Hebron

This article is about the place in the Middle East. For other uses of the name, see Hebron (disambiguation).

Hebron (Arabic al-á¸ªalÄ«l or al KhalÄ«l; Hebrew , Standard Hebrew á¸¤evron, Tiberian Hebrew á¸¤eá¸‡rÃ´n: derived from the word "friend") is a town in the Southern Judea region of the West Bank. It has around 130,000 Palestinians and 500 Israeli settlers. It lies 3,050 feet (930 m) above sea level.

Hebron is located 30km south of Jerusalem. Its elevation from sea level is about 1000m. Hebron is famous for its grapes, limestones, pottery workshops and glassblowing factories. It is also home of the nationally famous Al-Juneidi factory for dairy products. The old city of Hebron is characterized by its narrow and winding streets, the flat-roofed stone houses, and the old bazaars. It is the home of Hebron University and Palestine Polytechnic University.

The most famous historical site in Hebron sits on the Tomb of the Patriarchs (Hebrew: ×ž×¢×¨×ª ×"×ž×›×¤×œ×", or Me'arat ha-Machpelah "Cave of the Machpelah"; Arabic: Ø§Ù„ØØ±Ù… Ø§Ù„Ø¥Ø¨Ø±Ø§Ù‡ÙŠÙ…ÙŠ, or al-Haram al-Ibrahimi "The Sanctuary of Abraham"). The site is considered holy by all three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to the book of Genesis in the Bible, Abraham purchased this cave and the field around it to bury his wife Sarah. Jews believe that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah are buried in the cave. The cave is the second holiest site in Judaism, and Churches, Synagogues, and Mosques have been built on this site throughout history (see "History", below). Today, the Ibrahimi Mosque comprises the Isaac Hall; the Abraham Hall and Jacob Hall are used as a synagogue by Jews.

History

Ancient period

Hebron is one of the most ancient cities in the Middle East, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Hebron was an ancient Canaanite royal city, which according to archaeological findings was probably founded in the 35th century BCE, and mentioned in the Bible as existing during the 18th century BCE. Hebron is mentioned as being formerly called Kirjath-arba, before being conquered by Joshua and the Israelites (Joshua 14).

Hebron became one of the principle centers of the Tribe of Judah, and the Judahite David was anointed King of Israel in Hebron and reigned in the city until the capture of Jerusalem, when the capital of the Kingdom of Israel was moved to that city. After the destruction of the First Temple, most of the Jewish inhabitants of Hebron were exiled and their place was taken by Edomites at about 587 BCE. Herod the Great built the wall which still surrounds the Cave of Machpelah. Jar handle stamps bearing Hebrew letters dating from 700 BCE, the oldest known inscription naming the city, have been found in Hebron (see LMLK seal).

During the first war against the Romans, Hebron was conquered by Simon Bar Giora, the leader of the Sicarii. Eventually it became part of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I erected a Christian church over the Cave of Machpelah in the 6th century CE which was later destroyed by the Sassanids.

Medieval period

The Islamic Caliphate established rule over Hebron without resistance in 638. During this period, Muslims converted the Byzantine church at the site of Abraham's tomb into a mosque. Trade greatly expanded, in particular with bedouins in the Negev and the population to the east of the Dead Sea. Both Muslim and Christian sources note that Umar allowed Jews to build a synagogue and burial ground near the cave of Machpelah. In the 9th Century, Zedakah b. Shomron, a Karaite scholar, wrote about a permanent Jewish presence, and a Jewish man was described as the "keeper of the cave". El Makdesi, an Arab historian, described "a synagogue and central kitchen which the Jews had set up for all the pilgrims rich and poor" at the turn of the century.

Arab rule lasted until 1099, when the Christian Crusader Godfrey de Bouillon took Hebron in 1099 and renamed it "Castellion Saint Abraham". The Crusaders converted the mosque and the synagogue into a church and expelled Jews living there. Towards the end of the period of Crusader rule, in 1166 Maimonides was able to visit Hebron and wrote, "And on the first day of the week, the ninth day of the month of Marheshvan, I left Jerusalem for Hebron to kiss the graves of my forefathers in the Cave of Makhpela. And on that very day, I stood in the cave and I prayed, praised be God for everything."

The Kurdish Muslim Salaá¸¥ ed-DÄ«n took Hebron in 1187, and changed the name of the city back to "Hebron". Richard the Lionheart subsequently took the city soon after.

In 1260, al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari established Mamluk rule; the minarets were built onto the structure of the Cave of Machpelah/Ibrahami Mosque at that time. Duing this period, a small Jewish community continued to live in Hebron, however the climate was less tolerant of Jews (and Christians) than it had been under prior Islamic rule. Jews wishing to visit the tomb were often taxed, and in 1266 a decree was established barring Jews and Christians from entering the Tomb of the Patriarchs; they were only allowed to climb up to a a certain step outside the Eastern wall. Sir John Mondeville wrote that the Jews and Christians were "treated like dogs." Many Jewish and Christian visitors wrote about the community, among them a student of Nachmanides (1270), Rabbi Ishtori Haparchi (1322), Stephen von Gumfenberg (1449), Rabbi Meshulam from Voltara (1481) and Rabbi Ovadia Bartenura, a famous biblical commentator (1489). An account from Hakham Yishak Hilo of Larissa (Greece), who arrived in Hebron and observed Jews working in the cotton trade and glassworks. He noted that in Hebron there was an, "Ancient synagogue in which they prayed day and night in 1333.

Ottoman rule

With the advent of Ottoman Turkish rule in 1516-17, there was a violent pogrom in with many Jews were raped and killed and Jewish homes were plundered. Throughout the Ottoman Empire rule, (1517-1917), groups of Jews from other parts of the Land of Israel, and exiles from Spain and other parts of the diaspora and settled there. Hebron at this time became a center of Jewish learning. In 1540 Rabbi Malkiel Ashkenazi bought a courtyard and established the Abraham Avinu Synagogue. In 1807, the Jewish community purchased a 5-dunam plot upon which the city's wholesale market stands today. Another pogrom took place in 1834. In 1831, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt took over Hebron until 1840.

Under the British mandate

In December 1917 and during World War I, the British occupied Hebron. In 1929, 67 Jews were killed, 60 wounded, and Jewish homes and synagogues ransacked in the anti-Jewish 1929 Hebron massacre. Two years later, 35 families moved back into the ruins of the Jewish quarter, but after further riots, the British Government decided to move all Jews out of Hebron "to prevent another massacre". Hebron remained as a part of the British mandate until 1948, and the Jewish quarter remained abandoned of Jews until 1969.

Israeli rule

After the Six Day War, in June 1967, Hebron and the rest of the West Bank came under Israeli control (See Israeli-occupied territories).

In 1969, a group of Jewish settlers began to reside in the city, though a government compromise soon focused the Jewish presence to the east in the new settlement of Kiryat Arba. Beginning in 1979, Jewish settlers moved from Kiryat Arba to the old Avraham Avinu neighborhood, and later to other Hebron neighborhoods including Tel Rumeida.

Post Oslo Accord

Israeli Police and Army personnel in Hebron, November 2000

Palestinian boys fight with Israel Defense Forces in Hebron, November 2000

Since early 1997 the city has been divided into two sectors: H1 and H2. The H1 sector, home to around 120,000 Palestinians, came under the control of the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with Hebron Protocol.UNISPAL. PLO/Palestine - Israel. Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron 17 January 1997 H2, which comprised of around 30,000 Palestinians, remained under Israeli control due to the presence of around 500 Jewish Israeli settlers living in an enclave near the center of the town. During the last five years, the Palestinian population in H2 has decreased by 20,000 and the current figures show that only around 10,000 Palestinians continue to live in this sector. This has been attributed to continued harassment of the Palestinians by the settlers, as well as extended curfews and restrictions placed on Palestinian residents of the sector by the IDF.Peacemakers in Hebron by Kaliya Young (Christian Peacemaker Teams)From The Inside Looking Out. Report #28 - While You Were Gone Episode II by Jerry Levin. December 19, 2003Hebron, Area H-2: Settlements Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians by B'Tselem, the Israeli information Center for Human Rights. August 2003

Funds from Arab nations earmarked for the reconstruction of homes in Hebron destroyed by Israeli bulldozers during the second intifada was reported to have reached PA leaders close to Yasser Arafat rather than the intended recipients.[1]

In 1994, an Israeli Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslims at prayer in the Ibrahimi Mosque, killing 29. This event was condemned by the Israeli Government and polled Israelis. Israel banned the right-wing Kach movement as a result.

A year later, the Mayor of Hebron invited the Christian Peacemaker Teams to assist them the local Palestinian community in opposition to what they describe as Israeli military occupation, collective punishment, settler harassment, home demolitions and land confiscation.CPT Presence in Hebron They have maintained a presence in the community despite attacks against them, the most noted being in 2004 when two corps members, Kimberly Lamberty and Christopher Brown were attacked while walking Palestinian Children to school Washington Post account. Accounts of the CPT presence can be found in Art Gish's "Hebron Journal."

The UN subsequently established an international unarmed observer force - the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) to maintain a buffer between the Palestinian Arab population of the city and the Jews residing in their enclave in the old city. On February 8, 2006, TIPH temporarily left Hebron after attacks on their headquarters by some Palestinians angered by the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.

Demographics thoroughout history

Year	Muslims	Christians	Jews	Total	Notes
1538	749 h	7 h	20 h	776 h	(h = households) Source: Cohen & Lewis
1817			500	Jewish Virtual Library
1838			700
1837			423		Montefiore census
1866			497		Montefiore census
1922	16,074	73	430	16,577	British Mandate Census
1931	17,275	112	135	17,522	British Mandate Census
1944	24,400	150	0	24,550	Estimate
1967	38,203	106	0	38,309	Census
1997	130,000	3	530	130,533

Controversy: Jewish settlement after 1967

Following the Six-Day War of 1967, a group of Jews disguised as tourists, led by Rabbi Moshe Levinger, took over the main hotel in Hebron and refused to leave. They later moved to a nearby abandoned army camp and established the settlement of Kiryat Arba. In 1979, Levinger's wife led 30 Jewish women to take over the Daboya Hospital (Beit Hadassah) in central Hebron. Before long this received Israeli government approval and further Jewish enclaves in the city were established with army assistance. This process of expansion of the Jewish presence is continuing and there are now more than 20 Jewish settlements in and around the city.

Jews living in these settlements and their supporters claim that they are resettling areas where Jews have lived since time immemorial, but the presence of Israeli settlements in these areas is condemned by many foreign governments and the United Nations as a violation of international law.

The sentiments of Jews who fled the 1929 Hebron riot are mixed. For example, in 1997, an association comprised of some descendants of pre-1929 Jewish residents of Hebron published a statement dissociating themselves from the then-current Jewish settlers in Hebron, calling them an obstacle to peace.Philadelphia Inquirer. "Hebron descendants decry actions of current settlers They are kin of the Jews ousted in 1929", 1997-03-03. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.

On May 15, 2006, remnants of the previous 800 member community that fled 1929 Hebron Riot, while urging the government, in their names, to continue its support of Jewish settlement in Hebron, sent the government a letter urging it to allow the return of eight Jewish families evacuated last January from the homes they set up in empty shops by the Avraham Avinu neighborhood.Jerusalem Post. "Hebron Jews' offspring divided over city's fate", 2006-05-16. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.

Cultural, historical and sporting landmarks

Adjacent to the municipality building, Hebron archaeological museum has a collection of artifacts from the Cannanite to the Islamic periods. The Oak Of Abraham, also called Oak of Mamre is an ancient oak tree which marks the place where according to tradition Abraham pitched his tent. It is estimated that this oak is approximately 5000 years old. The Russian Orthodox Church owns the site and the nearby monastery. Other notable sites are The Well of Abraham and the tombs of Abner ben Ner (the commander of David's army), Ruth and Jesse.

Languages and accents

Palestinian Hebronites are known amongst the Levant for their distinguished colloquial Arabic accent. Hebronites speak while stretching their words giving it a long musical sound.