Zemer (Hebrew: זמר, Arabic: زيمر) is an Arab local council in the Central District of Israel. It is located in the Arab Triangle area, between Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Bat Hefer on Road 574. Zemer is the result of a merger of four villages – Bir al-Sika, Ibtan, Marja and Yama - in 1988.

Zemer
  • זמר
  • زيمر
Local council (from 1988)
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • ISO 259Zemr
Zemer is located in Central Israel
Zemer
Zemer
Zemer is located in Israel
Zemer
Zemer
Coordinates: 32°22′4″N 35°1′59″E / 32.36778°N 35.03306°E / 32.36778; 35.03306
Grid position154/197 PAL
Country Israel
DistrictCentral
Founded1988 (merger)
Government
 • Head of MunicipalityYassin Harzalla
Area
 • Total
8,203 dunams (8.203 km2 or 3.167 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)[1]
 • Total
7,457
 • Density910/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Name meaningKhurbet Ibthan; meaning "Ruin of gardens, or of soft soil"[2]

History

edit

Before the Common Era

edit

Archaeological work in Yama brought to light settlement remains ranging from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) to the Ottoman period.[3] At Ibtan, potsherds dating from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine period have been found.[4]

Middle Bronze Age II findings from Yama have been tentatively identified to belong to the ancient site of Yaham.[3] Yaham was mentioned in Egyptian sources regarding pharaohs Thutmose III and Shoshenq I.[5] The 15th century BCE annals describing the campaign of Thutmose III against a coalition of Canaanite city-states recount how the pharaoh camped at Yaham before marching on through the pass of Aruna (today's Wadi Ara), at whose exit he attacked and captured the city of Megiddo.[5]

Mamluk Sultanate and Ottoman Empire

edit

In 1265, two of the villages were mentioned among the estates which the Mamluk sultan Baibars granted his emirs after he had defeated the Crusaders: The whole of Ibthan (Bathan) was given to his emir 'Alam al-Din Sanjar al-Halabi al-Salihi,[6] while Yamma was divided equally between the emirs Saif al-Din Itamish al-Sa'di and Shams al-Din Aqsunqur.[7]

Yama and Ibtan appeared in Ottoman tax registers compiled in 1596, in the Nahiyas of Qaqun and Jabal Sami, respectively, of the Nablus Liwa. Yama had a population of 18 Muslim households and 5 bachelors, while Ibtan was indicated as empty even though it paid taxes.[8]

In 1882, in the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine, only Khurbet Ibthan was noted, with "traces of ruins and a well."[9]

British Mandate and Israel

edit

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Bir al-Sikka had a population of 36, Ibthan 56 and Yamma 48, all Muslims.[10] Until 1948, all four villages were administratively related to the modern-day Palestinian town of Deir al-Ghusun.[11][12]

Zemer's population at the end of 2009 was 5,700,[13] and its jurisdiction is 8,203 dunams.[14] The population increased to 6,375 in 2014.[15] The mayor of Zemer is Yassin Harzalla.[16]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  2. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 185
  3. ^ a b Masarwa, Durar (2013). "Yaham: Final Report (10/06/2013)". Hadashot Arkheologiyot. 125. JSTOR 26602933. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  4. ^ Abu Fana, 2006, Ibthan
  5. ^ a b Albright, W. F. (October 1923). "Some Archaeological and Topographical Results of a Trip through Palestine". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 11 (11). The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The American Schools of Oriental Research: 3–14 (see p. 10). doi:10.2307/1354763. JSTOR 1354763. S2CID 163409706.
  6. ^ Ibn al-Furat, 1971, pp. 81, 209, 249 (map)
  7. ^ Ibn al-Furat, 1971, pp. 81, 210, 249 (map)
  8. ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 127, p. 138.
  9. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 196
  10. ^ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Tulkarem, p. 28
  11. ^ Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 20
  12. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 74
  13. ^ "Table 3 - Population of Localities Numbering Above 2,000 Residents and Other Rural Population" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  14. ^ "Local Authorities in Israel 2005, Publication #1295 - Municipality Profiles - Zemer" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  15. ^ "לוח 3.- אוכלוסייה( 1), ביישובים שמנו מעל 2,000 תושבים( 2) ושאר אוכלוסייה כפרית Population (1) of localities numbering above 2,000 Residents (2) and other rural population". Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  16. ^ Continuing to improve personal security in the Arab sector

Bibliography

edit
edit