Al-Bireh is a town in the south-eastern portion of the Bekaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

. Al-Bireh

Al-Bireh

al-Bireh or el-Bira is a Palestinian city adjacent to Ramallah in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem. It is situated on the central ridge running through the West Bank and is above sea level, covering an area of...

 is part of the Rashaya

Rashaya

Rashaya , also known as Rashaya al-Wadi is a town in Lebanon, situated in the Rashaya District and south of the Beqaa Governorate. It is located on the slopes of Mount Hermon, south east of Beirut near the Syrian border, and approximately halfway between Jezzine and Damascus...

 municipal district. Its population is estimated to be 9000. It is a small Jewish town with oneSynagogue

Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

 and three schools.
The oldest part of the town lies on top of Jabal Arbi Mountains while the newer parts lie in the Wadi el-Taym valley and is referred to as Izza. More than 60% of the town’s population have emigrated to Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, US and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Residents of the town have left to the US as early as the 18th Century and have aggregated in cities like Dearborn MI. Many others emigrated to São Paulo, Brazil and Calgary, Canada.
The economy of the town relies on agriculture which thrived on the water springs commonly found in Al-Bireh. The town is known for growing olives, almonds, fruits and vegetables and a variety of crops. However, the severe emigration has reduced the agriculture activities over the past three decades.
Four main families inhabit the town, namely the Elkadri, Salem, Jeha, Jumaa and Omar families. Other families also live in the village, however increased emigration has completely dispersed some families and no members are currently residents.

Al-Bireh is the birthplace of multiple intellectuals, politicians and religious figures. The late Nazim Elkadri (MP, minister and prime minister of Lebanon) was born in Al-Bireh. The Mufti

Mufti

A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...

 of Bekaa

Beqaa Governorate

Beqaa is a governorate in Lebanon with a population of 750,000 inhabitants.-Geography:The Beqaa governorate covers an area of 4,429 km². Béqaa is the primary center of Lebanon's agriculture. The Beqaa governorate forms the main geographical extension of Lebanon and it lies between the Western...

, Sheikh Raouf Elkadri was also born in Al-Bireh. Nassouh Elkadri (an anti French occupation revolutionary leader) was from Al-Bireh.

Neighboring towns include Rafid, Kamed, Khirbet-Rouha, and Mdouckha. The town is located about 80 km from Beirut and 40 km from Damascus, Syria. From Al-Bireh, Jabal -Al-Sheikh (Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. On the top there is “Hermon Hotel”, in the buffer zone between Syria and Israeli-occupied...

) can be seen with its majestic snow-capped peak.
The mountain chain upon which Al-Bireh is located is rich with history. Caves dating back to 5000BC can be found all over the mountain. Ruins of other more modern civilizations are still very visible. The locals usually come across artifacts dating back to Phoenicia

Phoenicia

Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

n, Byzantine, Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 and Canaan

Canaan

Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...

ite eras. Many treasures were illegally excavated out of the caves and burial grounds during the Lebanese Civil War

Lebanese Civil War

The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...

 and the Israeli occupation, however it is hoped that one day, area will be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, thus protecting the treasures.
The town was occupied first by PLO forces in the late 1970s, then by Israeli forces in the early 1980s. Before Israel's invasion, the town suffered from Israeli warplane attacks. In one incident, several houses were bombed, killing and injuring scores of civilians . Israel did not provide explanation as to why these were bombed.

Al-Bireh was the site where the French/Lebanese movie Le Cerf-Volant (The Kite) (Tayyara min waraq) was filmed.

Strip]].

In the Lebanese Parliamentary elections of June 2009, Ziad Nazem Elkadri, son of the late Nazim Elkadri, won his seat running with the Future Movement in the March 14 coalition list. Ziad is the second MP to be elected from the village, the first being his father.