Jish (, ), also known by its

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

name of Gush Halab (, ), or by its classical name of Gischala, is a local council in

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee (, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; , ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Part of the larger Galilee region, it is characterized by its higher elevations and mountainous terra ...

, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, north of

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's Northern District. In , it had a population of , which is predominantly Maronite Catholic and Melkite Greek Catholic

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

(63%), with a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

Arab minority (about 35.7%).YNE

''On the slopes of a hill, at an elevation of 860 meters surrounded by cherry orchards, pears and apples, built houses, especially church building looks from afar. Number of inhabitants 3,000 divided by 55% Maronite Christian, 30% Greek Catholics and the rest are Muslims.'' Jish is the ancient ''Giscala'' or ''Gush Halav'', first mentioned in the historical record by the History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman-Jewish historian

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

, who described it as the home of

John of Giscala John of Gischala (, ; , 70) was a leader of the first Jewish revolt against the Romans. History During the Jewish war with Rome, John of Gischala (), son of Levi (), vied with Josephus over the control of Galilee and amassed a large band of su ...

and the last city in the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

to fall to the Romans during the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–74 CE), also known as the Great Jewish Revolt, the First Jewish Revolt, the War of Destruction, or the Jewish War, was the first of three major Jewish rebellions against the Roman Empire. Fought in the prov ...

(War 4:93).''Encyclopedia Judaica,'' Jerusalem, 1978, "Giscala," vol. 7, 590 Archeological excavations uncovered remains from the

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

ite and

Israelite Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

periods; later archaeological finds in Jish include two ancient

synagogues A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, a unique

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

and

rock-cut tombs A rock-cut tomb is a burial chamber that is cut into an existing, naturally occurring rock formation, so a type of rock-cut architecture. They are usually cut into a cliff or sloping rock face, but may go downward in fairly flat ground. It was a ...

from the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

periods. Historical sources dating from the 10th-15th centuries describe Jish (''Gush Halav'') as a village with a strong

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

presence. In the early Ottoman era, Jish was wholly Muslim. In the 17th century, the village was inhabited by

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

. In 1945, under

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, Jish had a population of 1,090 with an area of 12,602 dunams. The village was largely depopulated during the

1948 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...

as part of the larger 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. After the war Jish was resettled not only by the original inhabitants, who were largely

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

Christians, but also by some Maronite Christians who were expelled from the razed villages of Kafr Bir'im and some Muslims who were expelled from Dallata.Morris, 2004, p.
508
/ref> In 2010, the population of Jish was 3,000.

Etymology

Jish is the ancient Giscala. The Arabic name ''el-Jish'' is a variation of the site's ancient name ''Gush Halav'' in

, literally "block of milk" or "a lump of milk," which may be a reference to either the production of milk and cheese (for which the village has been famous since at least the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

) or else to the fertile surroundings, which are well-suited for various forms of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Other scholars believe the name ''Gush Halav'' refers to the light color of the local limestone, which contrasts with the dark reddish rock of the neighboring village, Ras al-Ahmar.

History

Ancient period

Settlement in Jish dates back 3,000 years. The village is mentioned in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

as ''Gush Halav'', a city "surrounded by walls since the time of

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

Ben Nun" (m. Arakhin 9:6).

ite and

remains from the Early Bronze and Iron Ages have also been found there.

Classical antiquity

During the Classical period, the town was known as ''Gischala'', a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

transcription of the

name ''Gush Halav''. Both Josephus and later Jewish sources from the Roman-Byzantine period mention the fine

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

for which the village was known.''The Guide to Israel'', Zev Vilnay, Jerusalem, 1972, p. 539. According to the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

, the inhabitants also engaged in the production of

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

. Eleazar b. Simeon, described in the Talmud as a very large man with tremendous physical strength, was a resident of the town. According to one version of events, he was initially buried in Gush Halav but later reinterred in Meron, next to his father, Shimon bar Yochai.

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

recorded that

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

lived with his parents in "Giscalis in Judea," which is understood to be Gischala. After the fall of Gamla, Gush Halav was the last

stronghold in the

and

Golan Golan (; ) is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical city of Golan at Sahm el-Jaulān, a Syrian village eas ...

region during the Great Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-73 CE), and the home of

.Redefining ancient borders: The Jewish scribal framework of Matthew's Gospel, Aaron M. Gale
/ref>''Excavations at the ancient synagogue of Gush Ḥalav'', Eric M. Meyers, Carol L. Meyers, James F. Strange
/ref> Two ancient

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s were discovered at Jish. The first was located at the top of the hill, below the current Maronite Church. The second one was discovered at the foot of the hill, close to a spring; one of its columns is inscribed in Aramaic with the name of a particular "Yose son of Tanhum". This synagogue went through several phases of construction and reconstruction, one destruction being dated by excavator Eric M. Meyers to the earthquake of 551. In addition to Jewish structures and burial sites dated to the 3rd through 6th centuries, both Jewish and Christian amulets have also been discovered nearby.The missing century: Palestine in the fifth century: growth and decline, Zeev Safrai
/ref> Christian artifacts from the Byzantine period have been found at the site. According to local tradition, two nearby rock-cut tombs contain the graves of 1st century BCE Jewish sages Shemaiah and Avtalyon.

Middle Ages

Historical sources from the 10th to the 15th centuries describe it as a large Jewish village, and it is mentioned in the 10th century by Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi. Jewish life in the 10th and 11th centuries is attested to by documents in the

Cairo Geniza The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled the Cairo Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Judaism, Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the ''genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra ...

. In 1172, the Jewish traveler

Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela (), also known as Benjamin ben Jonah, was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, and Africa in the twelfth century. His vivid descriptions of western Asia preceded those of Marco Polo by a hundred years. With his ...

found about 20 Jews living there. This passage is not present in the edition of Ishtori Haparchi also attended a megilla reading when he visited in 1322.

Ottoman Empire

In 1596, Jish appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the ''

Nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...

'' of ''Jira'', of the Liwa Safad. It had a population of 71 households and 20 bachelors, all

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. The villagers paid taxes on goats and beehives, but most of its taxes were in the form of a fixed sum: total taxes amounted to around 30,750

akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. It was also used in other states includi ...

.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 176 In the 17th century, the village had been inhabited by

, but they later departed from it. The Turkish traveler

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

, who passed by the village in 1648, wrote:

Then comes the village of Jish, with one hundred houses of accursed believers in the transmigration of souls (''tenāsukhi mezhebindén''). Yet what beautiful boys and girls they have! And what a climate! Every one of these girls has queenly, gazelle-like, bewitching eyes, which captivate the beholder—an unusual sight.

According to

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi ( ''Yitshak Ben-Tsvi''; 24 November 188423 April 1963; born Izaak Shimshelevich) was a historian, ethnologist, Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving president of Israel. He was 1952 Israeli presidential elec ...

Maronites Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally resided near Mount ...

first settled in Jish during the early 18th century. This may have happened as a result of the Battle of Ain Dara (1711), in which the Qaysis defeated the Yamanis and drove many of them from

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

. Ben-Zvi recorded a local tradition, according to which two families in the village preceded the Maronite immigration; One of them—the Hashouls, the oldest family in the village— were Maronites of Jewish ancestry and were originally known by the name Shaul. The Galilee earthquake of 1837 caused widespread damage and over 200 deaths. Three weeks afterward, contemporaries reported "a large rent in the ground...about a foot wide and fifty feet long." All the Galilee villages that were badly damaged at the time, including Jish, were situated on the slopes of steep hills. The presence of old landslides has been observed on aerial photographs. The fact that the village was built on

dip slope A dip slope is a topographic or geomorphic surface which slopes in the same direction, and often by the same angle, as the true dip or apparent dip of the underlying strata.Jackson, JA, J Mehl and K Neuendorf (2005) ''Glossary of Geology.'' Ame ...

s consisting of soft bedrock and soil has made it more vulnerable to landslides.Damage Caused By Landslides During the Earthquakes of 1837 and 1927 in the Galilee Region
/ref> According to Andrew Thomson, no houses in Jish were left standing. The church fell, killing 130 people, and the old town walls collapsed. A total of 235 people died, and the ground was left fissured. At the time, the village was noted as a mixed Muslim and

village in the Safad district. At the end of the 19th century, Jish was described as a "well-built village of good masonry" with about 600 Christian and 200 Muslim inhabitants.Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p
198
/ref> A population list from about 1887 showed ''El Jish'' to have about 1,935 inhabitants; 975 Christians and 960 Muslims.

British Mandate

At the time of the

1922 census of Palestine The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...

, Jish had a population of 721–380 Christians and 341 Muslims.Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Safad, p
41
/ref> The Christians were classified as 71%

and 29% Greek Catholic (or Melchite). By the 1931 census, Jish had 182 inhabited houses and a population of 358 Christians and 397 Muslims.Mills, 1932, p
107
/ref> In the 1945 statistics, Jish had a population of 1,090; 350 Christians and 740 Muslims,Department of Statistics, 1945, p
09
/ref> and the village spanned 12,602

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s, mostly Arab-owned.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
70
/ref> Of this, 1,506 dunums were plantations and irrigable land, 6,656 used for

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

s, while 72 dunams were built-up (urban) land.

1948 Palestine war

Israeli forces captured Jish on 29 October 1948, during Operation Hiram.Morris, 2004, p.
473
/ref> A massacre was perpetrated by Israeli troops. Historian Saleh Abdel Jawad has estimated "at least 100 fatalities". Historian

Benny Morris Benny Morris (; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. Morris was initially associated with the ...

wrote that "the troops apparently murdered about 10 Moroccan POWs (who had served with the Syrian Army) and a number of civilians, including, apparently, four Maronite Christians, and a woman and her baby."Morris, 2004, p.
481
citing Israeli sources but noting their lack of clarity The Israeli prime minister,

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

, ordered an investigation of the deathsGelber, 2001, p.226 but no IDF soldiers were brought to trial,Morris, 2008, p. 345 though a military investigation concluded with the order that those responsible for the unjustified killings were to be tried 'immediately'. Many of the residents of Jish were forced to leave the village in 1948 and became

Palestinian refugee Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country, village or house over the course of the 1948 Palestine war and during the 1967 Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refug ...

s in Lebanon. Some Christians from the nearby town of Kafr Bir'im resettled in Jish, where today they are citizens of Israel, but continue to press for their

right of return The right of return is a principle in international law which guarantees everyone's right of return to, or re-entry to, their country of citizenship. The right of return is part of the broader human rights concept of freedom of movement and is al ...

to their former villages. In October 1950, Israeli forces raided Jish and detained seven suspected smugglers who were stripped, bound, and beaten. They were released without charge.Morris, 1993, p. 167 Elias Chacour, now Archbishop of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Church The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (, ''Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk''; ; ), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catho ...

, whose family resettled in Jish, wrote that when he was eight years old he discovered a mass grave containing two dozen bodies.

Israel

In December 2010, a hiking and bicycle path known as the Coexistence Trail was inaugurated, linking Jish with Dalton, a neighboring Jewish village. The 2,500 meter-long trail, accessible to people with disabilities, sits 850 meters above sea level and has several lookout points, including a view of Dalton Lake, where rainwater is collected and stored for agricultural use.Galilee Coexistence Trail Inaugurated

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Je ...

Jish is known for its efforts to revive

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

as a living language. In 2011, the Israeli

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

approved a program to teach the language in Jish elementary schools. Some local

activists in Jish say that Aramaic is essential to their existence as a people, in the same way that

and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

are for Jews and Arabs.

Demographics

Today, 55% of the inhabitants of Jish are

, 10% percent are Melkites and 35% percent are Muslims. The population of the village was .

Geography

Jish is located in

, in the Northern district of Israel. The town is close to Mount Meron, the tallest standing mountain of Galilee. Recently, a new road has connected Jish with the nearby Jewish village of Dalton.

Religious sites and shrines

The tombs of Shmaya and

Abtalion Abtalion ( ''ʾAḇṭalyōn'') or Avtalyon (Modern Hebrew) was a rabbinic sage in the early pre-Mishnaic era. He was a leader of the Pharisees during the 1st century BCE, and by tradition the vice-president of the great Sanhedrin of Jerusalem. H ...

, a pair of Jewish sages who taught in Jerusalem in the early 1st century BCE, are located in Jish. According to tradition, the Israelite prophet Joel was also buried there.Gush Halav
/ref> The structure traditionally believed to be his tomb is situated on the western outskirts of the modern village, and contains several ancient

. According to Christian tradition, the parents of

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

were from Jish.

, the son of Levi, was born in Jish. Other churches in Jish are a small Maronite Church that was rebuilt after the 1837 earthquake and the Elias Church, the largest in the village, which operates a convent.

Archaeology

Eighteen archaeological sites have been excavated to date in Jish and vicinity. Archaeologists have excavated two

s in use since the Roman and Byzantine periods (3rd to 6th centuries CE).Projects - Preservation
/ref> One synagogue is located at the top of the village and the other east of it. Conder and Kitchener (1881), p
224
/ref> On the remains of the upper synagogue, found by Kitchener of the

Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Royal Engineers of the War Department. The Fund is the oldest known organization i ...

, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of Mar Boutros was built. Jewish-Christian amulets were discovered nearby. Coins indicate that Jish had strong commercial ties with the nearby city of Tyre. On Jish's western slope, a mausoleum was excavated, with stone

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

similar to those seen at the large Jewish catacomb at Beit She'arim National Park. The inner part of the mausoleum contained ten hewn ''loculi'', burial niches known in Hebrew as ''kokhim''. In the mausoleum, archaeologists found several skeletons, oil lamps and a glass bottle dating to the fourth century CE. A network of secret caves and passageways in Jish, some of them located under private homes, is strikingly similar to hideaways in the Judean lowlands used during the

Bar Kokhba revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 AD) was a major uprising by the Jews of Judaea (Roman province), Judaea against the Roman Empire, marking the final and most devastating of the Jewish–Roman wars. Led by Simon bar Kokhba, the rebels succeeded ...

.ERETZ Magazine
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* * * * Gelber, Y. (2001), ''Palestine 1948'', Sussex Academic Press * * (p
94
ff) * * * * * * * * * * * (reprinted in 1980) * * * *

External links

* *

*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 4
IAAWikimedia commons

A lintel with an eagle relief from the 3rd century CE in the ancient synagogue in Gush HalavPhotos of the Gush Halav synagogue and church
at the

Manar al-Athar Manar al-Athar is a photo archive based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford which aims to provide high-quality open-access images of archaeological sites and buildings. The archive's collection focuses on areas of the Roman Em ...

photo archive {{Towns depopulated during the First Jewish–Roman War Ancient synagogues in the Land of Israel Arab Christian communities in Israel Arab localities in Israel Archaeological sites in Israel Jewish pilgrimage sites Local councils in Northern District (Israel) Maronite communities Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Israel Ancient Jewish settlements of Galilee