Haifa

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For the Lebanese singer, see Haifa Wehbe.

Haifa (Hebrew חֵיפָה Ḥefa; Arabic حَيْفَا Template:Audio) 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's sole official romanization Haifa and the common English pronunciation Template:IPA are based on the Arabic name Ḥayfā, whilst the unused Standard Hebrew name is Ḥefa, and the local Hebrew pronunciation is typically Template:IPA.

1 History
2 Religion
3 Academic institutions
4 Politics
- 4.1 Mayors of Haifa
5 Economy
6 Transportation
7 Sports
8 Sister cities
9 Neighborhoods
10 See also
11 External links
12 References

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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, Cephas (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 Palestine 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 Templars 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 20,000 inhabitants, comprised of 82% Muslim Arab, 14% Christian Arabs, and 4% Jewish residents. Jewish population increased steadily with immigration primarily from Europe, so that by 1945 the population had shifted to 38% Muslim, 13% Christian and 47% Jewish.Template:Citation needed Haifa is located in the northernmost reach of the Coastal Plain designated as Jewish territory in the 1947 UN Partition Plan dividing mandatory Palestine. On 30 December, 1947 two bombs were hurled from a passing vehicle 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 ran amok, killing 39 Jews during a murderous riot that lasted until British troops brought the situation under control 90 minutes later. As the major industrial and oil-refinery port in the Palestine, 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 60,000 Palestinian Arabs from Haifa District.

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.

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Religion

Image:Bahai center Haifa 2.jpg 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, Haifa is also cherished by the Muslim, Christian 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 above) is an important site of worship and administration for the members of the Bahá'í Faith, as well as providing the city with a much visited tourist attraction. Haifa was 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.

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Academic institutions

Image:180px-Eshkol tower haifa u.jpg Haifa is the site of two universities, the University of Haifa and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.

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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%.

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Mayors of Haifa

Najib Afendi Alyasin (1873-1877)
Akhmad Afendi Jalabi (1878-1881)
Mustafa Bar Alsalekh (1881-1884)
Mustafa Pasha Alkhalil (1885-1903)
Jamil Sadeq (1904-1910)
Rif'at Alsalakh (1910-1911)
Ibrahim Alkhalil (1911-1913)
Abd-Alrakhman Alkhaj (1920-1927)
Hasan Shukri (1914-1920, 1927-1940)
Shabtai Levy (1940-1951) - The first Jewish Mayor
Abba Hushi (1951–1969)
Moshe Flimann (1969–1973)
Yosef Almogi (1974–1975)
Yeruham Zeisel (1975–1978)
Arie Gur'el (1978–1993)
Amram Mitzna (1993–2003)
Giora Fisher (2003)
Yona Yahav (2003–)

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Economy

The industrial region of Haifa is north 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 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 v'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, IBM, Elbit, Zoran, Microsoft, and Amdocs. Another IBM office is on top of Carmel at Haifa University.

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Transportation

For international travel, Haifa Airport, located on the Gulf of Haifa, serves flights to Eilat and Cyprus. Haifa Seaport, which is Israel's main international 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-Tel Aviv main line railway runs along the Gulf of Haifa; stations within the municipal boundaries of Haifa, from the direction Tel Aviv, are:

Hof HaCarmel near Haifa Hof HaCarmel Central Bus Station
Bat Galim near Haifa Bat Galim Central Bus Station
Haifa Central near Haifa Seaport
Lev Hamifratz near Lev Hamifratz Mall and Mifratz Central Bus Station
Hutzot HaMifratz in the Hutzot HaMifratz Shopping Center
Qiryat Haim

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

The bus stations, again from Tel Aviv 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.

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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 9 championships, 5 cups and 2 league-cups (as of 2005). Both Hapoel and Maccabi 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.

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