Basma ( ar, بسمة, he, בסמ"ה) is an

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic and ...

local council in the

Wadi Ara Wadi Ara ( ar, وادي عارة, he, ואדי עארה) or Nahal 'Iron ( he, נחל עירון), is a valley and its surrounding area in Israel populated mainly by Arab Israelis. The area is also known as the " Northern Triangle". Wadi Ara i ...

area of

Haifa District Haifa District ( he, מחוז חיפה, ''Mehoz Ḥeifa''; ar, منطقة حيفا) is an administrative district surrounding the city of Haifa, Israel. The district is one of the seven administrative districts of Israel, and its capital is Ha ...

. The local council was formed in 1995 through the consolidation of the villages of Barta'a West,

Ein as-Sahala Ein as-Sahla ( ar, عين السهلة, he, עין א-סהלה) is an Arab village in Haifa District, Israel. The village is located in the Wadi Ara area of the northern Triangle. The village has about 2,000 residents. Since 1996, it has been und ...

, and

Muawiya Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the de ...

; Basma is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in '' NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, a ...

of the villages' names. In it had a population of . Basma's jurisdiction area covers 3,956 dunams.

History

Each of Basma's villages were under the administration of a ''

Mukhtar A mukhtar ( ar, مختار, mukhtār, chosen one; el, μουχτάρης) is a village chief in the Levant The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in t ...

'' (village headman), who was appointed by the Interior Ministry until 1992, when the Interior Ministry established the

Nahal Iron Wadi Ara ( ar, وادي عارة, he, ואדי עארה) or Nahal 'Iron ( he, נחל עירון), is a valley and its surrounding area in Israel populated mainly by Arab Israelis. The area is also known as the "Northern Triangle". Wadi Ara is ...

regional council Regional Council may refer to: * Regional Council (Hong Kong), disbanded in 1999 ** Regional Council (constituency) Regional council may refer to: * Regional council (Cameroon) * Regional council (France), the elected assembly of a region of Fra ...

, including Basma's villages and five others. The locals objected to the administrative arrangement, claiming that the council was established without consulting the locals and their wishes were not considered. Some of the villages had already sought an independent municipal status but were rejected. Most of the agricultural land was not included in the council's jurisdiction area, all of the council members were Jewish and it was given a Hebrew name. Following an appeal to the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

, the state promised to dismantle the council and establish a regular regional council, where each village had an elected local committee. The appeal was cancelled but the locals appealed again, demanding an independent status for each village. The

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

declared that the local concerns had been considered, but were not consistent with the ministry's policy of not creating local councils for small villages in fear of spending public money, and the High Court of Justice rejected the appeal. Eventually, in order to allay local concerns, the Interior Ministry established an investigative committee to examine other options, and in 1996, decided to split the regional council into two local councils:

Ma'ale Iron Ma'ale Iron ( he, מעלה עירון, ''lit.'' Iron Heights; ar, طلعة عارة) is an Arab local council in Israel's Haifa District and is a part of the Wadi Ara region in the Triangle. The town consists of the five villages of Bayada, M ...

, and Basma. In 2003, Basma was included in a wide plan of the Interior Ministry to merge local and regional councils in the region of

Hadera Hadera ( he, חֲדֵרָה ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5&nb ...

. According to the plan, Basma was to be united with

Arara Arara may refer to: Ethnic groups *Arará, an African-Cuban ethnic group * Arara (Pará), an indigenous people of Pará, Brazil * Arara (Rondônia), an indigenous people of Rondônia, Brazil *Arara, or Kwaza, an indigenous people of Rondônia, Br ...

and

Kfar Qara Kafr Qara ( ar, كفر قرع, he, כַּפְר קַרִע; also spelled ''Kafr Qari'') is an Arab town in Israel southeast of Haifa. In its population was . Kafr Qara holds the record for doctors relative to population size in the country with ...

, while Mu'awiya will be moved to

. The plan was rejected by all councils.

Education

Basma has three elementary schools for each village and two middle schools and high schools in

Barta'a Barta'a ( ar, برطعة, he, בַּרְטַּעָה) is a town in Israel and the Palestinian territories that straddles both sides of the Green Line (Israel), Green Line in the Wadi Ara (or Nahal 'Iron) region. Western Barta'a is in the Haifa D ...

and

Mu'awiya Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...

. There are 23 kindergartens in the council: 10 in Barta'a, 8 in Mu'awiya and 5 in Ein a-Sahala.

References

External links

* Survey of Western Palestine, Map 8:
IAAWikimedia commons

{{Haifa District 1995 establishments in Israel Arab localities in Israel Local councils in Haifa District Populated places established in 1995

History

Education

See also

References

External links