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=11052

mayor=Ezra Mu'allim

Kafr Manda or Kfar Menda ( _ar. كفر مندا, _he. כפר מנדא) is an Israeli-Arab local council located in the Lower Galilee on the slopes of Mount Atzmon in the Israel's North District. It is convert|16|km|mi northwest of the city of Nazareth. It had a population of approximately 15,000 in 2005 of which most of the inhabitants were Arab Muslims.

History

Kafr Manda is believed to be on the site of "Kfar Mandi", a large Jewish town extant during the Mishnaic and Medieval periods, and is home to the traditional graves of Akabia 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 scholar Yaqut al-Hamawi, Kafr Manda is mentioned in the Qur'an as the "debtor", however this statement is still not universally accepted. He also identifies it with biblical Midian and believes it to be the burial-place of Zipporah, wife of Moses.

The town has always flourished due to its location between the cities of Acre and Nazareth and to an extent the city of Irbid in northern Jordan. It was captured by Israel like the rest of the western Galilee during the 1948 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 against Israeli presence in the West Bank and in March 2003 three residents were arrested due alleged involvement with the Palestinian 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