The Upper Galilee ( he, הגליל העליון, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; ar, الجليل الأعلى, ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the
Second Temple period. It originally referred to a mountainous area straddling what today is northern
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and southern
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...
. The boundaries of this area were the
Litani River in the north, the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
in the west, the
Lower Galilee in the south (from which it is separated by the
Beit HaKerem Valley
Beit HaKerem Valley ( he, בקעת בית כרם), also known as al-Shaghur ( ar, الشاغور, al-Shāghūr), is a valley in the Galilee region in northern Israel.
The valley is the dividing feature between the Upper Galilee featuring relat ...
), and the upper
Jordan River and the
Hula Valley in the east.
According to the 1st-century historian
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
, the bounds of Upper Galilee stretched from
Bersabe
Bersabe ();(), or Beer Sheba of the Galilee, was a Second Temple period Jewish village located near the town of Kefar Hananya which marked the boundary between the Upper Galilee and the Lower Galilee, as described by Josephus, with Upper Galile ...
in the Beit HaKerem Valley to
Baca (Peki'in) in the north. The extent of this region is approximately 470 km².
However, in present-day Israeli usage, the
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
mainly refers only to the northern part of the
Galilee that is under Israeli sovereignty. That is, the term today does not include the portion of
Southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, or the corresponding stretches of the
Israeli Coastal Plain to the west, or the
Jordan Rift Valley to the east. These are considered to be separate geographical areas that are not part of “Upper Galilee.”
History
Following the dissolution of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
and the
Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...
in which the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
promised to create "A Jewish National Home" in Palestine, the
Zionist Movement presented to the
Versailles Peace Conference a document calling for including in the
British Mandate of Palestine the entire territory up to the
Litani river — with a view to this becoming eventually part of a future Jewish state.
However, only less than half this area was actually included in British Mandatory Palestine, the final border being influenced both by diplomatic maneuverings and struggles between Britain and France and by fighting on the ground, especially the March 1920 battle of
Tel Hai
Tel Hai ( he, תֵּל חַי [] "Hill of Life") is a name of the former Jewish settlement in northern Galilee, the site of an early battle between Jews and Arabs heralding the growing civil conflict, and of a monument, tourist attraction, and a c ...
.
For a considerable time after the border was defined so to make the northern portion of the territory concerned part of the French mandated territory that became Lebanon, many Zionist geographers — and Israeli geographers in the state's early years — continued to speak of "The Upper Galilee" as being "the northern sub-area of the
Galilee region of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...
".
Under this definition, "The Upper Galilee" covers an area spreading over 1,500 km², about 700 in Israel and the rest in Lebanon. This included the highland region of
Belad Bechara
Belad Bechara, also spelled Bilad Beshara ( ar, بلاد بشارة), is a popular and historic name for a mountainous region in Jabal Amel in Southern Lebanon.
Etymology
Some historians believe that the name ''Belad Bechara'' means the "Country ...
in
Jabal Amel
Jabal Amil ( ar, جبل عامل, Jabal ʿĀmil), also spelled Jabal Amel and historically known as Jabal Amila, is a cultural and geographic region in Southern Lebanon largely associated with its long-established, predominantly Twelver Shia Musl ...
located in
South Lebanon,
which was at for some time known in Hebrew as "The Lebanese Galilee".
As defined in geographical terms, "it is separated from the
Lower Galilee by the Beit HaKerem valley; its mountains are taller and valleys are deeper than those in the
Lower Galilee; its tallest peak is
Har Meron at 1,208 m above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...
.
Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elev ...
is one of the major cities in this region".
In recent decades, however, this usage has virtually disappeared from the general Israeli discourse, the term "Upper Galilee" being used solely in reference to the part located in Israel.
Gallery
Image:Upper Galilee 123.JPG, Mountainous area in the Upper Galilee
Image:Baydar.jpg, Ain Ebel in the Lebanese Upper Galilee
Image:Meron_124PAN.jpg, A view looking north from the top of Har Meron in the Upper Galilee. Parts of southern Lebanon are visible in the background
Image:GalileeRoshPina.JPG, Old road from Rosh Pinna to Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elev ...
, Upper Galilee, Israel
Image:PikiWiki Israel 4518 Keshet Cave.JPG, The Keshet Cave (a natural arch) located on a ridge near Nahal Betzet
Nahal Betzet ( he, נחל בצת, lit. "Betzet stream"), Arabic: Wadi Karkara, is a once-perennial and now intermittent stream in the Upper Galilee, Israel. Most of it is part of the nature reserve named for the stream.
Geography
The stream c ...
Image:Lemon Orchard in the Galilee by David Shankbone.jpg, An orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...
in Upper Galilee
Image:Amud stream.JPG, The Amud river
Image:Safed 2009.jpg, Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elev ...
Image:Karmiel.jpg, Karmiel
Karmiel ( he, כַּרְמִיאֵל) is a city in northern Israel. Established in 1964 as a development town, Karmiel is located in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower Galilee. The city is located south of the Acre-Safed road, f ...
Image:AmudHorses.JPG, Horses roam in Amud stream, near the Sea of Galilee
See also
*
Galilee Panhandle
*
Northern District (Israel)
The Northern District ( he, מחוז הצפון, ''Mekhoz HaTzafon''; ar, منطقة الشمال, ''Minṭaqat ash-Shamāl'') is one of Israel's six administrative districts. The Northern District has a land area of 4,478 km2, which incre ...
*
Upper Galilee Regional Council
References
External links
www.galil-elion.org.ilThe Upper Galilee Museum of Prehistory
{{Authority control
Regions of Israel
Regions of Lebanon
Historical regions in Israel