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Haifa

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For the Lebanese singer, see Haifa Wehbe. For the street in Baghdad, see Haifa Street.
Haifa (Hebrew חֵיפָה Ḥefa; Arabic حَيْفَا [Ḥayfā] ([Media helphelp]·[info])) is the third-largest city in Israel, with a population of about 267,800 (as of September 2005). Areas and towns around it are deemed to be in the Haifa District, of which it is also a part. It is a seaport, located below and on Mount Carmel, and lies on the Mediterranean coast.

The city was predominately Arab pre-1947; however, over 85,000 Arabs migrated to Lebanon due to the conflicts in the region that caused displacement of both Jews and Arabs.

The city's sole official romanization Haifa and the common English pronunciation /ˈhaɪ.fə/ are based on the Arabic name Ḥayfā, whilst the unused Standard Hebrew name is Ḥefa, and the local Hebrew pronunciation is typically /xei.ˈfa/.

Contents

History

The origin of the name Haifa is not clear. Some tie it to the Hebrew word חוף (hof, meaning "beach"), or חוף יפה (hof yafe, meaning "Beautiful beach"), or maybe the Hebrew verb root חפה (hafo, meaning "to cover or hide"). Christian pilgrims of the Middle Ages (and later the Crusaders) called the town Caiphas or Caifa. The Christians believe the name derives from Caiaphas, the High Priest of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus, or from the Aramaic name of Saint Peter, Kepah (כפא). Additionally, the name Sycaminon or Sykaminos, meaning "wild strawberry", is also used.

Haifa is first mentioned in Talmudic literature around the 3rd century CE, as a small town near Shikmona, the main Jewish town in the area at that time. The Byzantine ruled there until the 7th century, when the city was conquered — first by the Persians, then by the Arabs. In 1100, it was conquered again by the crusaders, after a fierce battle with its Jewish inhabitants. Under crusader rule, the city was a part of the Principality of Galilee until the Muslim Mameluks attacked in 1265, leaving the city ruined and mostly abandoned until the 17th century.

In 1761 Daher El-Omar, Bedouin ruler of Acre and Galilee, destroyed and rebuilt the town in a new location, surrounding it with a thin wall. This event is marked by many as the beginning of the town's modern era. After El-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 brief and failed campaign to conquer Israel and Syria, but withdrew the same year; and between 1831 and 1840, the Egyptian viceroy Mehemet Ali governed, after his son Ibrahim Pasha wrested control from the Ottomans.

In the years following the Egyptian occupation, Haifa grew in terms of traffic, population and importance, as Acre suffered a decline in a succession of battles and wars. Development in Haifa increased further with the arrival of members of the Temple Society in 1868, who settled in Haifa and built their sturdy houses in what is now called the "German colony". The Templers greatly contributed to the town's commerce and industry, playing an important role in its modernization.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, Haifa had emerged as an industrial port city and growing population center. At that time Haifa district was home to approximately 100,000 inhabitants, comprised of 82% Muslim Arab, 14% Christian Arabs, and 4% Jewish residents.

On 30 December, 1947 members of the militant Irgun hurled two bombs into a crowd of Arabs who were waiting for construction jobs outside the gates of the Consolidated Refineries in Haifa, killing 6 and injuring 42, whereupon 2,000 Arab employees rioted and killed 39 Jewish employees in what has become known as the Haifa Oil Refinery massacre. As the major industrial and oil refinery port in the Israeli, Jewish forces deemed control of Haifa, a critical objective in the ensuing 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was captured on April 23rd, 1948 by a force of 5,000 Israeli soldiers led by the Carmeli Brigade. The campaign resulted in Israeli control over the area and the flight of about 80,000 Israeli Arabs from Haifa District.

On July 13, 2006, Haifa was the target of rockets fired by Hezbollah militants during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis. IDF sources have reported that two rockets were fired from inside Lebanon.The attack is the first time rockets have hit so far south into Israel, since World War II. One shock injury has been reported. Three days later, on July 16, 2006, Hezbollah militants hit the city with several barrages of Katyusha rockets that killed eight Israelis in a train depot. July 17 saw further attacks upon Haifa as it withstood another withering assault from rockets suspected to be of Iranian origin.

Today, Haifa is a thriving and diverse cultural and ethnic center, home to Jews, Arabs, Ahmedis, Bahá'ís and Druze, and marked for its relatively high level of peaceful coexistence.

The main attraction of the terraced gardens at the Bahá'í World Centre is the Shrine of the Bab.
Enlarge
The main attraction of the terraced gardens at the Bahá'í World Centre is the Shrine of the Bab.

Religion

Haifa is a mosaic of peaceful coexistence between Jews, Muslim and Christian Arabs, Ahmadis (in Kababir), Druze (in Daliyat al-Carmel), Bahá'ís, and others.

Noted by Jews for the Cave of Elijah and the historic Jewish town of Shikmona at the foot of Mount Carmel. On the top of the mountain is the Muchraka, the place where Elijah burned the emissaries of Baal. The name is probably derived from the Hebrew verb "charach" which means "burned". There is a Carmelite monastery there.

Haifa is also cherished by the Christian, Muslim, and Bahá'í faiths. The Bahá'í World Centre (comprising the Shrine of the Báb, terraced gardens and administrative buildings on the Carmel's northern slope; see photo) is an important site of worship and administration for the members of the Bahá'í Faith, as well as providing the city with the most visited tourist attraction. Haifa was also a favourite monastic spot for the Carmelites in the 12th century; a 19th century monastery, Stella Maris, was rebuilt at Carmel's head. It is now a popular tourist and pilgrim's attraction.

Academic institutions

Haifa is the site of two universities, the University of Haifa and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
Eshkol tower in the University of Haifa
Eshkol tower in the University of Haifa

Politics

In the past, Haifa's docks and industrial areas have made the city a consistent stronghold for the Israeli Labor party; these Socialist tendencies led to the nickname 'Red Haifa'. One ramification of this history is that Haifa is the only major city in Israel in which public transport operates on Shabbat.

Since then, Haifa's Labor-leanings have tipped in favor of centrist ideologies. In the 2006 legislative elections, the Kadima party received about 28.9% of the votes in Haifa, while Labor lagged behind with 16.9%.

Mayors of Haifa

Economy

The industrial region of Haifa is south and east of the city, near the Wadi Kishon. Haifa is home to one of the two oil refineries in Israel (the other located in Ashdod). The refinery in Haifa is capable of processing about 9 million tons (66 million barrels) of crude oil a year and is the center of a wide array of petrochemical industries located in and around Haifa. Its twin 76-meter cooling towers, built in the 1930s, have long symbolized the city of Haifa.

Matam (Mirkaz Ta'asiya ve'Meida/Scientific Industries Center), the largest and oldest business park in Israel, is located at the southern entrance to the city, hosting manufacturing and R&D facilities for a large number of Israeli and international hi-tech companies, such as Intel, Elbit, Zoran, Microsoft, Philips and Amdocs. IBM has an office on top of Carmel at Haifa University.

The Port of Haifa has the most passenger traffic of Israeli ports. It is also the major cargo harbor; however, in recent years, the port of Ashdod has became a major Israeli cargo port too.

Transportation

For international travel, Haifa Airport, located on the Gulf of Haifa, serves flights to Eilat and Cyprus. Port of Haifa, which is Israel's main international passengers seaport, is located in the city as well.

For intercity transport, there are six Israel Railways railroad stations and three "central" bus stations. The Nahariya-Israeli airport main line railway runs along the Gulf of Haifa; stations within the municipal boundaries of Haifa, from the direction Israeli airport, are:

A seventh stop is in nearby Kiryat Motzkin, a Northern suburb. Haifa Mizrakh (Haifa East), now out of passenger use, houses the Railway Museum.

The bus stations, again from Jesrualem northwards, are: Hof HaCarmel, Bat Galim, and Mifratz. All of these stations are served by Egged city, suburban, and intercity buses.

Other intracity transport options include a funicular subway and a cablecar. The Carmelit subway runs from Kikar Paris downtown to Gan HaEm (Mother's Park) at the top of Mount Carmel. With a single track, six stations and two trains, it is among the smallest subway systems in the world. The cablecar connects Bat Galim on the coast to the Stella Maris monastery atop Carmel; it is chiefly a tourist attraction.

Sports

The city has eight football (soccer) clubs, the two first are in the major leagues in Israel: Maccabi Haifa is one of the most successful football clubs today in Israel, with 10 championships, 5 cups and 2 league-cups (as of 2005). Both Maccabi and Hapoel have football schools in Haifa suburbs and other villages (including Arab and Druze villages) in the northern part of Israel. Haifa also has basketball, volleyball, tennis, and handball clubs.

The city boasts some of the best surfing beaches in the country near Bat Galim, with kite surfing and sailing clubs. The tennis club located nearby the south-west entrance is one of the largest in Israel.

The main stadiums are Kiryat Eliezer, seating 14,000, and Kiryat Haim Stadium. The main basketball arena is Romema Sports Arena, seating 2,000; Neve Sha'anan Athletic seats 1,000. A UEFA-approved stadium is planned for south-west Haifa. It will seat 30,000 people.

Sister cities

Haifa has Sister Cities all over the world:

Neighborhoods

See also

External links

References

Notes

 

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