Canada Park (Hebrew: פארק קנדה, Arabic:كندا حديقة) is a national park stretching over 7,000 dunams in central Israel.[1] It is maintained by the Jewish National Fund of Canada. Canada park is located west of Jerusalem, to the north of Highway 1 (Tel Aviv - Jerusalem), between the Latrun intersection and Sha'ar HaGai.[2]
History
Canada Park was established after the Six-Day War on the lands of four depopulated Arab villages: Dayr Ayyub, Imwas, Yalo, and Bayt Nuba. [3]Imwas, Yalo and Bayt Nuba were demolished right after the war as part of strategic plans to widen the Jerusalem Corridor. [4] Dayr Ayyub had been uninhabited since 1948.[5]
After their capture, Imwas, Beit Nuba, and Yalo were razed on the orders of Israeli general Yitzhak Rabin and 14,000 inhabitants were expelled.[6][7] Dayr Ayyub, Imwas and Yalo were situated within the park boundaries, while Bayt Nuba was northeast close to where Mevo Horon lies today.
Canadian funding
In 1973, Bernard Bloomfield of Montreal, then President of JNF Canada, spearheaded a campaign among the Canadian Jewish community to raise $15 million for the park's establishment. The road leading to the park is named for John Diefenbaker, the former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, who opened it in 1975. The project was completed in 1984.[8]JNF Canada continues to fund the upkeep of the park through donations received for this purpose.
Features
Canada Park covers an area of 1,275 dunams (128 hectares, or 316 acres).[9][8] It is filled with wooded areas, walking trails, water features and archaeological sites. Trees in the park include olive, carob, pomegranate, pine and almond. The area is also home to a range of wildlife from lizards and turtles to gray ravens and blue jays.[10] Historical ruins on the grounds of the park include a Roman bathhouse, a Hasmonean cemetery, and a Crusader fortress (Castellum Arnaldi).[11] At the foot of one of the hills that overlooks the city of Modi'in is a large reservoir built by the Jewish National Fund for irrigating local fields.[12]
See also
References
- ^ First autumn crocus blooms in Canada Park
- ^ Park Canada/Ayalon
- ^ Benvenisti, 2002, p. 327.
- ^ Right of Remembrance, Haaretz
- ^ Morris, 2004, p. xx, village #337.
- ^ Swedenburg, 2003 p. 61.
- ^ Segev, Tom (2006). 1967: Israel, the War and the Year That Transformed the Middle East, Metropolitan Books, pp. 306-309.
- ^ a b Columbo, 2001, p. 133
- ^ Brynen, 2007, p. 128.
- ^ Coussin, Orna. "Splendor on the grass" (Document). Haaretz.
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- ^ First autumn crocus blooms in Canada Park
Bibliography
- Benvenisti, Meron (2002). Sacred Landscape. University of California Press. ISBN 0520234227, 9780520234222.
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value: invalid character (help) - Brynen, Rex; El-Rifai, Roula (2007). Palestinian Refugees Challenges of Repatriation and Development: challenges of repatriation and development. Canada: International Development Research Centre. ISBN 1552502317.
- Colombo, John Robert (2001). 1000 questions about Canada: places, people, things, and ideas : a question-and-answer book on Canadian facts and culture. Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 0888822324, 9780888822321.
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value: invalid character (help) - Anis F. Kassim, Shaybani Society of International Law (1998). The Palestine yearbook of international law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 9041110097, 9789041110091.
{{cite book}}
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value: invalid character (help) - David Newman, Clive Schofield (1995). Boundaries in Flux: The 'Green Line' Boundary Between Israel and the West Bank - Past, Present and Future. IBRU. ISBN 189764325X, 9781897643259.
{{cite book}}
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value: invalid character (help) - Swedenburg, Ted (2003). Memories of revolt: the 1936-1939 rebellion and the Palestinian national past. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1557287635, 9781557287632.
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value: invalid character (help) - Winter, Dave (2000). Israel Handbook: With the Palestinian Authority Areas. Canada: Footprint Handbooks. ISBN 1900949482.