Template:Infobox Israel municipality Beit Jann (Template:Lang-he-n; Arabic: بيت جن) is an Druze village on Mt. Meron, in northern Israel. At 940 meters above sea level, Beit Jann is one of the highest inhabited locations in the country. In 2009, the population was 10,500,[1] and the inhabitants are predominantly members of the Druze community.[2]
History
Until the 13th or 14th century, Druze families in the area lived in scattered colonies in the hills near sources of water. According to local legend, two hunters looking for hyraxes stumbled upon a cave where they found an ancient cistern filled with water. Concluding that this was a good place for permanent settlement, several families settled on the site of what would become Beit Jann.[3]
By the late nineteenth century, Beit Jenn was described as a good village built of stone, with 300 Muslims and 100 Druze, with extensive gardens and vineyards.[4]
At the time of the 1931 census, Beit Jann had 229 occupied houses and a population of 1100 Druze and 1 Muslim.[5]
In July 2006, during the Second Lebanon War, Beit Jann was hit by Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah. Illegal logging in the vicinity Beit Jann has led to conflicts with park officials and rangers.[6]
Geography and climate
Beit Jann has a cool climate, even in summer, and offers panoramic views that stretch as far as the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean on a clear day. Several families in the village run bed and breakfast facilities.[7] The village is located inside the Mount Meron nature reserve.
References
- ^ "Table 3 – Population of Localities Numbering Above 2,000 Residents and Other Rural Population" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. June 30, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Higher education in the Druze community
- ^ Mountain People, Jerusalem Post
- ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.196.
- ^ E. Mills, ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine. p. 100.
- ^ Oak trees felled in Beit Jann
- ^ Druze tourism
Bibliography
- Conder, Claude Reignier; Kitchener, Herbert H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 1. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 206
- Dauphin, Claudine (1998). La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations, Vol. III : Catalogue. BAR International Series 726. Oxford: Archeopress. p. 657
- Guérin, Victor (1880). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine. Vol 3; Galilee, pt. 2. p. 82-83
- Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center
- Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. p. 192
- Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas (PDF). Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- Palmer, E. H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.