Jaffa

JAFFA

An ancient port on the central coast of the eastern Mediterranean, south of modern Tel Aviv, Israel.

Jaffa, known as Joppa in biblical times, became an important entrepôt in the nineteenth century when the local rulers constructed walls, planned markets, established a central mosque, and built a road leading to Jerusalem. Occupied by the Egyptian Ibrahim Pasha in 1831, Jaffa prospered because the Egyptians encouraged trade, immigrated to the city, and relaxed restrictions against minorities. With the return of Ottoman rule after 1840, the port became a stop for steamships plying the eastern Mediterranean and, after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, for oceangoing liners. The port was expanded to accommodate grain, olive, and citrus exports. Jaffa was linked to Jerusalem by road and rail to serve pilgrims and tourists. German Templar and American colonies were established near the city.

The population expanded from 5,000 in the mid-nineteenth century to nearly 40,000 in 1914, of whom 15,000 were Jews. They made Jaffa the center for the first and second aliya until the development of Tel Aviv just to the north of Jaffa. The city was deserted during World War I because the port was closed, citizens were conscripted into the Ottoman army, and the Turks forced many of the inhabitants to leave the city. Under the British mandate, as Tel Aviv developed into an almost exclusively Jewish city, Jaffa expanded. Its population, the majority of whom were Palestinians, reached more than 30,000 in 1922.

A center of opposition to Zionism, Jaffa suffered during the strike called during the 1936 to 1939 Arab rebellion. The rebellion paralyzed the port; it did not recover, and the port of Tel Aviv replaced it. Most of the Jews left Jaffa at that time.

Riots broke out after the United Nations decision to partition Palestine in 1947 and, in the fighting that ensued, the Jews took the city (May 1948). Most of the 65,000 Palestinians abandoned the city—only 4,000 remained. A large number of Jewish immigrants were housed in the city, and in 1950, Jaffa was incorporated into the Tel Aviv municipality, officially called Tel Aviv-Yafo. Jaffa remains a religiously mixed section of the larger metropolitan area.

In 1968, a plan to reconstruct Jaffa and renovate its old buildings was undertaken. The city is noted for its gardens, artists' studios and galleries, the old fishing harbor and ancient site of the original port, and modern boat docks. The city is also known for its export of oranges.

see also aliyah; ibrahim ibn muhammad ali.

Bibliography

Kark, Ruth. Jaffa: A City in Evolution, 1799–1917, translated by Gila Brand. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Press, 1990.

reeva s. simon