Abu Ghosh: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Municipality <!--More parameter fields available at Infobox Municipality--> |
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{{Wikify|date=March 2009}} |
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|official_name=Abu Ghosh |
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|image_skyline= |
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|imagesize=275 |
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|native_name={{lang|ar|أبو غوش}}<br />{{lang|he|אבו גוש}} |
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|established_date= |
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|settlement_type=[[Local council (Israel)|Local council]] |
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|established_date2= |
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|other_name= <small>(also {{lang|he|אבו ע'וש}}) </small> |
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|altUnoSp= |
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|subdivision_type= Country |subdivision_name = [[Israel]] |
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|subdivision_type1=[[Districts of Israel|District]] |
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|established_title=Founded |
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|established_title2=Incorporated |
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|unit_pref=Dunam |
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|timezone=[[Israel Standard Time|IST]] |utc_offset =+2 |timezone_DST=IDT |utc_offset_DST=+3 |
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|subdivision_name1=[[Jerusalem District]] |
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|population_total=5,700 |
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|population_as_of=2005 |
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|area_total_dunam=2500 |
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|area_total_km2=2.5 |pushpin_map = Israel |pushpin_label_position = left |pushpin_map_caption =Location within Israel |pushpin_mapsize =125 |latd=31 |latm=48.288 |lats= |latNS=N |longd=35 |longm=6.744 |longs= |longEW=E |
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}} |
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'''Abu Ghosh''' ({{lang-ar|أبو غوش}}; {{lang-he|אבו גוש}}) is an [[Israeli Arab]] town located 10 kilometers west of [[Jerusalem]] on the [[Highway 1 (Israel)|Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway]], 610-720 meters above sea level. Abu Ghosh is named for a Arab clan that imposed a toll from pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. Its inhabitants are known for their friendly relations with their [[Jew]]ish neighbors. During the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]], the residents of Abu Ghosh maintained a neutral stance and did not participate in the fighting. |
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THE ABUGHOSHES |
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==Local government== |
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Origins of the Family |
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[[File:Villagio Abu gosh 1.jpg|thumb|250px|Abu Ghosh]] |
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Abu Ghosh is governed by a [[local council (Israel)|Local council]], and is part of the [[Jerusalem District]]. The mayor of Abu Ghosh is Salim Jabar. According to the [[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]] (CBS), Abu Ghosh had a population of 5,700, predominantly [[Muslim]] Arabs, in June 2005. |
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The Abu Ghoshes (also written AbuGosh/ AbouGhoush), known as “ancien seigneurs feodaux”, an old wealthy landowning family, who ruled the Jerusalem mountains and controlled the pilgrimage route from the coast to Jerusalem during the Ottoman Empire. |
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Abu Ghosh is one of the most ancient inhabited sites in Israel.<ref name="MSAE">Sharon, Moshe (1997) Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, (CIAP) BRILL, ISBN 9004108335 pp 3-5</ref> Archaeological excavations have revealed 3 neolithic settlement phases, the middle phase is dated to the 7th millennium BCE.<ref>Avraham Negev, Shimon Gibson (2005) Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 0826485715</ref> Its old Arabic name of Qaryat al'Inab has led Abu Ghosh to be identified with the biblical site of [[Kiryat Ye'arim]].<ref name="MSAE"/> |
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A Greek inscription unearthed in the ruins of a Roman fort show that the Tenth Legion of the Roman army had a station house in Abu Ghosh.<ref name="MSAE"/> The village has also been associated with [[Anathoth]], the birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah. |
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Some historians are of the opinion that the AbuGhoshes came from East Europe. Others (some Israelis) believe that the AbuGhoshes’origins go back to the Crusaders who came to Jerusalem with Richard Coeur de Lion in the 12th century AD (probably because many of them have blond hair and blue eyes). Members of the family and some other historians hold the view that the AbuGhoshes came originally from the Arab Peninsula. They were four Emirs brothers, when they arrived to Egypt. From Egypt they came to Palestine with the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman in 1520 and were entrusted with the control of the pilgrimage route to the holy places of Jerusalem (confirmed by the Egyptian royal manuscripts). |
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It takes its name from a sheikh who settled in the area in the 16th century. Most of the Muslim residents of the village today are descendants of the Abu Ghosh clan. This clan controlled the pilgrimage route from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and exacted tolls from all pilgrims passing through. The churches in Jerusalem also paid a tax to the Abu Ghosh clan.<ref>[http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel%20beyond%20the%20conflict/Abu%20Ghosh%20-%20The%20Saga%20of%20an%20Arab%20Village Abu Ghosh - The Saga of an Arab Village<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> <ref>Planetware, |
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It is also confirmed that the AbuGhoshes were settled in the sixteenth century AD on the mountains of Jerusalem, about 10 kms west of the Jerusalem city, where they still reside now. There is no doubt that the AbuGhoshes became related to the native Palestinian people (known to be descendants of the Canaanites) who lived at the site at that time, through marriage, as well as with the descendants of the Crusaders, who are known to have lived in the same region at the same time. Archeological excavations have revealed that the site where the AbuGhoshes live is one of the most ancient inhabited sites in Palestine. This site used to be “Kiryat Yearim” a Canaanite name dating back to 6000 years (“yearim” means “forest”). In the Islamic era the site was called “kiryat al-Inab”. This site took later the name of the family “kiryat AbuGhosh”. The site is now called “AbuGhosh”, a beautiful muslim palestinian small town near Jerusalem. Its inhabitants (until 1950, as explained below, AbuGhosh after 1948) are the descendants of the old feudal family of the 16th century. |
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[http://www.planetware.com/israel/abu-ghosh-isr-jr-ag.htm "Abu Ghosh, Israel"]</ref><ref name="MSAE"/> |
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[[Kiryat Anavim]], the first [[kibbutz]] in the Judean Hills, was founded near Abu Ghosh in 1914, on land purchased from a resident of Abu Ghosh. |
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===Neutrality in Israeli-Arab conflict=== |
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In 1520 the Ottoman Sultan entrusted the AbuGhoshes with the control of the route from the coast to Jerusalem and granted them an official permission “farman” to impose tolls on all pilgrims and visitors entering Jerusalem. The churches of Jerusalem also paid tax to the AbuGhoshes in a one off yearly payment for their visitors (see Alexander Schoelch, Palatina im Umbruch). |
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[[Image:וCrusader Church in Abu Ghosh.jpg|thumb|250px|Crusader church]] |
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The villagers of Abu Ghosh were first expelled in 1948, but the bulk of the inhabitants "infiltrated" back home in the following months/years. {{Fact|date=August 2008}} In the second half of 1949, the [[Israeli Defence Force|IDF]] and police began a series of search-and-expel operations in Abu Ghosh, where they rounded up the most recent "infiltrators" and pushed them over the border into [[Jordan]]. [[Benny Morris]] writes: <blockquote>Following one such round-up, in early 1950, the inhabitants of Abu Gosh sent off an "open letter", to [[Knesset]] members and journalists, writing that the Israelis had repeatedly "surrounded our village, and taken our women, children and old folk, and thrown them over the border and into the [[Negev]] Desert, and many of them died in consequence, when they were shot [trying to make their way back across] the borders".<ref name="Morris, pp. 267-69">Morris, pp. 267-69</ref></blockquote> Up until this point, the inhabitants had not reacted to these policies. In the letter, they explained: <blockquote>"But we cannot remain silent in face of the latest incident last Friday, when we woke up to the shouts blaring over the loudspeaker announcing that the village was surrounded and anyone trying to get out would be shot....The police and military forces then began to enter the houses and conduct meticulous searches, but no contraband was found. In the end, using force and blows, they gathered up our women, and old folk and children, the sick and the blind and pregnant women. These shouted for help but there was no saviour. And we looked on and were powerless to do anything save beg for mercy. Alas, our pleas were of no avail... They then took the prisoners, who were weeping and screaming, to an unknown place, and we still do not know what befell them."<ref name="Morris, pp. 267-69"/></blockquote>. In the end, only several dozen Abu Ghosh families remained in exile, as refugees, in the [[Ramallah]] area in the [[West Bank]].<ref name="Morris, pp. 267-69"/> |
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Abu Sami, a village elder, told the [[Toronto Globe and Mail]]: "Perhaps because of the history of feuding with the Arabs around us we allied ourselves with the Jews...against the British. We did not join the Arabs from the other villages bombarding Jewish vehicles in 1947. The [[Palmach]] fought many villages around us. But there was an order to leave us alone. The other Arabs never thought there would be a Jewish government here...During the first truce of the War of Independence, I was on my way to Ramallah to see my father and uncles, and I was captured by Jordanian soldiers. They accused me of being a traitor and tortured me for six days."<ref name=Globe>[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20070405.wxpassover05%2FCommentStory%2FInternational%2Fhome&ord=8607124&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true One Muslim key to Passover's food ritual], [[Toronto Globe and Mail]], 5 April 2007</ref> |
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Palestine was part of Great Syria (Great Syria used to be divided in four main regions: Syria in the North, Lebanon in the West, Palestine in the South and Jordan in the East) and was governed by feudal families until middle of the nineteenth century. The AbuGhoshes were among the most known feudal families in Palestine. They used to govern the sites of 22 villages (see Finn, Stirring Times, I, 230). They had self determination powers in the region. All powers were in the hands of the Emir or Scheich (Lord) of AbuGhosh. The Scheich was also called Zaim or Mutasallem (leader, governor). He was dealing with all matters, political, military, economic, social and legal matters. A dispute between two parties was solved by the Scheich and a judgment was taken by him and executed with no right of appeal. Seeking revision was sometimes possible if allowed by the Scheich. Any person acting against the local laws or tradition was imprisoned. The AbuGhoshes used an old crusader church as a prison for their prisoners. The relation between the AbuGhoshes and the peasants of the villages was a patronus clients relation (see Alexander Schoelch, Palaestina im Umbruch; Mustafa ad-Dabbagh, Biladuna Filistin). |
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In 1947 and 1948, the road to Jerusalem was blocked by the Arabs and passage through the hills surrounding Jerusalem was crucial for getting supplies to the besieged city. Of the 36 Arab villages nestled in these hills, Abu Ghosh alone remained neutral, and in many cases proved friendly and helped to keep the road open. "From here it is possible to open and close the gates to Jerusalem," said former President [[Yitzhak Navon]].<ref>[http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel%20beyond%20the%20conflict/Abu%20Ghosh%20-%20The%20Saga%20of%20an%20Arab%20Village Abu Ghosh - The Saga of an Arab Village], Israel Magazine-On-Web ([[Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]), June 2000</ref> |
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According to tradition, any pilgrim or visitor to the holy sites passing through AbuGhosh had to give their respect to the Scheich. Some of the visitors of the holy places wrote about lady Stanhope (daughter of a British Lord, niece of the British Prime Minister William Pitt and a relative of Sir Sidney Smith who besiegt Napoleon in Akko and had correspondence with the Scheich Ibrahim AbuGhosh) that when she visited Jerusalem in 1811 she stopped in AbuGhosh to give her respect to the Scheich.. Scheich Ibrahim AbuGhosh, found her an interesting woman. He ordered a formal dinner and spent the night in her company. She came back the next year and the Scheich was delighted to see her again. The next morning he insisted to escort her with his guards and servants to Jerusalem (see kinglick journey to the East; Mustafa Dabbagh, Biladuna Filistin). |
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Issa Jaber, director of the local department of education for the past seven years, feels the personal relationships created with Zionist leaders during the prestate period set the basis for later cooperation. “We had a perspective for the future,” he says.<ref name=Globe/> |
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The houses of the AbuGhoshes were described by pilgrims and visitors as beautifully built real stone houses and the house of the Scheich was described as “a true palace…, a castle…., a protective fortress….” (see Sepp, Jerusalem und das heilige land, 2 bde, I,S150 Schaffhausen 1863; see also Tischendorf, constantin: Aus dem Heiligen Lande, Leipzig 1862, S 165f; see also Alexander Scoelch, Palaestina im Umbruch, translated into Arabic by Kamel Jamil AlAssali, Unicersity of Jordan, p.224 ). |
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The Globe and Mail quotes a 2006 article in the (Vancouver) Jewish Independent that states: |
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In the nineteenth century, between 1834 and 1860 AbuGhosh was attacked by military forces three times. The first attack was launched by the Egyptian military forces in 1834 during the Egytian occupation of Palestine (1831-1840), under Scheich Jabr AbuGhosh, the second attack was in 1953 during the civil war (between feudal families) under Scheich Ahmad AbuGhosh who was 90 years old. He entrusted his nephew Mustafa with the military task force, who led an army of 1000 fighters; the third attack on AbuGhosh was made by the Ottoman military forces, helped and executed by the British forces, during the military expedition against the feudal families in the 1860s, under Scheich Mustafa AbuGhosh. Almost all villages governed by the AbuGhoshes were bombarded during this battle. |
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:In 1948, when the modern state of Israel became a corporeal reality, many Arab villages were abandoned or destroyed in the ensuing War of Independence. Abu Ghosh was the only one in the area to survive intact and untouched. |
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:"That was because the people in Abu Ghosh have always attached great importance to being hospitable," said Mayor Salim Jaber. "We welcome anybody, regardless of religion or race."<ref name=Globe/> |
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The Ottoman Empire introduced reforms abolishing the feudal system and creating a centralised government with its main location in the Turkish capital. Great Syria was divided into administrative districts. Powers were transferred from feudal families to a Turkish governor, representing the Sultan, sitting in the city of Jerusalem. All villages and towns around Jerusalem were part of the Jerusalem District and each village was represented by a “Mukhtar”, that is, an elected person. |
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==Christian sites== |
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At the beginning of the 20th century, a nephew of the “Mukhtar” of AbuGhosh, named Said AbuGhosh, left AbuGhosh and moved to reside in his owned land, an estate made of 22,000 dunum between AbuGhosh and the city of Ramla. He built his residence, a mansion, in his estate near the village of al-Qubab using a German architect. He was known to have hundreds of peasants working in his estate. He offered his protection to all villagers in the region. He was known to have founded a “Sabeel”, that is, offering water and a resting place to those travellers passing through on their way to Jerusalem, for free. He married the daughter of a Turkish General in the Ottoman army who had his residence in the village of al-Qubab. Said AbuGhosh was loved and very much respected by the AbuGhoshes for the many contributions and support he provided. |
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[[Image:Mary and the child on Church of Notre Dame df l'Arche de l'Alliance in Abu Ghosh.jpg|thumb|200px|Church of Notre Dame in Abu Ghosh]] |
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The Crusader Church, at the entrance to the village is one of the best preserved Crusader remains in the country. It was built about 1142 and destroyed in 1187. It was acquired by the [[France|French]] Government in 1899 and placed under guardianship of the French [[Benedictine]] Fathers. Since 1956, it has been run by the [[Lazarist]] Fathers. [[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] (1838) described it as “obviously from the time of the crusades, and […] more perfectly preserved than any other ancient church in Palestine.” Excavations carried out in 1944 confirm that the Crusaders identified the site as the biblical [[Emmaus]]. |
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After the declaration of the British mandate on Palestine in 1920 main concerns of AbuGhosh were the British occupation. He offered unlimited financial and military help to the Palestinian militants in order to fight the British. He was also known to have bought land in all parts of Palestine, in order to avoid land coming into the hands of the Jews, which made him one of the biggest landowners of Palestine in his time. The reason for avoiding Jews getting land was the rumours which were spreading around about the Balfour Declaration of 1917 ( promise given by the British government to the Jews to create a homeland in Palestine). AbuGhosh died in 1936 and was buried in his estate. |
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The Church of Notre Dame de l'Arche de l'Alliance (Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant), built in 1924, is said to occupy the site of the house of [[Abinadab]] where the [[Ark of the Covenant]] rested for twenty years until [[King David]] took it to Jerusalem. It is built on the site of a fifth-century [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] church. It is recognizable by the roof-top statue of Mary carrying the infant [[Jesus]] in her arms. |
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==Culture== |
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Today, Abu Ghosh is held up as a model of Israeli-Arab peaceful coexistence. Town resident Muslim Arab millionaire [[Jawdat Ibrahim]] has established a fund that gives scholarships to both Arab and Jewish university students, and has hosted informal peace talks between Israeli and PA leaders at his popular restaurant.<ref>Joseph Flesh, [http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?mode=8&id=2114&sid=0 "Israeli Arab restaurateur is a true optimist"], 19 April 2006</ref><ref>Deborah Sontag, "Abu Ghosh Journal; His Pot of Gold Gives a Sparkle to the Whole Town", ''New York Times'', 16 Jun 1999</ref> |
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Abu Ghosh is popular among Israelis for its [[hummus]] and Middle Eastern restaurants. |
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The Abu Ghosh Music Festival is held twice a year, in the fall and late spring, with musical ensembles and choirs from Israel and abroad performing in and around the churches in Abu Ghosh.<ref>[http://www.agfestival.co.il/ Abu Ghosh vocal music festival website]</ref> |
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Alexander Schoelch, Palastina im Umbruch, Stuttgart 1986 |
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The headquarters of [[Golan-Globus]] are in Abu Ghosh {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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Finn: Stirring Times |
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The Elvis Inn, a restaurant in Abu Ghosh, is known for its large gold statue of [[Elvis Presley]] in the parking lot.<ref>[[CNN]], [http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/9708/elvis/jumpsuits/oddsnends.html "Destination Elvis"], August 1997</ref> |
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Mustafa Dabbagh: Biladuna Filistin, Beirut 1965-1976 |
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Sepp: Jerusalem und das Heilige Land, 2Bde, Schauffhausen 1863 |
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Tischendorf, Constantin: Aus dem Heiligen Lande, Leipzig, 1862 |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
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==Bibliography== |
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*[[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] ''Biblical Researches in Palestine and Adjacent Countries'' (first published in three volumes, Boston and London, 1841); |
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*[[Benny Morris]] (1994): "''[[1948 and after; Israel and the Palestinians|1948 and After.]]"'' ISBN 0-19-827929-9. (Chapter 8, pp. 257-289: The Case of Abu Ghosh and [[Beit Naqquba]], [[Fureidis|Al Fureidis]] and [[Jisr Al-Zarqa|Jisr Zarka]] in 1948 -or Why Four Villages Remained.) |
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*{{1911|article=Emmaus}}<!--I am not sure if this is true, but I copied some of the "history"-section from the "Emmaus"-article, and this was given as ref. there.--> |
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==See also== |
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*[[List of Arab localities in Israel]] |
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{{Jerusalem District}} |
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[[Category:Arab localities in Israel]] |
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[[bg:Абу Гош]] |
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[[ca:Abu Gosh]] |
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[[he:אבו גוש]] |
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[[pl:Abu Ghosh]] |
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[[pt:Abu Ghosh]] |
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Revision as of 16:30, 15 March 2009
Abu Ghosh
أبو غوش אבו גוש (also אבו ע'וש) | |
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| Country | Israel |
| District | Jerusalem District |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,500 dunams (2.5 km2 or 1.0 sq mi) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 5,700 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (IST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (IDT) |
Abu Ghosh (Arabic: أبو غوش; Hebrew: אבו גוש) is an Israeli Arab town located 10 kilometers west of Jerusalem on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, 610-720 meters above sea level. Abu Ghosh is named for a Arab clan that imposed a toll from pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. Its inhabitants are known for their friendly relations with their Jewish neighbors. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the residents of Abu Ghosh maintained a neutral stance and did not participate in the fighting.
Local government
Abu Ghosh is governed by a Local council, and is part of the Jerusalem District. The mayor of Abu Ghosh is Salim Jabar. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Abu Ghosh had a population of 5,700, predominantly Muslim Arabs, in June 2005.
History
Abu Ghosh is one of the most ancient inhabited sites in Israel.[1] Archaeological excavations have revealed 3 neolithic settlement phases, the middle phase is dated to the 7th millennium BCE.[2] Its old Arabic name of Qaryat al'Inab has led Abu Ghosh to be identified with the biblical site of Kiryat Ye'arim.[1]
A Greek inscription unearthed in the ruins of a Roman fort show that the Tenth Legion of the Roman army had a station house in Abu Ghosh.[1] The village has also been associated with Anathoth, the birthplace of the prophet Jeremiah.
It takes its name from a sheikh who settled in the area in the 16th century. Most of the Muslim residents of the village today are descendants of the Abu Ghosh clan. This clan controlled the pilgrimage route from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and exacted tolls from all pilgrims passing through. The churches in Jerusalem also paid a tax to the Abu Ghosh clan.[3] [4][1]
Kiryat Anavim, the first kibbutz in the Judean Hills, was founded near Abu Ghosh in 1914, on land purchased from a resident of Abu Ghosh.
Neutrality in Israeli-Arab conflict
The villagers of Abu Ghosh were first expelled in 1948, but the bulk of the inhabitants "infiltrated" back home in the following months/years. [citation needed] In the second half of 1949, the IDF and police began a series of search-and-expel operations in Abu Ghosh, where they rounded up the most recent "infiltrators" and pushed them over the border into Jordan. Benny Morris writes:
Following one such round-up, in early 1950, the inhabitants of Abu Gosh sent off an "open letter", to Knesset members and journalists, writing that the Israelis had repeatedly "surrounded our village, and taken our women, children and old folk, and thrown them over the border and into the Negev Desert, and many of them died in consequence, when they were shot [trying to make their way back across] the borders".[5]
Up until this point, the inhabitants had not reacted to these policies. In the letter, they explained:
"But we cannot remain silent in face of the latest incident last Friday, when we woke up to the shouts blaring over the loudspeaker announcing that the village was surrounded and anyone trying to get out would be shot....The police and military forces then began to enter the houses and conduct meticulous searches, but no contraband was found. In the end, using force and blows, they gathered up our women, and old folk and children, the sick and the blind and pregnant women. These shouted for help but there was no saviour. And we looked on and were powerless to do anything save beg for mercy. Alas, our pleas were of no avail... They then took the prisoners, who were weeping and screaming, to an unknown place, and we still do not know what befell them."[5]
. In the end, only several dozen Abu Ghosh families remained in exile, as refugees, in the Ramallah area in the West Bank.[5]
Abu Sami, a village elder, told the Toronto Globe and Mail: "Perhaps because of the history of feuding with the Arabs around us we allied ourselves with the Jews...against the British. We did not join the Arabs from the other villages bombarding Jewish vehicles in 1947. The Palmach fought many villages around us. But there was an order to leave us alone. The other Arabs never thought there would be a Jewish government here...During the first truce of the War of Independence, I was on my way to Ramallah to see my father and uncles, and I was captured by Jordanian soldiers. They accused me of being a traitor and tortured me for six days."[6]
In 1947 and 1948, the road to Jerusalem was blocked by the Arabs and passage through the hills surrounding Jerusalem was crucial for getting supplies to the besieged city. Of the 36 Arab villages nestled in these hills, Abu Ghosh alone remained neutral, and in many cases proved friendly and helped to keep the road open. "From here it is possible to open and close the gates to Jerusalem," said former President Yitzhak Navon.[7]
Issa Jaber, director of the local department of education for the past seven years, feels the personal relationships created with Zionist leaders during the prestate period set the basis for later cooperation. “We had a perspective for the future,” he says.[6]
The Globe and Mail quotes a 2006 article in the (Vancouver) Jewish Independent that states:
- In 1948, when the modern state of Israel became a corporeal reality, many Arab villages were abandoned or destroyed in the ensuing War of Independence. Abu Ghosh was the only one in the area to survive intact and untouched.
- "That was because the people in Abu Ghosh have always attached great importance to being hospitable," said Mayor Salim Jaber. "We welcome anybody, regardless of religion or race."[6]
Christian sites
The Crusader Church, at the entrance to the village is one of the best preserved Crusader remains in the country. It was built about 1142 and destroyed in 1187. It was acquired by the French Government in 1899 and placed under guardianship of the French Benedictine Fathers. Since 1956, it has been run by the Lazarist Fathers. Edward Robinson (1838) described it as “obviously from the time of the crusades, and […] more perfectly preserved than any other ancient church in Palestine.” Excavations carried out in 1944 confirm that the Crusaders identified the site as the biblical Emmaus.
The Church of Notre Dame de l'Arche de l'Alliance (Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant), built in 1924, is said to occupy the site of the house of Abinadab where the Ark of the Covenant rested for twenty years until King David took it to Jerusalem. It is built on the site of a fifth-century Byzantine church. It is recognizable by the roof-top statue of Mary carrying the infant Jesus in her arms.
Culture
Today, Abu Ghosh is held up as a model of Israeli-Arab peaceful coexistence. Town resident Muslim Arab millionaire Jawdat Ibrahim has established a fund that gives scholarships to both Arab and Jewish university students, and has hosted informal peace talks between Israeli and PA leaders at his popular restaurant.[8][9]
Abu Ghosh is popular among Israelis for its hummus and Middle Eastern restaurants.
The Abu Ghosh Music Festival is held twice a year, in the fall and late spring, with musical ensembles and choirs from Israel and abroad performing in and around the churches in Abu Ghosh.[10]
The headquarters of Golan-Globus are in Abu Ghosh [citation needed]
The Elvis Inn, a restaurant in Abu Ghosh, is known for its large gold statue of Elvis Presley in the parking lot.[11]
References
- ^ a b c d Sharon, Moshe (1997) Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, (CIAP) BRILL, ISBN 9004108335 pp 3-5
- ^ Avraham Negev, Shimon Gibson (2005) Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 0826485715
- ^ Abu Ghosh - The Saga of an Arab Village
- ^ Planetware, "Abu Ghosh, Israel"
- ^ a b c Morris, pp. 267-69
- ^ a b c One Muslim key to Passover's food ritual, Toronto Globe and Mail, 5 April 2007
- ^ Abu Ghosh - The Saga of an Arab Village, Israel Magazine-On-Web (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs), June 2000
- ^ Joseph Flesh, "Israeli Arab restaurateur is a true optimist", 19 April 2006
- ^ Deborah Sontag, "Abu Ghosh Journal; His Pot of Gold Gives a Sparkle to the Whole Town", New York Times, 16 Jun 1999
- ^ Abu Ghosh vocal music festival website
- ^ CNN, "Destination Elvis", August 1997
Bibliography
- Edward Robinson Biblical Researches in Palestine and Adjacent Countries (first published in three volumes, Boston and London, 1841);
- Benny Morris (1994): "1948 and After." ISBN 0-19-827929-9. (Chapter 8, pp. 257-289: The Case of Abu Ghosh and Beit Naqquba, Al Fureidis and Jisr Zarka in 1948 -or Why Four Villages Remained.)
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Emmaus". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
See also
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