Haspin (), widely known as Hispin, is a religious

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

organized as a

community settlement A community settlement (, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of town or village in Israel and in the West Bank. In an ordinary town, anyone may buy property, but in a community settlement, the village's residents are organized in a cooperative an ...

in the southern

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

. The international community considers the settlement illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

History

The modern Haspin was established in 1978 at the site of the abandoned village Khisfin (). During G. Schumacher's visit to the village in 1883, it was inhabited by about 270 people, living in some 60 huts. Three-fourths of the village already lay waste or deserted. Haspin now falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the

Golan Regional Council Golan Regional Council (, ) is a regional council that supervises regional services to Israeli settlements located on the Golan Heights. It is made up of 18 moshavim, 10 kibbutzim, and 4 community settlements. The council headquarters is in the ...

. In the village had a population of . ''Yeshivat HaGolan'', a

Hesder Hesder ( "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allows Orthodox J ...

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

is located in the town. In antiquity, Haspin (''Khisfin'') is first mentioned in sources describing the military exploits of

Judas Maccabeus Judas Maccabaeus or Maccabeus ( ), also known as Judah Maccabee (), was a Jewish priest (''kohen'') and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah ("Ded ...

('' I Maccabbees'' 5:26), under the name ''Chaspho''. The town features prominently in the early rabbinic writings of the 3rd century CE (corresponding with the late Roman-early Byzantine period), under the name ''Hisfiyya''.''The Holy Land - from the Persian to the Arab Conquests (536 B.C. to A.D. 640) A Historical Geography '',

Michael Avi-Yonah Michael Avi-Yonah (; September 26, 1904 – March 26, 1974) was an Israeli archaeologist and historian. During his career he was a Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and served as secretary of Israel's Department of A ...

, Grand Rapids, 1979, p. 170; It is also mentioned in the 3rd century-4th century

Mosaic of Rehob The Mosaic of Reḥob (, also known as the Tel Rehov inscription and the Baraita of the Boundaries), is a late 3rd–6th century Common Era, CE mosaic discovered in 1973. The mosaic, written in late Mishnaic Hebrew, describes the geography and ...

, listed among the 'forbidden' towns within the territory of Susita. This designation indicates that, according to rabbinic standards, the town was subject to Jewish ''

shmita The sabbath year (''shmita''; , literally "release"), also called the sabbatical year or ''shǝvi'it'' (, literally "seventh"), or "Sabbath of The Land", is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah in the Lan ...

'' regulations applicable within the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

. By the late sixth to early seventh centuries, the Jewish population in the village had likely diminished, with the town's residents being replaced by

Samaritans Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...

and Christians.

Geographical description

Haspin lies on the northern border of the most productive agricultural region of the southern Golan Heights, which, in ages past, was part of the main road leading up from

Hamat Gader Hamat Gader (; , ; , or , ; ') is a hot springs site in the Yarmuk River valley, located in an area under Israeli control, near the Golan Heights and the border with Jordan. It contains a spa, modern and ancient baths, a crocodilians farm a ...

and from the Yarmuk valley to the northern regions of the Golan (''Jaulan'') as far as

Hauran The Hauran (; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, to the northeast by the al-Safa field, to the east and south by the Harrat ...

. An ancient Roman road criss-crossed the region. The area is rich in natural springs.

Archaeology

Many ancient artefacts from the Roman and Byzantine periods have been unearthed in Haspin. An ancient doorpost stone featuring a three-branched menorah and a lintel adorned with symbols typically associated with Jewish public structures, such as a palm-tree, rosettes, grapevines, and a

garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. In contemporary times ...

with a Hercules' knot, were found during an archaeological survey at Haspin. Sir Laurence Oliphant, who visited the area on 15 March 1885, described the remains of a large fort, measuring 68 yards (62 m) x 54 yards (49 m) (the outer wall) and the thickness of the wall that surrounded it measuring in diameter, nestled between Haspin and Nâb. This is probably the fortified

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

(''khan'') described by

Gottlieb Schumacher Gottlieb Schumacher (21 November 1857 – 26 November 1925) was an United States, American-born civil engineer, architecture, architect and archaeology, archaeologist of Germans, German descent, who was an important figure in the early archaeol ...

in his book ''The Jaulân'', situated west of the town of Haspin. The actual figures of this structure posted in G. Schumacher's work, ''The Jaulân'', are x According to Oliphant, the fortress dates from the Early Arab period, and was used by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

in a later period. Its location is currently unknown.

Notable people

Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor (), also spelled Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christianity, Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, Maximus was a civil se ...

, Christian monk, theologian and scholar, is said to have been born in the area (Khifsin), though this is disputed. *

Bezalel Smotrich Bezalel Yoel Smotrich (; born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli far-right politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2022. The leader of the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism, he previously served as a Kn ...

, leader of the

Religious Zionist Party The Religious Zionist Party (), known as Tkuma () until 2021 and officially known as National Union–Tkuma (, ), was a Far-right politics in Israel, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist, Jewish supremacism, Jewish supremacist, and R ...

and former Israeli Minister of Transportation, was born in Haspin.

References

{{Authority control Religious Israeli settlements Golan Regional Council Community settlements Religious Israeli communities Populated places in Northern District (Israel) Populated places established in 1978 1978 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate

History

Geographical description

Archaeology

Notable people

See also

References