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Template:Infobox Israel muni

For other uses, see Haifa (disambiguation).

Haifa (Hebrew חֵיפָה Ḥefa; Arabic حَيْفَا Ḥayfā) is the main city of northern Israel and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of about 267,800 (as of May 2006). It and areas and towns around it are deemed to be in the Haifa District. It is a seaport, located below and on Mount Carmel, and lies on the Mediterranean coast.

History

View of Haifa's port
The view across Haifa Bay from Mount Carmel.
The main attraction of the terraced gardens at the Bahá'í World Centre is the Shrine of the Bab.
A panoramic view of the city
The Bahai Gardens
Top view of the Bahai Gardens
Haifa as seen from the south
The Bahai Gardens and German Colony
File:RnsCrmlVyg 046.jpg
Haifa at sunrise
The industrial area at sunrise
Stair-alleys go up and down the Carmel mountain through the city

The city's sole official romanization Haifa and the common English pronunciation /ˈhaɪ.fə/ are based on the Arabic name Ḥayfā, whilst the unused Standard Hebrew name is Ḥefa, and the local Hebrew pronunciation is typically /xei.ˈfa/.

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, Kepah (כפא). Additionally, the name Sycaminon or Sykaminos, meaning "wild strawberry", is also used.

Some also believe the name came from the words חי-פה("hai-po", meaning "living-here") presuming God resides in the city.

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 and a center for making the traditional techelet dye used for Jewish Priests temple cloth, the Techelet thread. The archaeological site of Shikmona lies southwest of the modern Bat Galim neighborhood. 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 and Muslim inhabitants . Under crusader rule, the city was a part of the Principality of Galilee until the Muslim Mameluks captured it in 1265.

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 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.

On 30 December, 1947 members of the Jewish militant group Irgun hurled two bombs 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 rioted and killed 39 Jewish employees in what has become known as the Haifa Oil Refinery massacre. 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 23, 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 80,000 Palestinian Arabs from Haifa District.

Religion

It is noted by Jews for the Cave of Elijah and the historic Jewish town of Shikmona at the foot of Mount Carmel. The highest peak of Mt. Carmel is called Muchraka and there is a Carmelite monastery there. This is, by legend, the exact place where Elijah had his confrontation with the emissaries of Baal. (1 King 18:20)

Haifa is also cherished by the 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) is an important site of worship and administration for the members of the Bahá'í Faith, as well as providing the city with the most visited tourist attraction. Haifa was also 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.

Academic institutions

Haifa is the site of a number of universities, including the University of Haifa and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.

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%.

Mayors of Haifa since 1873

Economy

The industrial region of Haifa is north of the city, near the Kishon River. 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 (66 million barrels) 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 (Merkaz 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, Elbit, Zoran, Microsoft, Philips and Amdocs. IBM has an office on top of Carmel at Haifa University.

The Port of Haifa has the most passenger traffic of Israeli ports. It is also a major cargo harbor.

Transportation

For international travel, Haifa Airport, located on the Gulf of Haifa, serves flights to Eilat and Cyprus. Port of Haifa, which is Israel's main international passengers 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:

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

The bus stations, again from Tel Aviv northwards, are: Hof HaCarmel, Bat Galim, and Merkazit HaMifratz. All of these stations are served by Egged city, suburban, and intercity buses.

Other intracity transport options include Israel's only subway system (funicular) and a cablecar. The Carmelit subway runs from Kikar Paris downtown to Gan HaEm (Mother's Park) on 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.

Climate

Haifa has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cold, rainy winters. The average temperature in summer is 26 °C and in winter, 12 °C. Snow is rare in Haifa, but temperatures around 6 °C can sometimes occur, usually in the early morning. The wet season is from October to April.

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 Qiryat Eliezer, seating 14,000, and Qiryat Haim. 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.

Sister Cities

Haifa has Sister Cities all over the world:

Neighborhoods

Born in Haifa

See also

External links

References

  • Carmel, Alex (2002). The History of Haifa Under Turkish Rule (4th Edition ed.). Haifa: Pardes. ISBN 965-7171-05-9. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help) (in Hebrew)
  • Shiller, Eli & Ben-Artzi, Yossi (1985). Haifa and its sites. Jerusalem: Ariel.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (in Hebrew)

Notes

  1. Carmel, Alex (2002). The History of Haifa Under Turkish Rule (4th Edition ed.). Haifa: Pardes. pp. 16–17. ISBN 965-7171-05-9. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
Haifa District
Cities
Local councils
Regional councils
See also


32°49′N 34°59′E / 32.817°N 34.983°E / 32.817; 34.983

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