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


[[Image:Haifa-view.JPG|thumb|350px|Haifa Bay from atop Mt. Carmel looking down past the [[Bahá'í Faith|Bahá'í]] [[Shrine of the Báb|Shrine]] and Gardens]]
[[Image:Haifa-view.JPG|thumb|250px|Haifa Bay from atop Mt. Carmel looking down past the [[Bahá'í Faith|Bahá'í]] [[Shrine of the Báb|Shrine]] and Gardens]]


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 11:32, 26 January 2006

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For the Lebanese singer, see Haifa Wehbe.

Haifa (Hebrew חֵיפָה Ḥefa; Arabic حَيْفَا Ḥayfāⓘ) is the third-largest city in Israel, with a population of about 267,800 (as of September 2005). Areas and towns around it are deemed to be in the Haifa District, of which it is also a part. It is a seaport, located below and on Mount Carmel, and lies on the Mediterranean coast.

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/.

Haifa Bay from atop Mt. Carmel looking down past the Bahá'í Shrine and Gardens

History

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 To 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 Cephas (כפא). They also used the name Sycaminon or Sykaminos which means Wild Strawberry.

Haifa is first mentioned in talmudic literature around 3rd century CE, as a small town near Shikmona, the main Jewish town in the area at that time. It had been under Byzantine rule until the 7th century, when it 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 inhabitants. It then became part of the Principality of Galilee. The town was taken again by the Muslim Mameluks in 1265, and was ruined and mostly abandoned until the 17th century.

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 by many as the beginning of the town's modern era. After El-Omar's death in 1775, the town remained mostly 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 town had been under the rule of the Egyptian viceroy Mehemet Ali, after having been conquered by his son Ibrahim Pasha. In the years following the Egyptian occupation, the town saw rise in traffic, population and importance, while Acre was declining due to the damages it suffered in a succession of battles and wars. The town saw another surge of development with the arrival of members of the Temple Society in 1868, who settled in Haifa and built their sturdy houses in the town's "German colony". The Templars greatly contributed to the town's commerce and industry, and played an important role in its stride towards modernization.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Haifa had emerged as an industrial port city and growing population center. At that time Haifa district was home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants, comprised of 82% Muslim Arab, 14% Christian Arabs, and 4% Jewish residents. Jewish population increased steadily with immigration primarily from Europe, so that by 1945 the population had shifted to 38% Muslim, 13% Christian and 47% Jewish. Haifa is located in the northernmost reach of the Coastal Plain designated as Jewish territory in the 1947 UN Partition Plan dividing mandatory Palestine. As the major industrial and oil-refinery port in the British mandate of Palestine, Jewish forces deemed control of Haifa a critical objective in the ensuing 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was captured on April 23rd, 1948 by a force of 5,000 Israeli soldiers led by the Carmeli Brigade whose attack was met by a defending force of 350-500. The campaign resulted in Israeli control over the area and the flight of about 60,000 Palestinian Arabs from Haifa District.

Today, Haifa is a thriving and diverse cultural and ethnic center, home to Jews, Arabs, Ahmedis, Bahá'ís and Druze, and marked for its relatively high level of peaceful coexistence.

Religion

Noted by Jews for the Cave of Elijah and the historic Jewish town of Shikmona at the foot of Mount Carmel, Haifa is also cherished by the Muslim, 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 a much visited tourist attraction. Haifa is a mosaic of relatively peaceful yet visibily segregated coexistence between Jews, Muslim and Christian Arabs, Ahmedis (Kababir), Druze, Bahá'ís, and others.

Noted also for being a favourite monastic spot for the Carmelites in the 12th century, with a 19th century rebuilt monastry Stella Maris at the Carmel's head, a popular tourist and pilgrim's attraction.

Academic institutions

File:180px-Eshkol tower haifa u.jpg
Eshkol tower in the University of Haifa

Haifa is the site of two universities, the University of Haifa and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.

Politics

File:Haifa coa1.png
The Coat of Arms of Haifa

In the past, its docks and industrial areas have made the city a consistent stronghold for the Israeli Labor party, and it was often dubbed 'Red Haifa' (one result of this has been that Haifa is the only major city in Israel in which public transport operates on Saturdays); this status is now debatable, however, considering the centrist party Shinui's candidate, Yona Yahav, having won the 2003 municipal elections and having become the mayor. (The labor party's candidate, Elize Shenhar, had removed her candidacy prior to the elections with the intention of raising Yahav's chances of overcoming the Likud party's candidate, since the polls indicated that he had much more electoral support than she did.)

Industry and economics

Haifa is home to one of the two oil refineries in Israel (the other located in Ashdod). The refineries are capable of processing about 9 million tons of crude oil a year, and are the center point of a wide array of petrochemical industries located in Haifa and the vicinity. Its twin 76-meters-high cooling towers, built in the 1930's, have long become a landmark tightly identified with the city of Haifa. The Refineries and other industries are located in a large industrial zone in the north of the city, near the Kishon river.

Matam park, one of the largest industrial hi-tech parks in Israel, is located at the southern entrance to city, hosting manufacturing and R&D facilities for a large number of Israeli and international hi-tech companies, such as Intel, IBM, Elbit, Zoran, Microsoft, and Amdocs.

Transportation

There are 6 railroad stations along the Nahariya-Tel Aviv line within the municipal boundaries of Haifa. In order coming from Tel Aviv, the stops are: "Hof HaCarmel" near Haifa Hof HaCarmel Central Bus Station, "Bat Galim" (near Haifa Bat Galim Central Bus Station), "Haifa Central" (near Haifa Seaport), Lev Hamifratz (near Lev Hamifratz Mall and Mifratz Central Bus Station), Hutzot HaMifratz (in the Hutzot HaMifratz Shopping Center), and Kiryat Haim. A seventh stop, Kiryat Motzkin, is in Kiryat Motzkin, a Northern suburb of Haifa. The line goes along the coastline of the Gulf of Haifa. Haifa Mizrach (Haifa East), now out of passenger use, houses the Railway Museum.

Haifa has 3 central bus stations: Haifa Hof HaCarmel Central Bus Station, Haifa Bat Galim Central Bus Station, and Mifratz Central Bus Station. Haifa is served by Egged city, suburban, and intercity buses.

Haifa has a funicular subway, Carmelit, that runs from Kikar (square) Paris in downtown to Gan Ha-Em (Mother's Park) at the top of Mount Carmel. With a single track, only six stations and two trains, it is among the smallest subway systems in the world.

Haifa also has a cablecar that connects Bat Galim on the coast to Stella Maris monastery on the top of the mountain. This serves mainly as a tourist attraction.

Haifa's airport is Haifa Airport, located on the Gulf of Haifa, serving flights to Eilat and Cyprus.

Haifa Seaport, which is Israel's main international seaport, is located in the city as well.

Mayors of Haifa

Neighborhoods

Sports

The city has eight football clubs - Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Haifa, Beitar Haifa, Akhva Haifa, Spartak Haifa, Neve Yosef, Bnei Kababir and Neve Shaanan. 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 Maccabi and Hapoel 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 Kiryat Eliezer, seating 14,000, and Kiryat Haim Stadium. The main basketball arena is Romema Sports Arena, seating 2,000; Neve Sha'anan Athletic seats 1,000. A future UEFA-approved stadium is planned for south-west Haifa. It will seat 30,000 people.

See also

References

  • . ISBN 965-7171-05-9. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Edition= ignored (|edition= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |First= ignored (|first= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Last= ignored (|last= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Location= ignored (|location= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Title= ignored (|title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help) (in Hebrew)
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