, Jamal al-Din al-Najibi.[6][7]
Ottoman era
In 1517 the village was incorporated into the
Nahiya of Sara of the Liwa of Lajjun. It had a population of 24 households, all Muslim, and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, occasional revenues, goats and/or beehives, and a press for olive oil or grape syrup.[10]
Describing the social fabric of the villages, scholars noted that
Umm al-Fahm’s rise to regional ascendancy began with the migration and settlement of the
In 1838, Edward Robinson recorded Umm al-Fahm on his travels,[12] and again in 1852, when he noted that there were 20 to 30 Christian families in the village.[13] The Christian families of Umm al-Fahm owned large tracts of land in Umm al-Fahm as well as watermills at Lajjun.[11]
In 1870,
AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya of Shafa al-Gharby.[15]
In 1872,
Charles Tyrwhitt-Drake noted that Umm al-Fahm was "divided into four-quarters, El Jebarin, El Mahamin, El Maj’ahineh, and El Akbar’iyeh, each of which has its own sheikh."[16]
In 1883, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Umm al-Fahm as having around 500 inhabitants, of which some 80 people were Christians. The place was well-built of stone, and the villagers were described as being very rich in cattle, goats and horses. It was the most important place in the area besides Jenin. The village was divided into four-quarters, el Jebarin, el Mahamin, el Mejahineh, and el Akbariyeh, each quarter having its own sheikh. A maqam for a Sheikh Iskander was noted on a hill above;[17]Conder and Kitchener wrote that the village's Qadi said Sheikh Iskander was a king of the children of Israel, while others saw it as a maqam dedicated for Alexander the Great.[18]
Umm al-Fahm was the birthplace of Palestinian Arab rebel leader Yusuf Hamdan. He died there in 1939 during a firefight with British troops.[21]
In the
al-Murtafi'a, Lajjun, Mu'awiya, Musheirifa and Musmus. The total population was 5,490; 5,430 Muslims and 60 Christians,[22] with 77,242 dunams of land, according to the official land and population survey.[23] 4332 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 44,586 dunams for cereals,[24] while 128 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[25]
State of Israel
See also:
October 2000 events
Signing oath of allegiance to the Israeli government, 1949
In 1948, there were 4,500 inhabitants, mostly farmers, in the Umm al-Fahm area. After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Lausanne Conference of 1949 awarded the entire Little Triangle to Israel, which wanted it for security purposes. On 20 May 1949, the city's leader signed an oath of allegiance to the State of Israel. Following its absorption into Israel, the town's population grew rapidly (see box). By 1960, Umm al-Fahm was given local council status by the Israeli government. Between 1965 and 1985, it was governed by elected councils. In 1985, Umm al-Fahm was granted official city status.[citation needed]
In October 2010, a group of 30 right-wing activists led by supporters of the banned
Kach movement clashed with protesters in Umm al-Fahm.[26] Many policemen and protesters were injured in the fray.[27]
Since the 1990s, the municipality has been run by the Northern
Islamic Movement. Ex-mayor Sheikh Raed Salah was arrested in 2003 on charges of raising millions of dollars for Hamas. He was freed after two years in prison.[33] Sheikh Hashem Abd al-Rahman was elected mayor in 2003.[34] He was replaced in November 2008 by Khaled Aghbariyya.[35]
Today the mayor is Samir Sobhi Mahamed.
Because of its proximity to the border of the
Kul Al-Arab in July 2000, 83% of respondents opposed the idea of transferring their city to Palestinian jurisdiction.[36] The proposal by Avigdor Lieberman for a population exchange was rejected by Israeli Arab politicians as ethnic cleansing.[37]
Economy
Since the establishment of Israel, Umm al-Fahm has gone from being a village to an urban center that serves as a hub for the surrounding villages. Most breadwinners make their living in the building sector. The remainder work mostly in clerical or self-employed jobs, though a few small factories have been built over the years.[
NIS 2,855, a real change of 3.4% over the course of 2000. Salaried males had a mean monthly wage of NIS 3,192 (a real change of 4.6%) versus NIS 1,466 for females (a real change of −12.6%). The mean income for the self-employed was 4,885. 488 residents received unemployment benefits and 4,949 received an income guarantee. In 2007, the city had an unofficial 31 percent poverty rate.[33]
Haat Delivery is a food-delivery start-up based in Umm al-Fahm. The service was launched in 2020 and handles tens of thousands of orders a month.[38]
Education
According to
Bagrut
matriculation certificate.
Arts and culture
Umm al-Fahm Art Gallery
The Umm al-Fahm Art Gallery was established in 1996 as a venue for contemporary art exhibitions and a home for original Arab and Palestinian art.[39] The gallery operates under the auspices of the El-Sabar Association.[40]Yoko Ono held an exhibition there in 1999,[41] and some of her art is still on show. The gallery offers classes to both Arab and Jewish children and exhibits the work of both Arab and Jewish artists. In 2007, the municipality granted the gallery a large plot of land on which the Umm al-Fahm Museum of Contemporary Art will be built.[33]
Green Carpet is an association established by the residents to promote local tourism and environmental projects in and around Umm al-Fahm.[3]
^Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, pp. 161, 169, 195, 2nd Appendix, p. 131
Esdraelon, and a view of Tabor and Little Hermon beyond. There was, however, a haze in the atmosphere, which prevented us from distinguishing the villages in the plain. There were said to be in Um el-Fahm twenty or thirty families of Christians; some said more. Outside of the village, near the western brow, was a cemetery. Here too was a threshing-sledge; in form like the stone-sledge of New England; made of three planks, each a foot wide; with holes thickly bored in the bottom, into which were driven projecting bits of black volcanic stone. The village belongs to the government of Jenin. They had hitherto paid their taxes at so much a head; but the governor had recently taken an account of their land, horses, and stock; with the purpose, as was supposed, of exacting the tithe. Twenty-five men had been taken as soldiers under the conscription." Cited in Zertal, 2016, pp. 116-117
'We are all Umm El Fahm' Protests against land confiscation in an Umm El Fahm, November 1998, Issue No. 86 The Other Israel (newsletter of the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace)
Israel
Haifa
