Afula is a city in the
North DistrictThe Northern District is one of Israel's six administrative districts. The Northern District has a land area of 4,478 km², which increases to 4,638 km² when both land and water are included...
of
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the
Jezreel Valley-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.
History
Located in the
Jezreel Valley-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
, Afula is roughly halfway between
JeninJenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
and
NazarethNazareth 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...
. It lies on the site of the
IsraeliteAccording to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
village of Ofel, the hometown of the Biblical figure Gideon. It is mentioned in the
Books of KingsThe Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
(2 Kings 5, 24) in connection with
ElishaElisha is a prophet mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, or Alyasa via Arabic.-Biblical biography:...
and the disciple of Elijah, who lived in the vicinity.
The 12th-century sultan
SaladinṢalāḥ 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...
founded an
ArabArab 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...
village named al-Fulah on the site. In 1226,
SyriaSyria , 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....
n geographer
Yaqut al-HamawiYāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...
mentioned it as being "a town in
Jund FilastinJund Filastin was one of several sub-provinces of the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphate province of Syria, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century. According to al-Biladhuri, the main towns in the district at its capture by the Rashidun Caliphate, were Gaza, Sebastiya,...
," and formerly a
Crusader- Military :* Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades* Crusader states, states set up by the Europeans in the Middle East during The Crusades* Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II* HMS Crusader, three British naval ships...
castle between
Zir'inZir'in was a Palestinian Arab village of over 1,400 in the Jezreel Valley, located north of Jenin. Identified as the Canaanite town of Yizre'el, it was known as Zir'in during Islamic rule, and was near the site of the Battle of Ain Jalut, in which the Mamluks halted Mongol expansion southward...
and
NazarethNazareth 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...
. In 1799, during Napoleon's Syrian campaign, the
Battle of Mount TaborThe Battle of Mount Tabor, or Skirmish of Mount Tabor, opposed French forces under General Kleber to an Ottoman force led by the Pasha of Damascus on 16 April 1799. General Bonaparte was besieging Acre, and Damascus sent its army to relieve the siege...
was fought around al-Fulah.
In 1909 or 1910,
Yehoshua HankinYehoshua Hankin was a Zionist activist who was responsible for most of the major land purchases of the World Zionist Organization in Ottoman Palestine....
completed his first major purchase in the Jezreel Valley. He bought some 10,000 dunams (10 km²) of land in Al-Fuleh (now Afula), which became the home of
MerhaviaMerhavia may refer to:*Merhavia , a kibbutz in northern Israel*Merhavia , a moshav in northern Israel originally known as the Co-operative in Merhavia...
and
Tel AdashimTel Adashim is a moshav in northern Israel. Located near Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 744....
. This purchase also marked the start of bitter disputes between Arabs and Jews over the rights of tenant farmers who had been evicted, and regarding the employment of Jewish or Arab watchmen for the land.
The modern community of Afula was founded in 1925 by the American Zionist Commonwealth, after the completion of the purchase of the valley from the Sursuk family of
BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. The nearby Arab village of Al-Fulah was disbanded by the turn of the century. At the time, the community was served by the Jezreel Valley railroad, which was abandoned during the War of Independence.
Demographics
According to provisional data by the
Israel Central Bureau of StatisticsThe Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , abbreviated CBS, is an Israeli government office established in 1949 to carry out research and publish statistical data on all aspects of Israeli life, including population, society, economy, industry, education and physical infrastructure.It is headed by a...
(CBS), by the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 40,500. In 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.4% Jewish and other non-Arabs, without significant
ArabArab 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...
population whilst there were 262 immigrants. There were 18,500 males and 19,900 females. The population of the city was spread out with 34.3% 19 years of age or younger, 15.8% between 20 and 29, 17.5% between 30 and 44, 16.9% from 45 to 59, 4.0% from 60 to 64, and 11.5% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 0.9%. See Population groups in Israel.
Economy
According to CBS figures for 2000, there were 13,762 salaried workers and 887 self-employed in Afula. The mean monthly wage for a salaried worker was ILS 4,723, a real change of 6.4% over the course of 2000. Salaried males had a mean monthly wage of ILS 5,913 (a real change of 8.6%) versus ILS 3,541 for women (a real change of 2.0%). The average income for the self-employed was 6,477. 962 people received unemployment benefits and 3,938 received an income guarantee.
Education and culture
According to CBS, there are 24 schools and 8,688 students in the city: 16 elementary schools with a student population of 3,814 and 12 high schools with 4,874 students. 52.3% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
Arab-Israeli conflict
Due to Afula’s proximity to the
West BankThe 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...
, it became a target of Arab terrorism in the Second Intifada. On 6 April 1994, a
car bombing carried out by HamasThe Afula Bus suicide bombing was the suicide bombing attack that was carried out on April 6, 1994 at a bus next to a Egged bus in the center of Afula, Israel. Eight Israeli civilians were killed in the attack and 55 additional people were injured...
in the center of Afula killed five people. Afula also was the target of a suicide attack on a bus on 5 May 2002, in which one person died several people were injured at Afula’s central bus station. On 19 May 2003, the city's Amakim Mall was bombed, killing three and wounding 70. This attack was carried out by Palestinian
Islamic JihadThe Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...
and the
FatahFataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
movement’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. On 17 July 2006,
Hezbollah fired Katyusha rockets at Afula, one of the southernmost rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon. Six people were treated for shock as a result of the bombing. On 28 July, a rocket landed causing a fire. The Katyusha carried 100 kilograms of explosives.
Sports
The city's basketball club,
Hapoel AfulaHapoel Afula is a basketball club based in Afula. It currently plays in the Liga Leumit.-History:The club was established in 1968, and were members of the top division during the 1970s and 1980s. A decline saw the club merge with Hapoel Gilboa to form Hapoel Gilboa/Afula...
, currently play in the Super League.
Notable residents
- Amir Blumenfeld
Amir Schmuel Blumenfeld is an Israeli-American writer, comedian, actor, and television host.Blumenfeld was born in Afula, Israel. He is literate in Hebrew and displayed his bilingual talents on episodes of Jake and Amir. He is a graduate of Milken Community High School and the University of...
(born 1983), American writer, comedian, actor, and television host
- Yaakov Bodo (born 1931), actor and comedian
- Sarit Hadad
Sarit Hadad is an acclaimed Israeli singer. She stems from a musician family with both origins in the Tunisia and Caucases...
(born 1978), singer
- Hila Lulu Linn, painter
- Samuel Scheimann
Samuel Scheimann is an Israeli-Dutch professional association football player who currently plays for Excelsior Rotterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie...
(born 1987), Israeli-Dutch association football player
- Mosh Ben-Ari
Mosh Ben Ari is an Israeli musician, lyricist and composer.- Biography :Ben Ari was born in Afula, Israel in 1970. He comes from a Yemenite and Iraqi Jewish background. He first discovered music as a child through the traditional Jewish and ethnic chants that were part of his everyday life...
(born 1970), musician, lyricist and composer.
Twin towns
Afula is
TwinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
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