Ma'alot-Tarshiha
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| Ma'alot-Tarshiha | |
| Hebrew | מַעֲלוֹת-תַּרְשִׁיחָא |
| (Standard) | Maʻalot-Taršiḥa |
| Arabic | معالوت ترشيحا |
| Government | City (from 1996) |
| District | North |
| Population | 20,900 (2003) |
| Jurisdiction | 7,000 dunams (7 km²) |
Ma'alot-Tarshiha (Hebrew: מַעֲלוֹת-תַּרְשִׁיחָא, Maʻalot-Taršiḥa; Arabic: معالوت ترشيحا, Maʻālūt Taršīḥā) is a twin city in the North District in Israel, some 20 km east of Nahariya.
The city was created from the municipal merge of the Israeli Arab town of Tarshiḥa and the Jewish town of Ma'alot. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), in September 2003 the city had a total population of 20,900.
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[edit] History
Tarshiha existed as the village Haki during Canaanite times (2nd-3rd millennium BC). A 4th century burial cave was unearthed in the village, which oddly contained a Cross as well as a piece of glass engraved with a Menorah. Tarshiha is mentioned in Crusader times (12th and 13th century) as an inhabited location. During the Crusades, several battles between Christian crusaders and Arab Muslims took place in the area.
During the Ottoman rule and the subsequent British Mandate of Palestine, the village grew to become an administrative center between the cities of Safed to the east, and Acre to the west.
Severe battles were held in the vicinity between Jewish and Arab forces throughout the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the village was finally captured by Israeli troops in Operation Hiram, on October 29, 1948.
Ma'alot was created as a "development town" for Jewish immigrants from Romania, Iran, and Morocco, in 1957.
In 1963, Ma'alot was merged with the larger Tarshiha, and the unified town was renamed to reflect both origins. Originally, local inhabitants of Tarshiha hoped that the merger would help them get the same level of public services as Israeli Jewish towns (Arab Israeli towns have historically been under-funded by Israeli governments). However, as time progressed, an increasingly large outcry was voiced by the Arab inhabitants that not only did the Tarshiha portion remain under-funded, but that the merger effectively froze all possible Tarshiha expansion plans. Therefore, a significant portion of Arab inhabitants now demand to split the merger.
On May 15, 1974, Ma'alot was the site of an attack on an elementary school by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine that resulted in the Ma'alot massacre of 21 school children.
Ma'alot-Tarshiha was officially recognized as a city in 1996.
[edit] Demographics
During the merger in 1963, most of the inhabitants were Arabs. Since then, however, the Jewish portion (Ma'alot) grew significantly, mostly from [[Aliyah#Russian Aliyah|new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, following its collapse in the early 1990s]]. The Central Bureau of Statistics, or CBS, reported that the 2001 ethnic and religious makeup of the city was 79.7% Jewish and other non-Arabs, and 20.0% Arab (8.9% Muslim, 9.9% Christian, and 1.0% Druze). In 2001 there were 214 immigrants. See Population groups in Israel. It was also reported that at one time in the early 2000s 52% of the city's population were Russian immigrants.
CBS additionally reported in 2001 there were 10,100 males and 10,100 females. The population of the city was diverse in age with 35.7% 19 years of age or younger, 15.3% between 20 and 29, 20.4% between 30 and 44, 14.6% from 45 to 59, 3.9% from 60 to 64, and 10.0% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 3.0%.
[edit] Income
As of 2000, CBS reported there were 6,931 salaried workers, and 408 were self-employed in the city. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city was ILS 4,435, a real change of 7.0% over the course of 2000. Salaried males had a mean monthly wage of ILS 5,652 (a real change of 9.9%) versus ILS 3,073 for females (a real change of 2.0%). The mean income for the self-employed was 6,320. There were 559 people who received unemployment benefits, and 1,785 people who received an income guarantee.
According to CBS, as of December 2001, the city had a relatively low social-economic rank (4 out of 10, 10 being the most affluent).
[edit] Education
There are 11 schools and 4,272 students in the city cited by CBS. They include 7 elementary schools and 2,000 elementary school students, and 7 high schools and 2,272 high school students. 58.5% of 12th grade students were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
In August 1975, Yeshivat Ma’alot, a Hesder yeshiva, was founded in the city in order to strengthen the spirit of the local population after the massacre of 1974. Over 300 students come to learn in Yeshivat Ma’alot from all over the country and the world.
[edit] Twinning
Ma'alot-Tarshiha has two official sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International:
[edit] External links
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| Cities | Afula | Acre (Akko) | Bet She'an | Karmiel | Kiryat Shmona | Ma'alot-Tarshiha | Migdal HaEmek | Nahariya | Nazareth | Nazareth Illit | Safed | Sakhnin | Shagor | Shefa-'Amr (Shfar'am) | Tamra | Tiberias |  |
| Local councils | Abu Sinan | Ajar | Arrabe | Basmat Tiv'on | Beit Jann | Bir al-Maksur | Bu'eine Nujeidat | Buq'ata | Deir Hanna | Dvorya | Eilabun | Ein Knaya | Ein Mahal | Fassuta | Ghajar | Hurfeish | Hazor HaGelilit | I'billin | Iksal | Ilut | Jadida Makar | Julis | Ka'abiyye-Tabbash-Hajajre | Kabul | Kafar Kanna | Kaokab Abu al-Hija | Katzrin | Kfar Kama | Kfar Manga | Kfar Tavor | Kfar Vradim | Kfar Yasif | Kineret | Kisra-Sumei | Maghar | Ma'ilya | Majdal Shams | Mas'ada | Mashhad | Mazra'a | Metula | Mevo Hama | Migdal | Nahf | Peki'in | Ra'ama | Reineh | Ramat Yeshi | Rosh Pinna | Sajur | Sha'ab | Shelomi | Shibli-Umm al-Janam | Tuba-Zangariyye | Tur'an | Yafi'a | Yanuh-Jat | Yavne'el | Yesod HaMa'ala | Yirka | Zarzir | |
| Regional councils | Al-Batuf | Bet Shean Valley | Bustan al-Marj | Northern Jordan Valley (Emek Hayarden) | Gilboa | Golan | Jezreel Valley | Lower Galilee | Upper Galilee | Ma'ale Yosef | Mateh Asher | Megiddo | Merom HaGalil | Mevo'ot HaHermon | Misgav | |
