Jifna - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Jifna is a Palestinian

Palestinian people

The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate

Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate

The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It covers a large part of the central West Bank, on the northern border of the Jerusalem Governorate. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of al-Bireh.According to the Palestinian Central...

in the central West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

, Palestinian Territories

Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...

, located 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of Ramallah

Ramallah

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...

and 23 kilometres (14.3 mi) north of Jerusalem. A village of about 1,400 people, Jifna has retained a Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

majority since the 6th century CE. Its total land area consists of 6,015 dunam

Dunam

A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...

s, of which 420 are designated as built-up areas, most of the remainder being covered with olive, fig and apricot groves. Jifna is governed by a village council, led (2008) by chairman Jabi Na'im Kamil.

Jifna was known as Gophnah at the time of the First Jewish-Roman War

First Jewish-Roman War

The First Jewish–Roman War , sometimes called The Great Revolt , was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews of Judaea Province , against the Roman Empire...

, and after its conquest became a Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

regional capital. Later the town grew less significant politically, but nevertheless prospered under Byzantine

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

and Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

rule due to its location on a trade route. St. George's Church in Jifna was built in the 6th century CE, but fell into disrepair and was not rebuilt until the arrival of the Crusade

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

rs in the late 10th century. However, it again fell into ruin after the Crusaders were driven out by the Ayyubids. In modern times, the ruins of St. George's Church have become a tourist attraction. During the period of Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

control in Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

the tower of an ancient Roman structure in Jifna became the location of a jail house.

Jifna has local traditions and legends relating to the Holy Family

Holy Family

The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph.The Feast of the Holy Family is a liturgical celebration in the Roman Catholic Church in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his foster father, Saint Joseph, as a family...

, and to the village water-spring. It is also locally known for its apricot harvest festival; each year, during the late Spring period, hundreds travel to the village to harvest the fruit during its brief season.

Biblical era and Roman/Byzantine rule

Jifna was identified by Edward Robinson

Edward Robinson (scholar)

Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar, known as the “Father of Biblical Geography.” He has been referred to as the “founder of modern Palestinology.” -Biography:...

with Ophni

Ophni

Ophni is a Hebrew Old Testament name meaning mouldy.A city of Benjamin so important as to be second only to Jerusalem. It still survives in the modern Jifna or Jufna, 23 miles northwest of Bethel....

of Benjamin

Tribe of Benjamin

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...

, mentioned in the Book of Joshua

Book of Joshua

The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....

as one of the "twelve cities." Nothing thereafter is recorded in its history until the time of the Roman conquest during the 1st century BCE, when it appears in various records as "Gophna". Gophna was described by Flavius Josephus

Josephus

Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...

as the second city of Judea

Judea

Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...

, after Jerusalem, in his account of the First Jewish-Roman War

First Jewish-Roman War

The First Jewish–Roman War , sometimes called The Great Revolt , was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews of Judaea Province , against the Roman Empire...

s during the 1st century CE. The town is depicted as Gophna in the Map of Madaba, situated north of Gibeon (al-Jib

Jib, Jerusalem

Jib is a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Governorate, located ten kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, in the seam zone of the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Jib had a population of approximately 4,700 in 2006...

), and is also mentioned in the Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

as Ben Gufnin, a "city of priests". The latter portion of its Talmudic name derives from the Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

root word gefen, meaning "vine".

Known by the Romans

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....

as Cofna, Jifna was a regional capital in the Iudaea Province

Iudaea Province

Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...

under the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

. Around 50 BCE the Roman general Cassius

Gaius Cassius Longinus

Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...

sold the population into slavery, for failure to pay taxes. They were freed, however, by Mark Antony

Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...

shortly after he came to power. Jifna was within the area under Hananiah

Chaninah

Chaninah, also called Haninah, Chananiah, etc. was a Tanna of the 2nd century, contemporary of Judah ben Bathyra, Matteya ben Ḥeresh, and Jonathan . Who his father was is not stated; nor is anything known of his early years. He was named after his grandfather, Hananiah, and educated by his uncle,...

's command in 66 CE, during the First Jewish-Roman War, and was the headquarters of one of the twelve toparchies (minor realms) of Judea. The Roman emperor Vespasian

Vespasian

Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...

occupied the town in 68 CE, established an army garrison there, and concentrated within the city Jewish priests and other local notables who had surrendered to him. Titus

Titus

Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....

, the future Roman emperor, passed through Gophna during his march to besiege Jerusalem

Siege of Jerusalem (70)

The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...

in 70 CE.

The building of a church dedicated to Saint George

Saint George

Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...

during the 6th century CE indicates that by this time Jifna, now under Byzantine

Byzantine Empire

rule, had become a Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

town. Besides the church, other remains from this era are located in Jifna, including a Jewish tomb, a tower (Burj Jifna) once used by the Ottomans as a prison, a Roman villa, an olive oil press and a winery.

Islamic, Crusader and Ottoman rule

Jifna, along with most of Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

, was annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate

Rashidun Caliphate

The Rashidun Caliphate , comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632, Year 10 A.H.. At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia...

under Umar ibn al-Khattab

Umar

`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....

after the Battle of Ajnadayn

Battle of Ajnadayn

The Battle of Ajnadayn, fought on July 30, 634, south of Beit Shemesh in present day Israel, was the first major pitched battle between the Eastern Roman Empire and the army of the Arabic Rashidun Caliphate. The result of the battle was a decisive Muslim victory...

in 634. The town became less politically significant under the Arab

Arab

dynasties of the Umayyad

Umayyad

The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...

s, Abbasid

Abbasid

The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....

s and Fatimid

Fatimid

The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...

s, but remained a major regional center for trade and commerce, due to its location along the Jerusalem–Nazareth

Nazareth

Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...

road. It was known by the Arab

Arab

s as Gafeniyyah.

Sources are vague, but it is likely that St. George's Church fell into disrepair during the early decades of Islamic rule, and that unfavorable circumstances for the Christian population prevented them from rebuilding it. However, it was partially rebuilt with old materials by the Crusader

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

s, who conquered the area in 1099. The Crusaders built a large courtyard building in Jifna. It had a monumental gate with a portcullis

Portcullis

A portcullis is a latticed grille made of wood, metal, fibreglass or a combination of the three. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defence during time of attack or siege...

, with a large vaulted hall and thick walls of fine masonry. After their defeat to the Ayyubid

Ayyubid dynasty

The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...

s under Saladin

Saladin

Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...

in 1187, the church again fell into ruin. According to the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

biblical scholar Edward Robinson

Edward Robinson (scholar)

Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar, known as the “Father of Biblical Geography.” He has been referred to as the “founder of modern Palestinology.” -Biography:...

, there are remains of massive walls in the center of the village, now filled by houses. They were relics of a castle built by the Crusaders. However, the masonry has no characteristics of the Crusader period; rather, the remains display the Arab architectural style

Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....

of the post-Crusader period, most likely of the 18th century, judging by the dressing of the stones.

After the Crusaders were succeeded by the Ayyubids and then the Mamluk

Mamluk

A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...

s, the Ottoman Turks

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

conquered Palestine in 1517, and Jifna came under their control for the following 400 years.
It was under the administration of the Bani Zeid

Bani Zeid

Bani Zeid is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northwest of Ramallah in the north-central West Bank and about south-west of Salfit. A town of 5,515 inhabitants, Bani Zeid was created as a merger between the villages of Deir Ghassaneh and Beit Rima...

subdistrict, part of the larger Jerusalem District, throughout Ottoman rule, being the only all-Christian village in the district. During this period, the main commodity of Jifna was olive oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

. Ottoman activity in the village was minimal, but they used the remains of Jifna's castle (Burj Jifna) as a jail house sometime during the 19th century. In the early 1830s Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt

Ibrahim Pasha was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He served as a general in the Egyptian army that his father established during his reign, taking his first command of Egyptian forces was when he was merely a teenager...

conquered most of the Levant and temporarily took control of Palestine. In 1834 there was a revolt

1834 Arab revolt in Palestine

The 1834 Arab revolt in Palestine was a reaction to conscription into the Egyptian army by the Wāli Muhammad Ali. Ali, as a part of a modernisation policy, began the conscription of ordinary subjects. Traditionally, soldiers were recruited from freebooters, loot-seekers, mercenaries, slaves or...

against local Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

ian authorities in the Jifna area; 26 residents of Jifna were subsequently exiled to Egypt for their alleged participation in the uprising. They were joined, voluntarily, by two prominent local priests.

An Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

was built in the village in 1858, and a larger Latin (Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

) church dedicated to Saint Joseph

Saint Joseph

Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....

was built in 1859, adjacent to the ruins of St. George's Church. St. George's Church has continued as a place of worship into the modern era and has been the site of archaeological excavation since the mid-19th century. Mass is still held at the altar on certain occasions. During the 1880s, Jifna was frequently taxed by Ottoman authorities. It also came into consistent armed conflict with another Christian village, Bir Zeit

Bir Zeit

Birzeit is a Palestinian town near Ramallah in the central West Bank. Its population in the 2007 census was 4529...

, which in one incident, resulted in the deaths of five men from that village. In retaliation, Bir Zeit residents uprooted and burned 125 of Jifna's olive groves.

Modern times

In 1917, during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the Ottomans were defeated by British and Arab

Hashemite

Hashemite is the Latinate version of the , transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...

forces. After a brief period of military rule, Jifna and its region came under the control of the League of Nations British Mandate, in 1922. In 1947 the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

proposed the partitioning of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jifna being a part of the projected Arab state. However, after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War

1948 Arab-Israeli War

The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...

the whole West Bank

West Bank

region, including Jifna, was annexed by Transjordan

Transjordan

The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...

to form the Kingdom of Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

, and the Arab state was stillborn. In 1967 Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

occupied the West Bank, after their victory in the Six-Day War

Six-Day War

The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...

.

After the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, the Interim Agreement, Oslo 2, Oslo II, and Taba, was a key and complex agreement governing several aspects of the Palestinian territories of Gaza Strip and the West Bank.-History:It...

between the Palestinian National Authority

Palestinian National Authority

The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...

(PNA) and Israel, Jifna was placed in "Area B". Thus, its administrative and civil affairs were transferred to the PNA, while security matters remained in Israeli control. Throughout the ongoing Second Intifada, which began in 2000, Jifna has not experienced violence to the same extent as other parts of the West Bank, such as in nearby Ramallah

Ramallah

, but its residents face travel restrictions and economic hardship.

Geography and climate

Jifna is located in southern Samaria

Samaria

Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...

, on the slope of a hill, standing at an elevation of about 661 metres (2,168.6 ft) above sea level. It is situated at the intersection of two ancient trade routes, the mountainous north-south route and the east-west route connecting the Jordan Valley

Jordan Valley (Middle East)

The Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. It is 120 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide, where it runs from Lake Tiberias in the north to northern Dead Sea in the south. It runs for an additional 155 kilometer south of the Dead Sea to Aqaba, an area also known as Wadi...

with the Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

seacoast. In 1945 its land area consisted of 5,939 dunam

Dunam

s, 52 dunams of which were classified as built-up area in 1945. Today Jifna has a total jurisdiction over 6,015 dunams, 420 of which are designated as built-up and roughly 2,000 planted with olive, apricot and other fruit trees.

The village is located 8 kilometres (5 mi) northwest of Ramallah

Ramallah

and 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...

and about 23 kilometres (14.3 mi) north of Jerusalem. The Palestinian refugee camp of Jalazone

Jalazone

Jalazone is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located seven kilometers north of Ramallah and adjacent to the village of Jifna. It was established in 1949, following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, on 253 dunams of Jifna's land...

was built on Jifna's southern lands and is connected to the village by road. The villages of Dura al-Qar'

Dura al-Qar'

Dura al-Qar is a Palestinian town in the central West Bank, part of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located four kilometers north of Ramallah...

and Ein Siniya

Ein Siniya

Ein Siniya is a small Palestinian village of over 700 people in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, north of Ramallah, and a mile northeast from Jifna...

are located adjacent to Jifna to the east and northeast respectively. Other nearby localities include Abu Qash

Abu Qash

Abu Qash is a Palestinian town located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the northern West Bank, north of Ramallah and south of the Birzeit University. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it had a population of approximately 1,404 in 2007....

to the southwest, Beitin

Beitin

Beitin is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located northeast of Ramallah along the Ramallah-Nablus road...

to the southeast, Ein Yabrud

Ein Yabrud

Ein Yabrud is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank. It is located approximately 7 km northeast of the city of Ramallah and its elevation is 800 m. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the town had a population of 3,000...

to the east, 'Atara

'Atara

Atara is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 15 kilometers north of Ramallah in the central West Bank. A village of nearly 2,300 inhabitants, it is situated along a mountain ridge line with four peaks and is built upon the second highest point in the West Bank...

to the north and Bir Zeit

Bir Zeit

Birzeit is a Palestinian town near Ramallah in the central West Bank. Its population in the 2007 census was 4529...

to the northwest. Jifna is connected to the main Ramallah-Nablus highway

Highway 60 (Israel)

Highway 60 is a north-south intercity road in Israel and the West Bank that stretches from Beersheba to Nazareth.-Route:The route is also known as the "Route of the Patriarchs" since it follows the path of the ancient highway that runs along the length of the central watershed, and which...

by a road at the eastern side of the village.

Jifna experiences a temperate Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

. Based on data for nearby Ramallah, average monthly high temperatures range from 53 °F (11.7 °C) in January to 84 °F (28.9 °C) in July/August, the corresponding lows being 39 °F (3.9 °C) and 63 °F (17.2 °C). Rain is usually restricted to the winter season, from around November until the end of April. The months that receive the most precipitation are January and December and the annual rainfall is 23.2 inches (589.3 mm).

Demographics

Year	Population
1838	200
1927	550
1967	538
1995	649
1997	961
2007	1,716

According to Edward Robinson, Jifna's population in 1838 consisted of about 200 people, of whom only 42 were adult males. In a 1945 land and population survey carried out by Sami Hadawi

Sami Hadawi

Sami Hadawi was a Palestinian scholar and author. He is known for documenting the effects of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on the Arab population in Palestine and published statistics for individual villages prior to Israel's establishment. Hadawi worked as a land specialist until he was exiled from...

, Jifna had 910 inhabitants. The modern inhabitants of Jifna belong mainly to eight families, four of whom are originally from the village, while the other five have, at various times, migrated from other countries such as Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

.

In 1994, Jifna experienced a wave of emigration, with about half of its population leaving the town to pursue better livelihoods elsewhere. The first census carried by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....

(PCBS) shows that Jifna had a population of 961, of whom 623 (64.8%) were classified as refugees

Palestinian refugee

Palestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...

in 1997. The gender distribution was 465 males (48.4%) and 494 females (51.6%). The age distribution was: Under 15, 330 (34%); 15–29, 275 (29%); 30–65, 304 (32%); Over 65, 50 (5%).

The population of Jifna continues to grow. According to the PCBS, Jifna's mid-year population estimate for 2006 was 1,358. An informal estimate from Autumn 2006 gives the population as 1,500, "25% of whom have had to move to Jerusalem or Ramallah to find jobs". The 2007 census by the PCBS listed Jifna's population as 1,716, of which 856 were males and 860 females.

Religion

The remains of the Byzantine-era church in Jifna testifies to the existence of a Christian community prior to the Muslim conquest. It continued to exist during the Middle Ages and the village is still inhabited mainly by Christians. The names of Christian inhabitants from Jifna appeared in a 10th century inscription on a stone above the gate of St. George's Monastery

St. George's Monastery

St. George Orthodox Monastery, or Monastery of St. George of Koziba is a monastery located in Wadi Qelt, in the eastern West Bank, . The sixth-century cliff-hanging complex, with its ancient chapel and gardens, is active and inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks. It is reached by a pedestrian bridge...

in the Wadi Qelt

Wadi Qelt

Wadi Qelt or Nahal Prat is a valley or stream running west to east across the Judean desert in the West Bank, originating near Jerusalem and terminating near Jericho, near the Dead Sea...

.

Ottoman tax records from the late 16th century reveal that Jifna had a Christian population at the time also. An informal survey in 1927 found 550 inhabitants, of whom 325 were Catholics

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

and the remainder reportedly "Christians of other denominations". Palestinian Christian

Palestinian Christian

Palestinian Christians are Arabic-speaking Christians descended from the people of the geographical area of Palestine. Within Palestine, there are churches and believers from many Christian denominations, including Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholic , Protestant, and others...

s make up about 80% of the residents, while the remaining 20% are Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s, mostly refugees.

It is certain that most of the Christian residents of Jifna in the 12th century were local inhabitants. Apart from local Christians there was also a Frankish

Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....

settlement, as is attested by the ruins of a maison forte (manor) built in the lower part of the village. In Jifna, like in many other sites in Palestine, the Crusaders built their settlement in the heart of the local Christian settlement.

Economy

Although most of Jifna's cultivable land is covered with olive groves as well as fig, walnut and apricot trees and grape vines, agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

is no longer the village's main source of income. Many of the village's former farmers are living off other businesses, including restaurants, other small family-owned industries, and simple commerce.

Unlike some other West Bank localities, unemployment is a minor issue in Jifna. However, the average income is low because of the unstable political situation in the Palestinian territories

Palestinian territories

, Israeli checkpoint

Israel Defense Forces checkpoint

A Israel Defense Forces checkpoint, usually called an Israeli checkpoint , is a barrier erected by the Israel Defense Forces with the stated aim of enhancing the security of Israel and Israeli settlements and preventing those who wish to do harm from crossing...

s, the West Bank barrier

Israeli West Bank barrier

The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...

and the 2006 freezing by Israel of funds to the Palestinian territories—although the latter no longer applies to the West Bank.

According to the PCBS, 98.5% of Jifna's 201 households are connected to electricity through a public network. The same percentage is connected to a sewage system, mostly through a cesspit. Pipe water is provided for 98% of the households primarily through a public network (97.5%), but some residents receive water through a private system (1.5%). The village is home to the Jifna Women's Charitable Society which offers health services and recreational activities for women and children.

Small businesses

There are three restaurants in Jifna: Al-Burj Restaurant, Red Valley Restaurant and Garden, and Tabash Restaurant, as well as a hotel: al-Murouj Pension. In 2003, the Odeh family of Jifna opened a leisure complex—called the Dream Day Resort—in the village. The complex, containing a half-Olympic-size swimming pool, a children's pool and a jacuzzi

Jacuzzi

Jacuzzi is a company that produces whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The term "jacuzzi" is now often used generically to refer to any bathtub with massaging jets.-History:...

is frequented by residents in Jifna and the surrounding area.

Al-Burj Restaurant—also known as "Burj Jifna"—specializes in Palestinian cuisine

Palestinian cuisine

Palestinian cuisine consists of foods from or commonly eaten by Palestinians — which includes those living in the Palestinian territories, Israel, refugee camps in nearby countries as well as by the Palestinian Diaspora...

and contains a café and a Palestinian culture hall. Situated in the center of the village, the restaurant is the site of Jifna's old city. With international funding, the local youth club restored the area, adding bright accents to the stone masonry. The restaurant has become a center of tourism and the complex provides tours for its rooms, olive oil presses and ancient ramparts. Tabash Restaurant was founded in 1962 by a Palestinian refugee family from Jaffa

Jaffa

Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...

. Initially known as al-Wadi Bar, it received its current name in 1972. The owners and the employees of the restaurant are from the Tabash family.

Traditions

There are a number of local traditions in Jifna. A prominent legend among Jifna's inhabitants is that the Holy Family

Holy Family

rested near an oak tree in the town on their way from Jerusalem. The legend's origins are due to Jifna's location along the ancient Jerusalem-Nazareth road.

A nearby mountain was named Jabal ad-Dik ("Mount of the Rooster") because of a traditional story. According to the tradition, a Jew that lived in Jifna had visited Jerusalem during the Passion

Passion (Christianity)

The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...

. Seeing Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

rise from the dead, the man immediately converted and told his wife what he saw. His wife refused to believe him unless the rooster she had just killed would come back to life. Instantly, the rooster flew away towards the mountain. The story was recited in some monasteries on Holy Thursday

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels...

together with other biblical readings.

A legend exists about Jifna's spring—which the village has used for centuries—concerning how it periodically runs low on water. Popular belief is that this is the work of the djinniye (female spirit). According to Palestinian researcher Tawfiq Canaan

Tawfiq Canaan

Tawfiq Canaan was a pioneering physician, medical researcher, ethnographer and Palestinian nationalist. Born in Beit Jala during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, he served as a medical officer in the Ottoman army during World War I...

, "In Jifna the priest has to go on such an occasions to the dry spring to repeat prayers and burn incense, and thus reconcile the djinniye or force her to let the water flow".

Like many Palestinian villages, the women of Jifna have their own traditional dress

Palestinian costumes

Palestinian costumes are the traditional clothing worn by Palestinians. Foreign travelers to Palestine in the 19th and early 20th centuries often commented on the rich variety of the costumes worn, particularly by the fellaheen or village women...

. Costumes in the village, known as rumi abyad ("Greek White") and rumi aswad ("Greek Black"), were dresses of hand-woven linen embroidered with the Jifna's own motifs. Preparing burbara, a sweet pudding-like dish made from whole grain wheat, on the Feast of Saint Barbara

Saint Barbara

Saint Barbara, , Feast Day December 4, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian saint and martyr....

has been a tradition in Jifna for several centuries.

Festivals

In April–May 2005 Jifna hosted the first annual International Artists' Workshop in Palestine. The festival, known as the "Jifna Spring" was the first held in a rural village instead of a major city such as Hebron

Hebron

Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...

or Ramallah. During the festival, dozens of artists from all over the world collaborated on several projects, including stone sculptures, metalwork, photography, mural paintings and installation pieces. Many of the works were influenced by the "specificity and qualities" of Jifna, while others dealt with the subject of Palestinian identity.

Jifna, locally famous for its apricot

Apricot

The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...

harvest, hosts an annual two-day apricot festival in the first week of May. Hundreds of West Bank

West Bank

ers flock to participate in the harvest. The festival is also used by Palestinian politicians as an opportunity to give speeches praising Palestinian farmers and encouraging boycotts on Israeli products and reliance on domestic agriculture.

Government

Jifna is governed by a village council

Village council (Palestinian Authority)

A Village council is a type of local government used in the Palestinian National Authority for Palestinian localities that usually number between 800-3,000+ inhabitants. The village council is also known D-level municipalities...

consisting of ten members including the chairman. The council was founded in 1954, when a prominent resident, Nasri Ilias Samara, pressured the Jordan

Jordan

ian authorities to recognize the institution, even though a village was normally required to have a population of at least 1,000 inhabitants for permission to establish a village council. The decision was approved by Jordan's then prime minister. Representatives from Jifna's largest families formed the original council's body, appointing Smara as chairman and Salim Issa Musleh as vice chairman. Jabi Na'im Kamil was elected as the chairman in 2005 and the Badil

The Alternative (Palestine)

The Alternative was an electoral alliance of several socialist Palestinian groups:*Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine *Palestinian People's Party...

(Alternative) list—which represents a leftist alliance of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine

Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist, secular political and military organization. It is also frequently referred to as the Democratic Front, or al-Jabha al-Dimuqratiyah...

and the Palestinian People's Party

Palestinian People's Party

The Palestinian People's Party , founded in 1982 as the Palestinian Communist Party, is a socialist political party in the Palestinian territories and among the Palestinian diaspora....

—won most of the council seats.

Jifna Village Council Members

Rank	Role	Name
1	Chairman	Jabi Na'im Kamil
2	Vice Precedence	Maher Anthony (Abu Khalil)
3	Cashier	Sufian Mustafa (Abu Najim)
4	Secretary	Rajai Mansour Awad
5	Member	Anton Yakub Shukair
6	Member	Zahi Gerais Rbidi
7	Member	Anton Aziz Musleh
8	Member	Reem Koames
9	Member	Amal Aldior
10	Member	Said Yakub Snouber

Education

Jifna contains one gender-mixed primary school and kindergarten, founded by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the title possessed by the Latin Rite Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem. The Archdiocese of Jerusalem has jurisdiction for all Latin Rite Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus...

in 1856 and managed by Jifna's Catholic church. The school's staff comprises eight teachers and two nuns, as well as four teachers for the kindergarten. Students who have graduated from the school commute to Ramallah or Bir Zeit

Bir Zeit

Birzeit is a Palestinian town near Ramallah in the central West Bank. Its population in the 2007 census was 4529...

daily for their secondary and tertiary education. Most university students attend the nearby Bir Zeit University.

External links

Jifna Village Council Official Website.
Jifna Village Council Official Website.

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Biblical era and Roman/Byzantine rule

Islamic, Crusader and Ottoman rule

Modern times

Geography and climate

Demographics

Religion

Economy

Small businesses

Traditions

Festivals

Government

Education

See also

External links