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1554723

Arraba, Israel

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1554723

Arraba, Israel

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Arraba, Israel

Arraba (Hebrew: עראבה; Arabic: عرّابة), also known as 'Arrabat al-Battuf, is an Arab city in Israel. It is located in the Lower Galilee in the Northern District, within Sakhnin valley, adjacent to Sakhnin and Deir Hanna, and climbing a bit on Yodfat range to its south, while also owning some lands south of that in the Beit Netofa Valley (Sahl al-Battuf) to the north of Nazareth area. Arraba attained local council status in 1965, and city status in 2016. In 2024, its population was 27,175. In 2022, 98.8% of the population was Muslim and 1.2% was Christian.

During the Roman period, Arraba was a Jewish settlement known as Arab or Gabara, and was home to the priestly family of Petahiah. In the fifth or sixth century CE, it was inhabited by Christians, as evidenced by the discovery of a church. The Arab Muslim tribe of Zayadina arrived in Arraba in the middle of the 17th century and later gained control of the town. In the 18th century, Daher al-Umar, an autonomous ruler of Galilee, lived in Arraba. In the late Ottoman period, the town had a sizable Christian minority, but since then, many have emigrated to Haifa, leaving only a small number of Christian households in the predominantly Muslim city.

Arraba is identified with the ancient Jewish village called Arab, mentioned in Josephus' writings by its pronunciation in the Greek, Gabara, but in the Mishnah and the Jerusalem Talmud as Arab. The first-century Jewish rabbi and leader Yohanan ben Zakkai is said to have lived there eighteen years. During the First Jewish-Roman War, Vespasian sacked the city, killing those of its Jewish citizens who had not already fled. The place is presumed to have been resettled by Jews in the third-fourth centuries, since the town is mentioned as being the place of residence of one of the priestly courses known as Pethahiah, as inscribed in the Caesarea Inscription.

Arabba is home to the grave of Hanina ben Dosa, a Jewish scholar who lived in the village during the first and second generations after the destruction of the Second Temple.

In the 5th or 6th century CE, there were Christians living here, as witnessed by a church whose mosaic floor and inscription have been unearthed. The church was destroyed either at the end of the 6th century or the beginning of the 7th century.

The oldest settled section of Arraba lies at the village's south-east side, near the Christian church. Archaeological artefacts have been discovered there dating back to the Roman and Byzantine periods.

In the Crusader era, it was known as Arabiam. In 1174, it was one of the casalia (villages) given to Phillipe le Rous. In 1236, descendants of Phillipe le Rous confirmed the sale of the fief of Arraba. In 1250, it was one of the casalia belonging to the Teutonic knights, a Crusader order.

In the 13th century, Arrabah is mentioned by Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi in his famous work Mu'jam al-Buldān (1224–1228), as a "place in the province of Acca".

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