Safed

Template:Infobox Israel muni 32°57′57″N 35°29′54″E / 32.96583°N 35.49833°E / 32.96583; 35.49833

Safed (Hebrew: צְפַת, Tiberian: sˁə.ˈfaθ, Israeli: Tsfat, Ashkenazi: Tzfas; Arabic: صفد sˁa.fad; KJV English: Zephath) is a city in the North District in Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2003 the city had a total population of 26,600 residents. Safed is regarded a holy city in Judaism along with Jerusalem, Tiberias and Hebron, and is a center for the Kabbalah, an esoteric form of Jewish mysticism. It is also famous as a health and holiday resort with pleasant summers and snowy winters with a lot of greenery thanks to its high altitude of more than 900 meters and high precipitation.

History

According to legend, Safed was founded by a son of Noah after the great deluge. Historical sources indicate that the town was founded in the 2nd century AD, during Roman times. It was not mentioned for centuries after that, but in 1289 it is known that a chief rabbi of Safed, one Moses ben Judah ha-Cohen, went to Tiberias to pay homage to Rambam.

In the early 16th century, the Ottoman Empire under Selim I conquered Palestine. Under the Ottomans, Safed was part of the vilayet of Sidon.

In 1491, mention is made that the rabbi in the town had to supplement his income through a grocery market. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, many prominent rabbis found their way to Safed, which became the key center for Jewish mysticism, known as Kabbalah. Among the prominent kabbalists who made their home in Safed were Isaac Luria (Arizal) and Moshe Kordovero. Besides the kabbalists, Safed also attracted numerous other Jewish scholars and spirtualists, including Joseph Caro, the author of the Shulchan Aruch and Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz, composer of the Sabbath hymn Lecha Dodi. The influx of Sephardi Jews made Safed a global center for Jewish learning and a regional center for trade throughout 15th and 16th centuries. A Hebrew printing press is established in Safed in 1577. It's the first press in Palestine and the first in whole Asia^{[citation needed]}. The 8,000 or 10,000 Jews in Safed in 1555 grew to 20,000 or 30,000 by the end of the century.

A plague in 1742 and an earthquake in 1759 led to a decline of the Jewish community in Safed, leaving only seven families at its nadir. An influx of Russian Jews in 1776 and 1781, and of the Perushim in 1809 and 1810 reinvigorated the community.

In 1812, another plague killed an estimated 80% of the Jewish population, and in 1819 the remaining Jews were held for ransom by Abdallah Pasha, the governor of Akko. In 1833 and 1834, an Arab mob attacked the Jewish community, killing and pillaging many; Seven percent of the lost property was subsequently returned. On January 1, 1837, an earthquake killed 4,000 Jewish inhabitants, mostly by burying them in their homes. In 1847, plague struck Safed again. During the whole 19th century, the Jewish community suffered from Bedouin and Arab attacks.[1]

The Jewish population was increased in the last half of the 19th century by immigration from Persia, Morocco, and Algeria. Moses Montefiore visited Safed seven times and financed rebuilding of much of the town. Virtually all the antiquities of Safed were however destroyed by earthquakes.

Eighteen Jews were killed and 80 injured in the 1929 Arab riots.

Prior to 1948, about 10,000 of Safed's 12,000 residents were Arabs [2], most of whom fled as a result of the brutal Jewish invasion. According to a participant account by a Jewish fighter, Haganah and Irgun fighters were initially on the defensive, but Arab fighters and residents fled following mortar strikes conducted by Palmach reinforcements. Among them was future Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and his family.(Myre 2006; PMC 2005)

Today, Tzfat has seen a resurgence of popularity, and has again become a center for Jewish learning. With quaint cobblestone streets, it has also gained a reputation as an artist colony.

Demographics

According to CBS, in 2003 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.2% Jewish and other non-Arabs, without significant Arab population. In 2001 there were 202 immigrant settlers. See Population groups in Israel.

According to CBS, in 2001 there were 12,700 males and 13,200 females. The population of the city was spread out with 43.2% 19 years of age or younger, 13.5% between 20 and 29, 17.1% between 30 and 44, 12.5% from 45 to 59, 3.1% from 60 to 64, and 10.5% 65 years of age or older.

The population growth rate in 2001 was 3.0%, and 0.9% in 2003.

Income

As of December, 2001, the CBS' socio-economic ranking places the city slightly below the average, at 4 out of 10, with an average income of 4,476 shekels per month to a national average of 6,835 shekels

According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 6,450 salaried workers and 523 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 4,476, a real change of 8.1% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 5,631 (a real change of 10.2%) versus ILS 3,330 for females (a real change of 2.3%). The mean income for the self-employed is 4,843. There are 425 people who receive unemployment benefits and 3,085 people who receive an income guarantee.

Education

According to CBS, there are 25 schools and 6,292 students in the city. They are spread out as 18 elementary schools and 3,965 elementary school students, and 11 high schools and 2,327 high school students. 40.8% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.

Attractions

Meiri Museum for Safed History
Printing Press Museum
Artist colony in the Old City
Biblical Museum in the Fortress Garden
Statue Garden and the Gallery of sculptor Moshe Ziffer

See also Template:Wikitravel.

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

On 13 July 2006, Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah from Southern Lebanon hit Safed killing one man and injuring others. On 14 July, further rockets killed a five-year-old boy and his grandmother. Many, though not all, residents fled the town.(Myre 2006) Since July 13, many more Katyushas have been fired at Safed causing injuries and damage to the town. On 22 July, 2006, four people were injured from a rocket strike.

References

Maes, Kevin. Safed: A Battle of Living History, January 15, 2000.
Myre, Greg. 2 More Israelis Are Killed as Rain of Rockets From Lebanon Pushes Thousands South. New York Times, July 15, 2006.
Palestine Media Center - PMC [Official arm of PA]. "Full Israeli Withdrawal Not Enough -'Palestinians Would Never Give up 'Right of Return.'" May 16, 2005

External links

Official Site (Hebrew)
Official Site (English)