- Kafr Manda
Infobox Israel municipality
name=Kafr Manda
imgsize=250px
hebname=כפר מנדא
arname=كفر مندا
meaning=
founded=11th century
type=lc
typefrom=1973
stdHeb=
altOffSp=Kafar Manda
altUnoSp=Kfar Manda, Kufur Manda
district=north
population=15,000
popyear=2005
area_dunam=11052mayor=Ezra Mu'allim
Kafr Manda or Kfar Menda ( _ar. كفر مندا, _he. כפר מנדא) is an
Israeli-Arab local council located inthe Lower Galilee on the slopes ofMount Atzmon in theIsrael 's North District. It is convert|16|km|mi northwest of the city ofNazareth . It had a population of approximately 15,000 in 2005 of which most of the inhabitants wereArab Muslim s.History
Kafr Manda is believed to be on the site of "Kfar Mandi", a large Jewish town extant during the
Mishnaic andMedieval periods, and is home to the traditional graves ofAkabia ben Mahalalel ,Shimon ben Gamliel II , and Issachar of Kfar Mandi. The present Arab population is believed to have settled the area at least 500 years ago. According to the Muslim scholarYaqut al-Hamawi , Kafr Manda is mentioned in theQur'an as the "debtor", however this statement is still not universally accepted. He also identifies it with biblicalMidian and believes it to be the burial-place ofZipporah , wife ofMoses .The town has always flourished due to its location between the cities of
Acre andNazareth and to an extent the city ofIrbid in northernJordan . It was captured by Israel like the rest of the western Galilee during the1948 Arab-Israeli War . It became a local council in 1973 and not until decades later did the town begin to rapidly develop by paving roads, building education centers and other infrastructures such as sewage, electricity and irrigation systems. The town has seen mass demonstrations againstIsraeli presence in theWest Bank and in March 2003 three residents were arrested due alleged involvement with thePalestinian Islamic Jihad .See also
*
List of Arab localities in Israel References
* [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/il-lckmn.html Manda information] at CRW Flags
* [http://www.bet-alon.co.il/info/city_details.php?city_id=31 Yigal Alon Museum] he icon
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1129540589356&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Israeli Arab Hamas recruits indicted]The Jerusalem Post
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