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Galilee (Region)

The Northern District, Israeli administrative division, corresponding to the Galilee and Golan Heights.

Galilee (Hebrew: - ; Arabic: - ; means) is a broad region in the north of Israel , traditionally divided into three parts:

Upper Galilee;
Lower Galilee;
Western Galilee, also known as "The north coast of Israel."

It also includes the Golan Heights , occupied by Israeli forces following the Six Day War then annexed by the Jewish state 14 December 1981 despite condemnation by the Security Council of UN.

/ / Geography

Galilee is a mountainous rocky North of Israel. Its highest point is Mount Meron over 1028 meters. She has mild temperatures and rainfall to feed even a few streams and suitable for agriculture. Galilee embraces more than a third of the current territory of Israel , stretching from Dan in the north, at the foot of Mount Hermon to the mountains Caramel and Gilboa on the south, and the valley of the Jordan to the east to the edge the Mediterranean Sea to the west, passing through the plains of Jezreel and Akko. The peculiarity of the northern borders of the State of Israel as the "finger" of Galilee.

History

During the Roman period, the province of Palestine was divided into three regions, Judea , the Samaria and Galilee, which is the largest region in the north.

Following the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in AD 70, Galilee became the spiritual center of Judaism. It housed the Sanhedrin. In the hills were written Mishna and the Talmud. Many rabbis lived there and are buried there, as Rabbi Ishmael.

After the takeover of the region by the Caliphate Arabic in 638 , it was part of the Jund Urdunn (Jordan). The Shi'a Fatimid took control of the region in the 900s, a cult venerating the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah forma religion Druze , in north-central Galilee.

During the Crusades , Galilee was organized into the Principality of Galilee , one of the largest estates of the Crusades.

During the ^sixteenth century , the Galilee has been a significant Jewish migration consists mainly Sephardim expelled from the Iberian Peninsula. Under their leadership, the town of Safed became the world center of mystical Jewish and dissemination of the Kabbalah.

In the early ^twentieth century , the Galilee was settled by the Arabs , the Druze and minorities such as Circassians and Jews. The Jewish population was greatly augmented by immigration Zionist.

After the creation of the State of Israel during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 , the Galilee was conquered by the Syrian forces but was finally recovered by Israel. Much of the Arab population fled, leaving entire villages empty, but more Palestinians remained in most other areas, particularly because of a rapprochement with the Druze ^{Modern Galilee}

Klezmer Festival in Safed

Nearly one million Israelis, half of whom are Arabs, presently populate the Galilee. The largest cities are Nazareth , Tiberias , Nahariya and Karmiel. The economy is based on agriculture, industry centralized in a few parks and tourism.

Safed is a smaller city but has an important place in Judaism. This is one of the four Jewish holy cities, with Jerusalem , Hebron and Tiberias. Of famous rabbis, including Cordovero Moses , Isaac Luria , Joseph Karo and Solomon Alkabetz have lived or are buried there. There are now also an annual festival of klezmer music known worldwide. ^{In the}Bible

There is no mention of "Galil" in the Pentateuch. The name appears in the plural, Joshua, 13, 2, with the meaning "lands" and seems to designate a particular region. In the first book of Kings chapter 9, verses 11 to 13 , we learn that Solomon rewarded Hiram for certain services performed by him by offering him a plain among the mountains of Naphtali. Hiram was disappointed with the gift, and called it the "land of Cabul". The Judeans called it Galil. According to the Book of Maccabees , the Galilee was the scene of many battles when Judah rose up against the dynasty Seleucid.

It is in the New Testament that Galilee is especially acknowledged. Most of the life of Jesus takes place. The first three Gospels are devoted to its activities in this region. The expression of "Galilee of the nations" (Matthew 4, 15, taken from Isaiah 8, 23) Galil haGoyim, suggests that it symbolized one region to convert the face of Judea and the Temple of Jerusalem. It is perhaps also a trace of "Wisdom of Nations", the words GLYL, Galil Galilee and HtKMH, hokhmah, Wisdom with same gematria. See also Acts of the Apostles, 2, 7: "these men who speak, do they not Galilean?"