Safed
Safed (Standard Hebrew צְפַת Template:Usemz.əfat, commonly spelled Tzfat; Arabic: صفد Template:Usems.afad; 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.
The city, being in Northern Israel, is currently experiencing an indiscriminate barrage of rocket attacks, fired by the Islamic terrorist organisation, Hezbollah. Several citizens have been injured and killed in the Katyusha rocket attacks. (see 2006 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict)
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 CE, 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 and later Beirut.
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. The influx of Sephardi Jews made Safed a global center for Jewish learning and a regional center for trade throughout 15th and 16th centuries. The Middle East's first printing press was established in Safed in 1578.
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.
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 [1], most of whom fled in the course of the Israeli War of Independence. According to a participant account by a Jewish fighter, Haganah and Irgun fighters were initially on the offensive, 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, Safed 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 97.2% 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.
Katyusha Attacks
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
On 13 July 2006, Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah from Southern Lebanon hit Safed killing 1 man and injuring others. On 14 July, further rockets killed a 5-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, 4 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