Karmiel

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Karmiel
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • Hebrew כַּרְמִיאֵל
 • ISO 259 Karmiˀel
 • Translit. Karmi'el
 • Also spelled Carmiel (unofficial)

Coat of arms
Karmiel is located in Israel
Karmiel
Coordinates: 32°54′49.38″N 35°17′45.92″E / 32.9137167°N 35.2960889°E / 32.9137167; 35.2960889Coordinates: 32°54′49.38″N 35°17′45.92″E / 32.9137167°N 35.2960889°E / 32.9137167; 35.2960889
District North
Founded 1964
Government
 • Type City (from 1986)
 • Mayor Adi Eldar
Area
 • Total 19,188 dunams (19.188 km2 or 7.409 sq mi)
Population (2009)
 • Total 44,100
Name meaning God's vineyards

Karmiel (Hebrew: כַּרְמִיאֵל, lit. "God's vineyards") is a city in northern Israel. Established in 1964 as a development town, Karmiel is located in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower Galilee. The city is located south of the Acre-Safed road, 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Safed and 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Acre. Karmiel has a population of 44,100,[1] although its municipality claims to have reached 50,000.[2]

Contents

History [edit]

Galil Quarter

Karmiel was one of the first cities in Israel to be established according to an urban master plan.[3] It was built as part of the Central Galilee Development Project. Work began in 1963, and the official inauguration ceremony took place in October 1964.[4] The first 16 families moved in at that time. A tender for the construction of Karmiel's main roads was issued in 1963, and Mekorot built a water pipe network connecting Karmiel, Rameh, Sha'ab and other nearby villages.[5] In 1981, Karmiel was awarded the Beautiful Israel prize and the Kaplan Prize for Management and Services. Karmiel achieved city status on November 20, 1986. The first mayor was Baruch Venger, followed by Adi Eldar, who has remained in this position until today. Some 18,000 new immigrants settled in Karmiel between 1990 and 2002.[6] In 1956, about 1,275 acres (5.16 km2) of land in the Israeli Arab villages of Deir al-Asad, Bi'ina and Nahf were declared "closed areas" by Israeli authorities. This area, near the main road between Acre and Safed, had been an important marble quarrying site. In 1961, the Israeli authorities expropriated the land to build Karmiel. The villagers offered "equally good land" in the area, but when Moshe Sneh (Maki) and Yusef Khamis (Mapam) brought the case to the Knesset on behalf of the villagers, the Knesset established that there was no such land.[7] According to the Haredi newspaper She'arim, about 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) (394 lots) were confiscated by a court order on 4 March 1963, at the request of the Israel Development Authority. However, the land was rocky, uninhabited and unfit for agriculture.[8] In 1964, when local Arabs applied for permission to move into the town, Minister of Housing Yosef Almogi replied that "Karmiel was not built to solve the problems for the people in the surrounding area."[9] In February 1965, 400 protesters marched from Tel Aviv to protest against "discrimination of a group of our citizens". Representatives went to a local police station, informing the police that they were staying in the area without permission. Eventually the perceived leaders were arrested and tried before a military tribunal.[10] During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Hezbollah fired 180 Katyusha rockets into Karmiel and the neighboring villages, leading to casualties and damage to buildings, roads, and cars.[11]

Geography [edit]

View of Karmiel

Karmiel is located on the Acre–Safed road, on the northern edge of the Lower Galilee. It lies in Emek Beit HaKerem and its elevation is 330 m (1,082.68 ft).[12] The Hilazon Stream passes slightly to the south of Karmiel.[12] Its tributaries, the Shezor and Shagor Streams pass through Karmiel on the east and north, respectively.[13] Karmiel sits on the Shagor mountain range, which stretches from Mount Hazon in the east (584 m (1,916.01 ft), next to Maghar) to Mount Gilon in the west (367 m (1,204.07 ft), at Gilon).[14] Western Karmiel was built on the Karmi (362 m) and Makosh (315 m) mountains.[15] Work on a new railway line linking Haifa and Karmiel is expected to begin in 2011.

Demographics [edit]

Ramat Rabin neighborhood

As of 2007, the city encompasses an area of about 24,000 dunams (24 km²) with a population of about 50,000 residents approximately 40% of whom are immigrants from 75 countries. The city also receives significant internal migration of Haredi families. Since 1990, 16,000 immigrants have arrived in Karmiel, the majority of whom are from the Former Soviet Union. According to the national master plan, by 2020 Karmiel will have a population of approximately 120,000 residents. Since 1980, six new neighborhoods have been developed and populated, and a technical college has been serving the community since 1989.

Education and culture [edit]

Today there are four high schools, four junior high schools, a vocational training center, nine state-run elementary schools, one state-run religious school (including high school), an independent education elementary school, a school for gifted children and an educational farm, many kindergartens, nursery schools and daycare centers, as well as a network of community youth and sports centers and the international ORT Braude College of Engineering with a student body of 3,500 studying computers, electronics, industrial administration, biotechnology and other subjects. A biotechnology research and development center will also open at the college.[16]

The city is known for the Karmiel Dance Festival, a yearly event since 1988. The festival is usually held for 3 days and nights in July, and includes dance performances, workshops, and open dance sessions.[17] The festival began as a celebration of Israeli folk dance, but today it features many different dance forms from all around the globe, and attracts thousands of dancers and hundreds of thousands of spectators from many countries.[18]

Environmental protection [edit]

Karmiel was the first Israeli city to receive ISO 9002 certification for the quality of its services. It is one of the few Israeli cities with ISO 1410 certification for environmental standards. Karmiel has enacted by-laws to protect the environment and prevent pollution, and become a center for clean industries and advanced technology enterprises that abide by these standards.[19]

Local government [edit]

Karmiel city hall

Adam Tal was the first official head of the group that founded Karmiel in 1964. Avraham Argov replaced him, and was himself replaced in 1968 by Baruch Venger, who headed the municipality of Karmiel until his death in office on November 22, 1988.[20] His successor was Adi Eldar, who was re-elected several times, most recently in November 2008.[6]

Twin towns [edit]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Israel

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Table 3 - Population of Localities Numbering Above 2,000 Residents and Other Rural Population". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
  2. ^ "About Karmiel". Karmiel Municipality. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  3. ^ "Karmiel". Jewish Agency for Israel. Retrieved August 24, 2012. 
  4. ^ Encyclopedia Judaica, Keter Publishing, Jerusalem, 1978, Vol. 10, p. 799
  5. ^ "Planning of Karmiel Completed". Haaretz. 6 February 1963. 
  6. ^ a b "The History of Karmiel". Karmiel Municipality. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  7. ^ Knesset debate, 31 Jan. 1962, page 1126-30, cited in Jiryis
  8. ^ "Removal Order for 10,000 Dunams Required to Construct Karmiel Given". She'arim. 5 March 1963.  (Hebrew)
  9. ^ Knesset debate, 2 Dec. 1964, page 486, cited in Jiryis
  10. ^ Maariv, 14 Feb., 1965, cited in Jiryis
  11. ^ "The Second Lebanon War (2006)". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2008-07-12. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  12. ^ a b Vilnai, Ze'ev (1976). "Karmiel". Ariel Encyclopedia. Volume 4. Tel Aviv, Israel: Am Oved. pp. 3877–79.  (Hebrew)
  13. ^ Mapa. Gold Atlas (Map). 1:100,000 (2009 ed.). p. 11, section Zayin6. ISBN 965-521-082-0. (Hebrew)
  14. ^ Karmiel Municipality (1976). Karmiel — From One Decade to the Next. Ramat Gan, Israel: Peli Publishers. pp. 11–15. 
  15. ^ Amud Anan. Topographical Maps of Israel (Map). http://amudanan.co.il?lon=228572&lat=757704&map=I50. Retrieved 2008-11-17. (Hebrew)
  16. ^ "Karmiel Travel Guide". World66. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  17. ^ "Assie Duo Dances for Peace in Karmiel". Australian Jewish News. 2008-08-04. Retrieved 2008-10-20. [dead link]
  18. ^ "Karmiel Dance Festival". Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  19. ^ "Karmiel Electronic Company Ltd.". Karmiel Economic Company. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  20. ^ Animated map of Karmiel
  21. ^ "New sister city". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 23, 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2012. 
  22. ^ "Karmiel, Israel — Overview". Denver Sister Cities International. Retrieved August 24, 2012. 
  23. ^ "Metz en visite à Karmiel". City of Metz. August 17, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2012. 
  24. ^ "Må styrke Hamars internasjonale vennskap". hamar-dagblad.no. August 23, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2012. 
  25. ^ "A Hungarian town that faces up to Nazi era". New York Times. December 14, 2005. Retrieved August 23, 2012. 

Bibliography [edit]

  • Sabri Jiryis: The Arabs in Israel 1st American edition 1976 ISBN 0-85345-377-2 (updated from the 1966 ed.) With a foreword by Noam Chomsky. (First English edition; Beirut, Institute for Palestine Studies, 1968). Chapter 5.
  • Karmiel Municipality (1976). Karmiel — From One Decade to the Next. Ramat Gan, Israel: Peli Publishers. 

External links [edit]
Cities
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Local councils
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