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Bethlehem of Galilee

Coordinates:32°44′12″N35°11′29″E/ 32.73667°N 35.19139°E/32.73667; 35.19139
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This article is about a town in Galilee. For the city near Jerusalem, seeBethlehem.
Bethlehem of Galilee
בֵּית לֶחֶם הַגְּלִילִית‎
Bethlehem of Galilee is located in Jezreel Valley region of Israel
Bethlehem of Galilee
Bethlehem of Galilee
Bethlehem of Galilee is located in Israel
Bethlehem of Galilee
Bethlehem of Galilee
Coordinates:32°44′12″N35°11′29″E/ 32.73667°N 35.19139°E/32.73667; 35.19139
Grid position167/237PAL
CountryIsrael
DistrictNorthern
CouncilJezreel Valley
AffiliationMoshavim Movement
Founded2000 BCE(Ancient town)
1596(Bayt Lahm)
1906(Templer colony)
1948(Moshav)
Population
(2022)[1]
824

Bethlehem of Galilee(Hebrew:בֵּית לֶחֶם הַגְּלִילִית,Beit Lehem HaGlilit;lit. "the Galilean Bethlehem" ) orBethlehem-in-the-Galilee[2]is amoshavin northern Israel. Located in theGalileenearKiryat Tivon,around 10 kilometres north-west ofNazarethand 30 kilometres east ofHaifa,it falls under the jurisdiction of theJezreel Valley Regional Council.As of 2022 it had a population of 824.[1]

The modern moshav is located at the site of the ancient Israelite settlement known as Bethlehem ofZebulunor Betlehem Zoria(h). Due to its proximity to Nazareth, one historian believes that it is the Bethlehem whereJesus of Nazarethwas born. Aviram Oshri, a senior archaeologist with theIsrael Antiquities Authority(IAA), supports this claim, but other researchers at the same institution reject it. The town existed as a Christian settlement in the classic era and was populated during the Middle Ages. It was reestablished as aGerman Templer Colony in Palestinein the 19th century and turned into a Jewish moshav in 1948.

History[edit]

To distinguish the city from the city ofBethlehemnearJerusalem,it was originally known asBethlehem ofZebulun,whilst the town near Jerusalem was called "Bethlehem of Judea".[citation needed]In theJerusalem Talmudit is referred to asBeth Lehem Zoria,as it was part of the kingdom ofTyre (Ṣūr)at the time. According to theBook of Judges,one of the so-called "Minor Judges"of early settlement Israel,Ibzan,came from Bethlehem and was buried there.[3]TheCambridge Bible for Schools and Collegessuggests that the Bethlehem referred to in this passage is Bethlehem of Galilee "rather than the more famous Bethlehem in the Tribe of Judah".[4]

Until the late 19th century, and even the 1921 visit byGustav Dalman,the impressive remains of achurchand asynagoguecould be seen there.[5]Archaeologist Ariel Berman discovered achalk vesselindustry from the EarlyRoman periodas well as a hugewine press.[2]This shows that it was a prosperous city, which is used as an argument in favour of identifying today's Bethlehem-in-the-Galilee with biblical Bethlehem of Zebulon.[dubious–discuss][citation needed]

Due to its proximity to Nazareth, one historian believes that it is the Bethlehem whereJesuswas born. Aviram Oshri, a senior archaeologist with the IAA, supports this claim,[6][7]although others at this institution reject it.[8]

Remains of largeByzantine-periodbuildings as well as pottery (4th–5th century) from the same period have been found here,[9]together with walls and objects from theUmayyad,Abbasid(eighth century CE) andMamlukperiods (14th–15th centuries).[10]

Ottoman period[edit]

Arab village[edit]

In 1517, the village was included in theOttoman Empire,and in the 1596tax-recordsit appeared asBayt Lahm,located in theNahiyaofTabariyyaof theLiwaofSafad.The population was 27 households and two bachelors, allMuslim.They paid a tax rate of 25% on agricultural products, which included wheat, barley, cotton, vegetable and fruit gardens, occasional revenues, goats and beehives; a total of 1200Akçe.[11][12]

In 1859, the British consul Rogers stated that the population was 110, and the tillage at sixteenfeddans.[13]

In 1875Victor Guérinvisited and noted that Bethlehem was a small village, which had succeeded a town of the same name.[14]He further noted the ruins of two buildings; one, completely destroyed, had been constructed of good cut stones; the entrance was at the south façade. He thought, from its orientation north and south, that it was a synagogue. The other building, which lay east and west, may have been a Christian church. On its site were seen a few shafts, four of which were stillin situand half covered up.[15]

In 1882, thePalestine Exploration Fund'sSurvey of Western Palestinedescribed it as "The ancient Bethlehem of Zebulon. A village principally built ofadobeon high ground in the border of the wooded country. The nearest water is inWady el Melek,on the north (Ras el 'Ain), and at the springs near Muwarah on the south. "[13]

A population list from about 1887 showed that Kh. Beit Lahm had about 55 inhabitants, all Muslims.[16]

Templer village[edit]

In 1906Templersfrom theGerman ColonyinHaifaestablished a colony in Galilee,[17][better source needed]naming it for the ancient city.

British Mandate period[edit]

In the1922 census of Palestineconducted by theBritish authorities,Bait Lam had a population of 224; 111 Christians and 113 Muslims.[18]Of the Christians, 95 wereProtestantand 16 were Greek Catholics (Melkites).[19]This had increased slightly by the1931 censusto a population of 235; 135 Muslim, 99 Christians and 1 Jew, in a total of 51 inhabited houses.[20]

Restored historic home in Bethlehem of Galilee

In 1932 theNazi Partygained its first two members in Palestine; Karl Ruff and Walter Aberle from the Templer colony in Haifa.[21]In the course of the 1930s, Bethlehemites also joined the party, indicating the fading affinity to the Templers' original ideals. By August 1939, 17% of all German Christians in Palestine were members of the Nazi Party.[22]After theNazi takeoverin Germany, all international schools of German language subsidized or fully financed by government funds were obliged to employ teachers aligned to the Nazi Party. In 1933, Templer functionaries appealed toPaul von Hindenburgand the Foreign Office not to use swastika symbols for German institutions in Palestine and voiced opposition to the boycott of German Jewish shops.[23]Later, this opposition subsided. On 20 August 1939 the German government called on German Christians in Palestine to join theWehrmachtand 350 men enlisted.

After the start ofWorld War II,all Germans in Palestine were declaredenemy aliens.The British authorities sent them toSarona,Bethlehem (Galilee), Waldheim (today'sAllonei Abba) andWilhelma.In summer 1941, 665 German internees, mostly young families with children, were deported toAustralia,leaving those who were too old or sick. In December 1941 and in the course of 1942 another 400 German internees, mostly wives and children of men who had enlisted in the Wehrmacht, were released - via Turkey - to Germany for the purpose offamily reunification.[24]

In the1945 statisticsthe population ofBeit Lamconsisted of 370 people; 210 Muslims and 160 Christians,[25]and the total land area was 7,526dunamsaccording to an official land and population survey.[26]6 dunams of land were designated for citrus and bananas, 278 dunams for plantations and irrigable land, 4,796 for cereals,[27]while 51 dunams were built-up areas.[28]

In 1945 the Italian and Hungarian internees were released but the Britons refused to repatriate the remaining German internees to the British zone in Germany. In 1947, they were allowed to emigrate to Australia.[29]

Israel[edit]

On 17 April 1948 theHaganahcaptured the village, and it was subsequently depopulated. By 14 May 1948, when Israel declared independence, only 50 Templers remained in the country.[30]It was resettled by Jewish farmers, becoming a moshav. Much of the original Templer architecture survives, and is similar in style to the homes built by the Templers in other parts of the country, such asSaronainTel Aviv,Wilhelma (todayBnei Atarot) and theGerman coloniesofHaifaandJerusalem.

In recent years, tourism has replaced agriculture as the main economic branch. A dairy, an herb farm, restaurants and country-style accommodation are among the tourist-oriented businesses in the village today.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Regional Statistics".Israel Central Bureau of Statistics.Retrieved21 March2024.
  2. ^abNegev and Gibson (2001), p. 80.
  3. ^Judges 12:8–10
  4. ^Cambridge Bible for Schools and Collegeson Judges 12, accessed 8 November 2016
  5. ^Oshri, Aviram (2008). "Bethlehem of Galilee".Bethlehem of Galilee.New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (NEAEHL).Vol. 5 (updates).Israel Exploration Society&Biblical Archaeology Society.Retrieved11 December2023– via BAS Library (online).
  6. ^Oshri, Aviram (November–December 2005)."Where was Jesus Born?"(PDF).Archaeology.58(6): 42–45.Archived(PDF)from the original on 27 December 2023.Retrieved27 December2023– via mnemotrix.
  7. ^Steinberg, Jessica (24 December 2014)."Was Jesus born in a different Bethlehem?".The Times of Israel.Archivedfrom the original on 24 December 2014.Retrieved27 December2023.
  8. ^"Israeli archeologist says Jesus was born in Bethlehem... of Galilee?".Inquisitr.28 December 2014.Retrieved25 May2015.
  9. ^Dalali-Amos, Edna (4 July 2011).Bet Lehem Ha-Gelilit: Final Report,Hadashot Arkheologiyot.Reaccessed 11 Dec 2023.
  10. ^Tepper, Yotam(14 Apr 2016).Bet-Lehem Ha-Gelilit: Preliminary Report,Hadashot Arkheologiyot.Reaccessed 11 Dec 2023.
  11. ^Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 188
  12. ^Note that Rhode, 1979, p.6Archived2019-04-20 at theWayback Machinewrites that the register that Hütteroth and Abdulfattah studied from the Safad-district was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9
  13. ^abConder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.270
  14. ^Guérin, 1880, pp.393
  15. ^Guérin, 1880, pp.393-394; as given by Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.301
  16. ^Schumacher, 1888, p.176
  17. ^abYet to be discovered: The Jezreel ValleyHaaretz
  18. ^Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Haifa, p.33
  19. ^Barron, 1923, Table XVI, p.49
  20. ^Mills, 1932, p.88
  21. ^Balke, 2001, p. 41.
  22. ^Sauer, 1996, p. 17
  23. ^Balke, 2001, p. 81
  24. ^Sauer, 1996, pp. 18seqq.
  25. ^Department of Statistics, 1945, p.13
  26. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.47
  27. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.89
  28. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.139
  29. ^Sauer, 1996, p. 19.
  30. ^Sauer, 1996, p. 20

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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