Jish (Jīsh)
Jish (الجش; גִ'שׁ, גּוּשׁ חָלָב, Jish, Gush Halav) is a local council in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, 13 km north of Safed, in Israel's Northern District. In it had a population of, which is predominantly Maronite Catholic and Melkite Greek Catholic Christians (63%), with a Sunni Muslim Arab minority (about 35.7%).
Jish is the ancient Giscala or Gush Halav, first mentioned in the historical record by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus, who described it as the home of John of Giscala and the last city in the Galilee to fall to the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War (War 4:93). Archeological excavations uncovered remains from the Canaanite and Israelite periods; later archaeological finds in Jish include two ancient synagogues, a unique mausoleum and rock-cut tombs from the classical period. Historical sources dating from the 10th-15th centuries describe Jish (Gush Halav) as a village with a strong Jewish presence.
In the early Ottoman era Jish was wholly Muslim. In the 17th century, the village was inhabited by Druze. In 1945, under British rule, Jish had a population of 1,090 with an area of 12,602 dunams. It was largely depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, but was resettled not only by the original inhabitants, who were largely Maronite Christians, but also by some Maronite Christians who were expelled from the razed villages of Kafr Bir'im and some Muslims who were expelled from Dallata.
In 2010, the population of Jish was 3,000.
Jish is the ancient Giscala. The Arabic name el-Jish is a variation of the site's ancient name Gush Halav in Hebrew, literally "a lump of milk," which may be a reference to either the production of milk and cheese (for which the village has been famous since at least the early Middle Ages ) or else to the fertile surroundings, which are well-suited for various forms of agriculture. Other scholars believe the name Gush Halav refers to the light color of the local limestone, which contrasts with the dark reddish rock of the neighboring village, Ras al-Ahmar.
Jish is the ancient Giscala or Gush Halav, first mentioned in the historical record by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus, who described it as the home of John of Giscala and the last city in the Galilee to fall to the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War (War 4:93). Archeological excavations uncovered remains from the Canaanite and Israelite periods; later archaeological finds in Jish include two ancient synagogues, a unique mausoleum and rock-cut tombs from the classical period. Historical sources dating from the 10th-15th centuries describe Jish (Gush Halav) as a village with a strong Jewish presence.
In the early Ottoman era Jish was wholly Muslim. In the 17th century, the village was inhabited by Druze. In 1945, under British rule, Jish had a population of 1,090 with an area of 12,602 dunams. It was largely depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, but was resettled not only by the original inhabitants, who were largely Maronite Christians, but also by some Maronite Christians who were expelled from the razed villages of Kafr Bir'im and some Muslims who were expelled from Dallata.
In 2010, the population of Jish was 3,000.
Jish is the ancient Giscala. The Arabic name el-Jish is a variation of the site's ancient name Gush Halav in Hebrew, literally "a lump of milk," which may be a reference to either the production of milk and cheese (for which the village has been famous since at least the early Middle Ages ) or else to the fertile surroundings, which are well-suited for various forms of agriculture. Other scholars believe the name Gush Halav refers to the light color of the local limestone, which contrasts with the dark reddish rock of the neighboring village, Ras al-Ahmar.
Map - Jish (Jīsh)
Map
Country - Israel
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The Southern Levant, of which modern Israel forms a part, is on the land corridor used by hominins to emerge from Africa and has some of the first signs of human habitation. In ancient history, it was where Canaanite and later Israelite civilizations developed, and where the kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged, before falling, respectively, to the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Neo-Babylonian Empire. During the classical era, the region was ruled by the Achaemenid, Macedonian, Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires. The Maccabean Revolt gave rise to the Hasmonean kingdom, before the Roman Republic took control a century later. The subsequent Jewish–Roman wars resulted in widespread destruction and displacement across Judea. Under Byzantine rule, Christians replaced Jews as the majority. From the 7th century, Muslim rule was established under the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates. In the 11th century, the First Crusade asserted European Christian rule under the Crusader states. For the next two centuries, the region saw continuous wars between the Crusaders and the Ayyubids, ending when the Crusaders lost their last territorial possessions to the Mamluk Sultanate, which ceded the territory to the Ottoman Empire at the onset of the 16th century.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
ILS | Israeli new shekel | ₪ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
AR | Arabic language |
EN | English language |
HE | Hebrew language |