Julis ( ''Jūlis'', ''G'ulis'') is a

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 ...

village and local council in the Northern District of

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 ...

. In it had a population of .

Etymology

According to local legend, the name is derived from "Julius," the name of a Roman commander who camped in the area. Others say it is from the Arabic word for "sitting" - "jalis", as it is located on lower hills than the surrounding villages, and thus seems to be sitting.

History

Julis was a

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 ...

village in

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 ...

ic times and had a Jewish presence in the Late Middle Ages (14th-16th centuries). In 1388, Sa'adia Ben Ya'akov copied "The Sufficient Guide" by the Tanhum of Jerusalem, "in the town of Julis... near Acre."

Ottoman period

According to the 1596 Ottoman '' tax records'' Julis had a predominantly Druze population, with a total of 79 households. The taxable produce comprised wheat, barley, "summer crops", fruit trees, and "goats and bees". Julis also had a press for olive oil or grape syrup. Total taxes were 7,047

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 ...

. During the 16th century there was also a small Jewish population. In the early part of the 18th century Julis was one of the major

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

producing villages in the area. Later in the same century it was one of five villages in ''

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 ...

'' ("subdistrict") Sahil Akka (Acre coast), which were owned directly by the governor of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

, and were exempt from the usual Ottoman taxes. A map by

Pierre Jacotin Pierre Jacotin (1765–1827) was the director of the Surveying, survey for the ''Carte de l'Égypte (Description de l'Égypte)'', the first triangulation-based map of Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The maps were drafted in 1799–1800 during Napole ...

from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 showed the place, named as ''Gioules''. In 1875, the French explorer

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (; 15 September 1821 – 21 September 1890) was a French people, French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included ...

visited the village, which he called ''Djoules''. He noted that "before arriving at Julis I came upon a small plateau pierced by many

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

s. The cisterns and the cut stones which are built up in the modern houses show that the place is the site of an ancient town or village. On a neighbouring hill a ''waly'' is consecrated to the

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Aly.'" In 1881, the PEF's ''

Survey of Western Palestine The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the completed Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) and in 1880 for the soon abandoned Survey of Eastern Palestine. The ...

'' described Julis as "a village built of stone containing about 200 Druzes, surrounded by olives and arable land." A population list from about 1887 showed that ''Julis'' had 360 inhabitants; all Druze.

British Mandate

In 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 ...

, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Jules had a total population of 446 residents; 442 Druzes, 3 Christians and 1 Muslim. All the Christians were Orthodox. In the 1931 census it had increased to a population of 614; 586 Druse, 26 Christians, and 2 Muslims, in a total of 123 houses.Mills, 1932, p
101
/ref> In the 1945 statistics the population of Julis was 820; 40 Christians and 780 classified as others (i.e. Druze),Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p
4
/ref> and the total land area was 14,708

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, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 1,347 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 6,568 used for cereals, while 63 dunams were built-up (urban) land.

Israel

Julis was captured by the Israeli army during

Operation Dekel Operation Dekel (), was the largest offensive by Israeli forces in the north of Palestine after the first truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was carried out by the 7th Armoured Brigade led by Canadian volunteer Ben Dunkelman (called B ...

, 8–14 July 1948. Unlike many of the neighboring villages the inhabitants remained in their homes. In 1967, Julis achieved local council status. The head of the council was Salman Hino. At the end of 2007, the town had 5,400 residents. The annual population growth rate was 1.8%. The residents are Druze. In 2000, a high percentage (72.1%, compared to 60.3% in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

) of all high school students received a matriculation certificate. The mean income was NIS 5,067 per month (2007), compared to a national average of NIS 6,743.

Landmarks

* Druze Center House *Maqam Shaykh al-Farsi - Located to the south of the old village, consisting of two older buildings and a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

d one. In an open area there are two

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

s with inscriptions which record the life of Shaykh al-Farsi. His date of death is given as 1167 H (1753-1754 C.E.). According to an inscription, the construction of the

maqam (shrine) A maqām () is a Muslims, Muslim shrine constructed at a site linked to a religious figure or Wali, saint, commonly found in the Levant (or ''al-Shām),'' which comprises the present-day countries of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Israel. It is ...

started in August, 1754.Sharon, 2016, pp.
208210
/ref> *Sheik Ali Faris cave - Located about 2 kilometers North-East of Julis. In this cave Sheik Ali Faris resided and did his contemplation.

Notable people

* Amin Tarif * Mowafaq Tarif *

Salah Tarif Salah Tarif (, ; born 9 February 1954) is a Druze Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1992 and 2006. When appointed Minister without Portfolio by Ariel Sharon in 2001, he became Israel's first non-Jewish Cabinet of Isr ...

* Monia Heno

References

Bibliography

* * Cited in Petersen, (2001) * * * * * Cited in Petersen, 2001. * * * * * * *

External links

Welcome To Julis
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 3
IAAWikimedia commons

{{Authority control Arab localities in Israel Druze communities in Israel Local councils in Northern District (Israel)