Haifa

View from Mt. Carmel of the city, port and bay

Haifa is the largest city in Northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of about 266,300. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs. It is also home to the Bahá'í World Centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Haifa, built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, has a history dating back to Biblical times. The earliest known settlement in the vicinity was Tell Abu Hawam, a small port city established in the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE). In the 3rd century CE, Haifa was known as a dye-making center. Over the centuries, the city has changed hands: It has been conquered and ruled by the Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, Egyptians, and the British. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the city has been governed by the Haifa Municipality.

Today, the city is a major seaport located on Israel's Mediterranean coastline in the Bay of Haifa covering 63.7 square kilometres (24.6 sq mi). It is located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Tel Aviv and is the major regional center of northern Israel. Two respected academic institutions, the University of Haifa and the Technion, are located in Haifa, and the city plays an important role in Israel's economy. It has several high-tech parks, among them the oldest and largest in the country, an industrial port, and a petroleum refinery. Haifa was formerly the western terminus of an oil pipeline from Iraq via Jordan.

History

Early History

A small port city, Tell Abu Hawam, existed in the Haifa region in the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE). The geographer Scylax describes a city "between the bay and the Promontory of Zeus" (i.e., the Carmel) which may be a reference to Haifa in the Persian period. The city moved to a new site south of what is now Bat Galim, in Hellenistic times, after the old port became blocked with sand. The city is first mentioned in Talmudic literature around the 3rd century CE, as a small fishing village and the home of Rabbi Avdimos and other Jewish scholars. A Greek population living along the coast at this time was engaged in commerce. Haifa was located near the town of Shikmona, a center for making the traditional Tekhelet dye used in making the garments of the high priests in the Temple. The archaeological site of Shikmona lies southwest of Bat Galim. Mount Carmel and the Kishon River are also mentioned in the Bible. A grotto on the top of Mount Carmel is known as the "Cave of Elijah", traditionally linked to the Prophet Elijah and his apprentice, Elisha. In Arabic, the highest peak of the Carmel range is called the Muhraka, or "place of burning," harking back to the burnt offerings and sacrifices on this hilltop in Canaanite and early Israelite times.

Byzantine, Arab and Crusader Rule

Under Byzantine rule, Haifa continued to flourish, although never assumed major importance. In the 7th century, the city was conquered by the Arabs. Arab Islamic rule of Haifa brought about developments in the city and in the 9th century it established sea trade relations with Egypt and contained several shipyards. With its Arabs in control of government and civil administration and its Jews engaged in trade and shipping Haifa was prospering by the 11th century. Glass production and dye-making from marine snails were the city's most lucrative industries.

Prosperity ended in 1100, when it was besieged and blockaded by the Crusaders and then conquered after a fierce battle with its Jewish and Muslim inhabitants. Under the Crusaders, Haifa was reduced to a small fishing and agricultural village, and a part of the Principality of Galilee. In 1265, it was captured by the Mamluks.

The Carmelites established a church on Mount Carmel in the 12th century. Under Arab rule, the building was turned into a mosque. Later it became a hospital. In the 19th century it was restored as a Carmelite monastery, over a cave associated with Elijah the prophet.

Mamluk, Ottoman and Egyptian Rule

The city's Crusader fortress was destroyed in 1187 by Saladin. In 1265, the army of Baibars the Mamluk captured Haifa, destroying its fortifications, which had been rebuilt by King Louis of France, as well as the majority of the city's homes in order to prevent the return of European Crusdaders from re-invading. As such, for much of their rule, the city was desolate for much of the Mamluk period of governance between the 13th and 16th centuries. Information from this period is very scarce. German Colony in the 19th century.

In 1761 Dhaher al-Omar, a Bedouin ruler of Acre and Galilee, destroyed and rebuilt Haifa in a new location, fortifying it with a wall. This event is marked as the beginning of the town's modern era. After al-Omar's death in 1775, the town remained under Ottoman rule until 1918, except for two brief periods: in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Haifa as part of his unsuccessful campaign to conquer Palestine and Syria, but withdrew in the same year; and between 1831 and 1840, the Egyptian viceroy Muhammad Ali governed, after his son Ibrahim Pasha wrested control from the Ottomans.

In the years following the Egyptian occupation, Haifa grew in population and importance while Acre suffered a decline. The arrival of the German Templers in 1868, who settled in what is now known as the German Colony of Haifa, was a turning point in Haifa's development. The Templers built and operated a steam-based power station, opened factories and inaugurated carriage service to Acre, Nazareth and Tiberias, playing a key role in modernizing the city.

British Mandate Transition Period and the 1948 War

At the beginning of the 20th century, Haifa emerged as an industrial port city and growing population center. The Hejaz railway and the Technion were built at this time. Haifa District was home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants, of which 82% were Muslim Arab, 14% Christian Arab, and 4% Jewish. The number of Jews steadily increased due to immigration, especially from Europe. By 1945 the population had shifted to 33% Muslim, 20% Christian and 47% Jewish. In 1947 some 41,000 Muslims, 29,910 Christians and 74,230 Jews were living in Haifa. The Christian community was composed mostly of Greek Orthodox Church (Arab Orthodox).

Haifa became central to the Bahá'í Faith in 1909, when the remains of the Báb were moved to Acre and a shrine was built on Mount Carmel by `Abdu'l-Bahá. Haifa remains an important site of worship, pilgrimage and administration for the members of the religion. The Bahá'í World Centre (comprising the Shrine of the Báb, terraced gardens and administrative buildings) are all on Mount Carmel's northern slope. Haifa is important to the Bahá'ís because the founder of the religion, Bahá'u'lláh, was imprisoned there by the Ottomans. The Bahá'í shrine and gardens have become one of Haifa's most visited tourist attractions, and were, in 2008, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The 1947 UN Partition Plan designated Haifa part of the proposed Jewish state. When the Arab leadership rejected the plan, Haifa did not escape the violence that spread throughout the country. On December 30, 1947, members of the Irgun, the pre-state Jewish underground, threw bombs into a crowd of Arabs outside the gates of the Consolidated Refineries in Haifa, killing 6 and injuring 42. In response, the Arab employees killed 39 Jewish employees in what has become known as the Haifa Oil Refinery massacre. Jewish forces retaliated with a raid on the Arab village of Balad al-Shaykh the following day. Control of Haifa was deemed a critical objective in the ensuing 1948 Palestine War, as it was the major industrial and oil refinery port in Palestine. The British withdrew from Haifa on April 21, 1948. The city was captured on April 23, 1948 by the Carmeli Brigade of the Haganah commanded by Moshe Carmel after three months of unsuccessful attacks by Arab forces.

The conflict led to a massive displacement of Haifa's Arab population. According to The Economist, reporting on October 2, 1948, of the 62,000 Arabs who formerly lived in Haifa, not more than 5,000 or 6,000 remained. Benny Morris and other scholars have shown that Haifa Arabs left due to a combination of Zionist threats and encouragement by Arab leaders, but mostly due to the shelling of Arab villages and neighborhoods. Foreign media coverage at the time emphasized the role of the Arab leadership as a motivating factor in the refugees' flight. The Economist explained its view: "There is but little doubt that the most potent of the factors were the announcements made over the air by the Higher Arab Executive, urging the Arabs to quit...It was clearly intimated that those Arabs who remained in Haifa and accepted Jewish protection would be regarded as renegades." ” On May 3, 1948, Times Magazine interpreted the events thus: "The mass evacuation, prompted partly by fear, partly by orders of Arab leaders, left the Arab quarter of Haifa a ghost city...By withdrawing Arab workers their leaders hoped to paralyze Haifa."

Sail Tower, an example of modern architecture in Haifa

Establishment of the State of Israel

Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the city played an important role as the gateway for Jewish immigration. Thousands of immigrants were resettled in Arab houses vacated during the war, and new neighborhoods, among them Kiryat Hayim, Ramot Remez, Ramat Shaul, Kiryat Sprinzak, and Kiryat Eliezer, were built to accommodate them. Bnei Zion Hospital (formerly Rothschild Hospital) and the Central Synagogue in Hadar Hacarmel date from this period. In 1953, a master plan was created for transportation and the future architectural layout.

In 1959, a group of Mizrahi Jews, mostly Moroccans, rioted in Wadi Salib. The rebels, members of a social activist group known as the Black Panthers, many of them living in “absentee” properties formerly belonging to Haifa Arabs, claimed the state was discriminating against them. Their demand for “bread and work” was directed at the state institutions and what they perceived was an Ashkenazi elite in the Labor Party and the Histadrut.

By the early 1970s, Haifa's population reached 200,000. Mass immigration to Israel from the former Soviet Union boosted the population by 35,000. Many of Wadi Salib's historic Ottoman buildings have been demolished throughout the course of Israeli rule, and in the 1990s a major section of the Old City was destroyed to make way for the municipal center.

In 2006, Haifa was hit by 93 Hezbollah rockets during the conflict with Lebanon killing eleven civilians in the city, and leading to half of the city's population fleeing after the first week of the war. The oil refinery complex was also struck by a rocket.

Religious Communities

The population of Haifa is 82% Jewish, 4% Muslim, and 14% Christian (both Arab and non-Arab). The relatively large Christian population of Haifa is derived from a combination of Arab Christians and immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

In general, as the Jewish residents age and as youth leave the city, the number of Christians and Muslims is growing. In 2006, 27% of the Arab population was age 0-14 compared to 17% in the Jewish and other population groups. This trend continues with 27% of Arabs aged 15-29, and 23% 30-44. The population of Jewish and other groups in these age groups are 22% and 18% respectively. 19% of the city's Jewish and other population is between 45 and 59 compared to 14% in the Arab population. This trend continues with 14% of Jews and others aged 60-74 and 10% over age 75, in comparison to 7% and just 2% respectively in the Arab population.

By national standards, Haifa's Jewish population is relatively secular. In 2006, 2.9% of the Jews in the city were Haredi, compared to 7.5% on a national scale. 66.6% were secular, compared to a national average of 43.7%. A small portion of the immigrants from the former Soviet Union lack official religious-ethnic classification of any kind as they are a product of mixed-marriage families of Jewish origin.

Geography

Haifa is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Plain, the historic land bridge between Europe, Africa, and Asia. Located on Mount Carmel around Haifa Bay, the city is split over three tiers. The lowest is the center of commerce and industry including the Port of Haifa. The middle level is on the slopes of Mount Carmel and consists of older residential neighborhoods, while the upper level consists of modern neighborhoods looking over the lower tiers. From here views can be had across the Western Galilee region of Israel towards Rosh HaNikra and the Lebanese border. Haifa is about 90 kilometers (55.9 mi) north of the city of Tel Aviv, and has a large number of beaches on the Mediterranean.

Climate

Haifa has a mediterranean climate with hot, humid summers and cool, rainy winters (Köppen climate classification Csa). Spring arrives in March when temperatures begin to increase. By late May, the temperature has warmed up considerably to herald warm summer days. The average temperature in summer is 26 °C (79 °F) and in winter, 12 °C (54 °F). Snow is rare in Haifa, but temperatures around 6 °C (43 °F) can sometimes occur, usually in the early morning. Humidity tends to be high all year round, and rain usually occurs between October and April. Annual precipitation is approximately 524 millimeters (21 in).

Tourism

In 2005, Haifa had 13 hotels with a total of 1,462 rooms. The city has 17 kilometres (11 mi) of beaches, 5 kilometres (3 mi). Haifa's main tourist attraction is the Bahá'í World Centre, with the golden Shrine of the Báb and the surrounding gardens. Between 2005 and 2006, 86,037 visited the shrine. The restored German Colony, founded by the Templers, Stella Maris and Elijah's Cave also draw many tourists.

Located in the Haifa district are the Ein Hod artists' colony, where over 90 artists and craftsmen have studios and exhibitions, and the Mount Carmel national park, with caves where Neanderthal and early Homo Sapiens remains were found.

A 2007 report commissioned by the Haifa Municipality calls for the construction of more hotels, a ferry line between Haifa, Acre and Caesarea, development of the western anchorage of the port as a recreation and entertainment area, and an expansion of the local airport and port to accommodate international travel and cruise ships.

Arts and Culture

Despite its image as a port and industrial city, Haifa is the cultural hub of northern Israel. During the 1950s, mayor Abba Hushi made a special effort to encourage authors and poets to move to the city, and founded the Haifa Theatre, a repertory theater, the first municipal theater founded in the country. The principal Arabic theater servicing the northern Arab population is the al-Midan Theater. Other theaters in the city include the Krieger Centre for the Performing Arts and the Rappaport Art and Culture Center. The Congress Center hosts exhibitions, concerts and special events.

The New Haifa Symphony Orchestra, established in 1950, has more than 5,000 subscribers. In 2004, 49,000 people attended its concerts. The Haifa Cinematheque, founded in 1975, hosts the annual Haifa International Film Festival during the intermediate days of the Sukkot holiday. Haifa has 29 movie theaters. The city publishes a local newspaper, Yediot Haifa, and has its own radio station, Radio Haifa.

Museums

Haifa has over a dozen museums. The most popular museum is the Israel National Museum of Science, Technology, and Space, which recorded almost 150,000 visitors in 2004. The museum is located in the historic Technion building in the Hadar neighborhood. The Haifa Museum of Art houses a collection of modern and classical art, as well as displays on the history of Haifa. The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art is the only museum in the Middle East dedicated solely to Japanese art. Other museums in Haifa include the Museum of Prehistory, the National Maritime Museum and Haifa City Museum, the Hecht Museum, the Dagon Archeological Museum, the Railway Museum, the Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum, the Israeli Oil Industry Museum, and Chagall Artists' House. As part of his campaign to bring culture to Haifa, Mayor Abba Hushi provided the artist Mane-Katz with a building on Mount Carmel to house his collection of Judaica, which is now a museum.