Kfar Saba

Kfar Saba ( he, כְּפַר סָבָא), officially Kefar Sava, is a city in the Sharon region, of the Central District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-largest city in Israel. The population of Kfar Saba is nearly entirely Jewish.

History of modern Kfar Saba

The Palestinian village of Kafr Saba was considered to be ancient Capharsaba – an important settlement during the Second Temple period in ancient Judea,The Origin of the Name Capharsaba
Kfar Sava Municipal Council is mentioned for the first time in the writings of Josephus, in his account of the attempt of Alexander Jannaeus to halt an invasion from the north led by Antiochus, appears in the Talmud in connection to corn tithing and the Capharsaba sycamore fig tree. and is mentioned in the Mosaic of Rehob, the oldest known Talmudic text, which dates from around the 3rd century CE. The origins of the name are not known – in Hebrew and Aramaic it means 'grandfather village'.

Beginnings (1898–1913)

In 1898, the Jewish town of Kefar Sava (Kfar Saba) was established as a moshava on 7,500 dunams of land purchased from the Arab village. It was located approximately 3 km to the west of the Palestinian town of Kafr Saba, after which it was named. Despite attractive advertisements in Jerusalem and London, attempts to sell plots to private individuals were unsuccessful, as the land was located in a desolate, neglected area far from any other Jewish settlement. Starting in 1903, Jewish workers resided on the site of Kfar Saba. The Ottoman pasha of Nablus, to whose governorate the land belonged, refused to give building permits, therefore the first settlers lived in huts made of clay and straw. They earned their living by growing almonds, grapes and olives. A well was dug in 1906. Most of the manual laborers on the land were peasants from Qalqilya. In 1910, an Arab guard employed by the landowners shot at a group of almond thieves from Qalqilya, killing one. An Arab mob then descended on Kfar Saba, beating residents, breaking and looting equipment, and taking two Jewish guards prisoner. The situation was defused when reinforcements from Petah Tikva arrived, and a peace was negotiated. This attack drew widespread public attention among Jews in Palestine and around the world, and it was subsequently decided to turn Kfar Saba into a permanent settlement, even without building permits. In 1912, the construction of twelve single-story permanent houses began along a route that is now Herzl Street. The houses were camouflaged due to the lack of building permits. Construction was finished in 1913.

World War I

When World War I broke out in 1914, the Ottoman authorities harassed the residents, confiscating work animals and crops. The 1915 Palestine locust infestation destroyed vegetation in the area. Before Kfar Saba had fully recovered, about a thousand Jewish refugees of the Tel Aviv and Jaffa deportation who were seeking shelter arrived. The town's few houses could not accommodate the large number of refugees, and many died due to the harsh sanitary conditions.

In the Palestine Campaign of the war, Kfar Saba was on the front line between British General Edmund Allenby's Egypt Expeditionary Force and the Ottoman Army for almost a year, and by the time of the British victory in September 1918, it had been destroyed.

British Mandate

Following Kfar Saba's destruction in World War I, residents began rebuilding the town. During the 1921 Jaffa riots, Kfar Saba, then a small and isolated town, was evacuated on orders of the Haganah. It was attacked during the riots. In May 1921 the original residents returned and found their homes had been looted and burned. They began to rebuild the town for a third time, and it slowly recovered. In 1924 additional settlers joined Kfar Saba. In this period the moshava began to redevelop as cultivation of citrus fruit began, replacing almonds. The first elections for the local council were held.

In August 1947, a Jewish man was found shot to death outside the town.

File:Kfar Saba 1929.jpg, Paving a street in Kfar Saba, 1929
File:כפר סבא - פנורמה - פרדסים צעירים.-JNF044195.jpeg, Kfar Saba 1930
File:כפר סבא - התאחדות הנהגים "השרון".-JNF044331.jpeg, Kfar Saba 1934
File:Ghaffir force Kfar Saba 1933.jpg, Kfar Saba police 1933
File:שכונת אליעזר - סלילת כביש בשכונת אליעזר ליד כפר סבא-JNF036039.jpeg, Kfar Saba 1938
File:נקודה חדשה לפליטים ע"י שכונת אליעזר בכפר-סבא-JNF014323.jpeg, Kfar Saba immigrant housing 1945

1947–48 war

In December 1947, as the civil war between the Arab and Jewish communities got underway, leaders of both sides in the area pledged to keep the peace between the local communities. In the following months, Kfar Saba was attacked by local Arab militia from the nearby Arab village of Kafr Saba. The Arab Liberation Army (ALA), an outfit consisting of volunteers from several neighboring Arab countries, sent troops to aid in these attacks.

The village was depopulated of its Arab residents by Jewish forces on May 13, 1948, one day before the new State of Israel was declared.Morris, 2004, pp
246
247

File:Biyar 'Adas 1942.jpg, Kfar Saba 1942 1:20,000
File:Qalqilya 1945.jpg, Kfar Saba 1945 1:250,000

State of Israel

In May 1948, when Israeli independence was declared, Kfar Saba had a population of approximately 5,500. Following the war, it rapidly expanded as many Jewish immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries settled there, and new housing projects were built to accommodate them. The town found itself at the narrowest point of Israeli territory, with just 14 km from the sea to the West Bank village of Qalqilya. It expanded over the deserted Arab village of Kafr Saba, the site of which is today located in the Shikun Kaplan area of the city. As it became obvious that agriculture alone could not support the economy, an industrial zone was established. In 1953, the population was about 15,000. Meir Hospital was opened in 1956.

The rapid growth of the town meant that its status as a moshava was outdated, and it was granted city status in 1962, with head of the local council, Mordechai Surkis, becoming its first mayor.Mordechai Surkis: Public Activities
Knesset website The city had a population of 19,000 at the time. After receiving its city status, a court, a police branch, and offices of the National Insurance Institute and the Israel Tax Authority were established in Kfar Saba. Agriculture also continued to decline in importance in the city's economy as new factories were built. Despite this, the city still had thousands of acres of orchards in the late 1960s.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, two neighborhoods in Kfar Saba were shelled by Jordanian artillery, and an attack on a factory by Jordanian warplanes killed four workers. Following the war, the population increased as many people moved to Kfar Saba from the Gush Dan area, and during Soviet-Jewish immigration to Israel in the early 1970s, the city took in many Soviet immigrants and established an immigrant absorption center. In 1977, Kfar Saba had a population of 35,000.

First and Second Intifada

Kfar Saba is located just across the Green Line from the Palestinian city of Qalqilya. During times of relative peace, residents of Kfar Saba would shop in Qalqilya: this practice ended at the start of the First Intifada in 1987. In the following years, Kfar Saba became a frequent target of terrorist attacks. In May 2001, a Palestinian Arab suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt killed a doctor and wounded 50 at a bus stop in Kfar Saba. In March 2002, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on passersby at a major intersection, killing an Israeli girl and wounding 16 before being shot dead. In April 2003, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at the Kfar Saba train station during the morning rush hour, killing a security guard and wounding 10 bystanders.

Demographics

The 1922 census of Palestine listed the population of Kfar Saba as 14 Jews. By the 1931 census it had grown to 1,405 inhabitants, all Jews, in 395 houses.Mills, 1932, p
14
/ref>

In the 1945 statistics, the town had a population of 4,320 Jews.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
27
/ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
52
/ref>

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), in 2001, the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.9% Jewish and 0.1% Others. Additionally, there were 523 immigrant residents. Also according to the CBS, there were 37,000 males and 39,600 females in 2001. The population of the city was spread out, with 31.1% 19 years of age or younger, 16.3% between 20 and 29, 17.7% between 30 and 44, 20.2% from 45 to 59, 3.5% from 60 to 64, and 11.3% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate was 2.0% for that year.

The city is ranked high on the socio-economic scale (8 out of 10).
Kfar Saba has a listed population surpassing 110,000 .

Economy

According to CBS, there were 31,528 salaried workers and 2,648 self-employed in Kfar Saba in 2000. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker was ILS 7,120, a real change of 10.1% over the course of 2000. Salaried males had a mean monthly wage of ILS 9,343 (a real change of 9.9%) versus ILS 5,033 for females (a real change of 9.7%). The mean income for the self-employed was 8,980. 1,015 people received unemployment benefits and 1,682 people received an income guarantee.

In May 2004 the exploration company said that the Meged-4 oil well, located northeast of Kfar Saba, has exceeded original predictions and contains an extremely valuable deposit of oil.

Schools and religious institutions

Currently, in Kfar Saba there are 18 elementary schools (5 of them are religion elementary schools), 8 middle schools (2 of them are religion middle schools) and 11 high schools (4 of them are religion high schools). The high schools in Kfar Saba are divided to 3 groups: urban high schools (5), ORT high schools (2) and religious high schools (4).

The city is served by 105 synagogues.

Health care

Meir Hospital is located in Kfar Saba. Meir Hospital is a major medical center named for Josef Meir, the first head of the General Sick Fund and the first director of the Israeli Ministry of Health. The hospital accepts all patients, Jews and Arabs, including patients from cities within the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, such as Qalqilyah.Meir Maternity Ward Staff Save 20 Year-Old Arab Mother
/ref>

Environmental issues

Kfar Saba has won multiple awards for environment protection efforts. Kfar Saba is also the site of Israel's first biofilter project.

Landmarks

Nabi Yamin

A Mamluk caravanserai complex, including the mausoleum of Nabi Yamin, is located by the Kfar Saba – Qalqilyah road. The site contains an inscription dated to the 14th century. The site has been associated with the tomb of Benjamin, son of Jacob. North of this complex is a smaller tomb whose cupola has been painted green and is being maintained by local Palestinian Muslims, who consider it the "real" tomb. Jews and Muslims venerate Benjamin. Kfar Saba is in the heart of Dan's tribal area, but there are traditions that explain why Benjamin's tomb is located in the land of the tribe of Dan. The traditional burial place of Simeon, son of Jacob, lies close to Kfar Saba. It is a small domed structure that sits in a field not far from kibbutz Eyal. According to Meron Benvenisti, the site was until 1948 only holy to Muslims, and Jews ascribed no holiness to it. Today the dedicated inscriptions from the Mamluk period remain engraved on the stone walls of the tomb but the cloths embroidered with verses from the Qur´an, with which the gravestones were draped, have been replaced by draperies bearing verses from the Hebrew Bible

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