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{{POV|date=May 2011}}

{{Infobox Israel municipality
{{Infobox Israel municipality

|name=Kiryat Arba
|name=Kiryat Arba
|emblem=Kiryat Arba COA.png
|emblem=Kiryat Arba COA.png
|emblem_type=
|emblem_type=
|image=Kiryat Arba Square.jpg
|hebname={{Hebrew|קִרְיַת ־אַרְבַּע}}
|hebname={{Hebrew|קִרְיַת ־אַרְבַּע}}
|ISO=Qiryat ʔarbaˁ
|ISO=Qiryat ʔarbaˁ
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|mayor=
|mayor=
}}
}}
'''Kiryat Arba''' or '''Qiryat Arba''' ({{Hebrew|קִרְיַת־אַרְבַּע}}), lit. "Town of the Four," is an urban [[Israeli settlement]] in the [[Judean Mountains]] region of the [[West Bank]] on the edge of [[Hebron]]. Its residents comprise a mix of Russian and American immigrants as well as native-born Israelis numbering close to 10,000. (Official census records in 2008 recorded a population of 7,200.)<ref name="cbs populations">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/population/new_2009/table3.pdf|publisher=[[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]]|title=Table 3 - Population of Localities Numbering Above 2,000 Residents and Other Rural Population|date=2008-06-30|accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref>
'''Kiryat Arba''' or '''Qiryat Arba''' ({{Hebrew|קִרְיַת־אַרְבַּע}}), lit. "Town of the Four," is an urban [[Israeli settlement]] on the outskirts of [[Hebron]], in the [[Judean Mountains]] region of the [[West Bank]]. In 2008, Kiryat Arba had a population of 7,200.<ref name="cbs populations">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/population/new_2009/table3.pdf|publisher=[[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]]|title=Table 3 - Population of Localities Numbering Above 2,000 Residents and Other Rural Population|date=2008-06-30|accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref>

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank [[International law and Israeli settlements|illegal under international law]], but the Israeli government disputes this.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm |title=The Geneva Convention |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=10 December 2009 |accessdate=27 November 2010 }}</ref>


==Etymology==
==Etymology==
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===Antiquity===
===Antiquity===
Hebron is one of the earliest towns mentioned in history, and is the first Jewish settlement. According to the Bible (Numbers 13:23) it was founded seven years before Zoan or Tanis, the most ancient town in Lower Egypt, which means that it existed from the first half of the third millennium B.C. Josephus (Bel. Jud., IV, ix, 7) says that in his time the town was already 2300 years old. It was originally called Kiriat Arba, or Kiriat- ha-Arba (D. V. Cariath-Arbe, Genesis 23:2, 35:27; Joshua 14:15, 15:13, 15:54, 20:7, 21:11; Judges 1:10; Nehemiah 11:25) from the name of Arba, “the greatest among the Enacims” (Joshua 14:15). <ref>New Advent Catholic Encylcopedia. </ref>
Hebron is one of the earliest towns mentioned in history, and is the first Jewish settlement. According to the Bible (Numbers 13:23) it was founded seven years before Zoan or Tanis, the most ancient town in Lower Egypt, which means that it existed from the first half of the third millennium B.C. Josephus (Bel. Jud., IV, ix, 7) says that in his time the town was already 2300 years old. It was originally called Kiriat Arba, or Kiriat- ha-Arba (D. V. Cariath-Arbe, Genesis 23:2, 35:27; Joshua 14:15, 15:13, 15:54, 20:7, 21:11; Judges 1:10; Nehemiah 11:25) from the name of Arba, “the greatest among the Enacims” (Joshua 14:15). <ref>New Advent Catholic Encylcopedia. </ref>
===Since 1968===
===Modern era===
In 1968, a group of [[Jews]] led by [[Rabbi]] [[Moshe Levinger]] and Rabbi [[Eliezer Waldman]] founded Kiryat Arba on the eastern outskirts of [[Hebron]]. Jewish settlement around Hebron was claimed to be justified in light of the [[1929 Hebron massacre]] and the continued presence of Jews in the area until then. Building began on an abandoned military base in 1970, and residents moved in 1971. The town is a self-sufficient community, with pre-nursery through [[post-secondary]] educational institutions, medical facilities, [[shopping center]]s, a bank and a [[post office]]. Kiryat Arba attained [[Local council (Israel)|local council]] status in 1979. While Kiryat Arba is located within the territory of the [[Har Hebron Regional Council]], it is an independent local council. <ref>[http://www.hebron.com/english/article.php?id=313 Hebron]</ref><ref>[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1176152784857&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jpost]</ref>
In 1968, a group of [[Jews]] led by [[Rabbi]] [[Moshe Levinger]] and Rabbi [[Eliezer Waldman]] founded Kiryat Arba on the eastern outskirts of [[Hebron]]. Jewish settlement around Hebron was claimed to be justified in light of the [[1929 Hebron massacre]] and the continued presence of Jews in the area until then. Building began on an abandoned military base in 1970, and residents moved in 1971. The town is a self-sufficient community, with pre-nursery through [[post-secondary]] educational institutions, medical facilities, [[shopping center]]s, a bank and a [[post office]]. Kiryat Arba attained [[Local council (Israel)|local council]] status in 1979. While Kiryat Arba is located within the territory of the [[Har Hebron Regional Council]], it is an independent local council. <ref>[http://www.hebron.com/english/article.php?id=313 Hebron]</ref><ref>[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1176152784857&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jpost]</ref>Between 1981-1986, four residents of Kiryat Arba were shot and wounded in the Hebron marketplace. In 1994, a 17-year old girl from Kiryat Arba was shot to death in a drive-by shooting. <ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/hebron.html Terrorist attacks and violent incidents in Kiryat Arba]</ref> On August 31, 2010, four Jewish residents, including a pregnant woman, were shot to death in their car outside Kiryat Arba.<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/middle-east/2010/11/palestinian-police-security The Lawless West Bank: The Next Powder Keg?]</ref>


==Status under international law==
Like all Israeli settlements in the [[Israeli-occupied territories]], Kiryat Arba is considered illegal under international law, though Israeli disputes this.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8389075.stm Israel settlers obstruct building curbs inspectors] BBC News. 1 December 2009</ref> The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]]'s prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3333727.stm The settlers' struggle] BBC News. 19 December 2003</ref> Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian territories as they had not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel taking control of them. This view has been rejected by the [[International Court of Justice]] and the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]].<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1671.pdf Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory] International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45</ref>
==Neighborhoods==
==Neighborhoods==
[[File:Meir Kahane Tourist Park plaza.jpg|thumb|Kahana Park, Kiryat Arba]]
Kiryat Arba consists of four neighborhoods: the Kirya, Ashmoret Yitzhak, Ramat Mamre (also known as Givat Harsina) and Givat Avot, near the entrance of Hebron.
Kiryat Arba has four neighborhoods: the Kirya, Ashmoret Yitzhak, Ramat Mamre (also known as Givat Harsina) and Givat Avot, near the entrance of Hebron.

==Landmarks==
==Landmarks==
Kahane Memorial Park is named for [[Rabbi Meir Kahane]], founder of [[Kach and Kahane Chai|Kach]], a [[far right]] political party, who was assassinated in the United States by an Arab gunman.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jewish Leader Kahane Slain in New York |author=Specter, Michael |date=1990-11-06 |publisher=Washington Post}}</ref> The grave of [[Baruch Goldstein]], who perpetrated the [[Cave of the Patriarchs massacre]], is across the street from the park. According to some news reports, it has become a place of pilgrimage for the far right.<ref>"Graveside party celebrates Hebron massacre." [[BBC News]], 21 March, 2000. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/685792.stm]</ref>
Kahane Park is named for [[Rabbi Meir Kahane]], founder of [[Kach and Kahane Chai|Kach]], a [[far right]] political party, who was assassinated in the United States by an Arab gunman.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jewish Leader Kahane Slain in New York |author=Specter, Michael |date=1990-11-06 |publisher=Washington Post}}</ref> The grave of [[Baruch Goldstein]], who perpetrated the [[Cave of the Patriarchs massacre]], is across the street from the park. According to a BBC news report in 2000, a group of 40 Jews held a [[Purim]] costume party at the site.<ref>"Graveside party celebrates Hebron massacre." [[BBC News]], 21 March, 2000. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/685792.stm]</ref>

==Arab-Israeli conflict==
Between 1981-1986, four residents of Kiryat Arba were shot and wounded in the Hebron marketplace. In 1994, a 17-year old girl from Kiryat Arba was shot to death in a drive-by shooting. <ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/hebron.html Terrorist attacks and violent incidents in Kiryat Arba]</ref> On August 31, 2010, four Jewish residents, including a pregnant woman, were shot to death in their car outside Kiryat Arba.<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/middle-east/2010/11/palestinian-police-security The Lawless West Bank: The Next Powder Keg?]</ref>


==Notable residents==
==Notable residents==

Revision as of 07:44, 6 January 2012

Template:Infobox Israel municipality Kiryat Arba or Qiryat Arba (Template:Hebrew), lit. "Town of the Four," is an urban Israeli settlement on the outskirts of Hebron, in the Judean Mountains region of the West Bank. In 2008, Kiryat Arba had a population of 7,200.[1]

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[2]

Etymology

Kiryat Arba is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Joshua chapter 14 verse 15 says (Darby_Bible): "Now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-Arba; the great man among the Anakim..."[3] There are various explanations for the name, not mutually exclusive. According to the great Biblical commentator Rashi, Kiryat Arba ("Town of Arba") means either the town (kirya) of Arba, the giant who had three sons, or the town of the four giants: Anak (the son of Arba) and his three sons - Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmi - who are described as being the sons of a "giant" in Numbers 13:22: "On the way through the Negev, they (Joshua and Caleb) came to Hebron where [they saw] Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmi, descendants of the Giant (ha-anak)..."[4] Some say that Anak ("Giant", see Anak) is a proper name (Targum Jonathan and the Septuagint),[5] and that he, Anak, may have been the father of the three others mentioned in the Book of Numbers as living in Hebron, previously known as "Kiryat Arba."

Alternatively, the name may refer to the four couples buried in the Machpela Cave: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebbecca, Jacob and Leah, and according to the Zohar, Adam and Eve.[6]

History

Antiquity

Hebron is one of the earliest towns mentioned in history, and is the first Jewish settlement. According to the Bible (Numbers 13:23) it was founded seven years before Zoan or Tanis, the most ancient town in Lower Egypt, which means that it existed from the first half of the third millennium B.C. Josephus (Bel. Jud., IV, ix, 7) says that in his time the town was already 2300 years old. It was originally called Kiriat Arba, or Kiriat- ha-Arba (D. V. Cariath-Arbe, Genesis 23:2, 35:27; Joshua 14:15, 15:13, 15:54, 20:7, 21:11; Judges 1:10; Nehemiah 11:25) from the name of Arba, “the greatest among the Enacims” (Joshua 14:15). [7]

Modern era

In 1968, a group of Jews led by Rabbi Moshe Levinger and Rabbi Eliezer Waldman founded Kiryat Arba on the eastern outskirts of Hebron. Jewish settlement around Hebron was claimed to be justified in light of the 1929 Hebron massacre and the continued presence of Jews in the area until then. Building began on an abandoned military base in 1970, and residents moved in 1971. The town is a self-sufficient community, with pre-nursery through post-secondary educational institutions, medical facilities, shopping centers, a bank and a post office. Kiryat Arba attained local council status in 1979. While Kiryat Arba is located within the territory of the Har Hebron Regional Council, it is an independent local council. [8][9]Between 1981-1986, four residents of Kiryat Arba were shot and wounded in the Hebron marketplace. In 1994, a 17-year old girl from Kiryat Arba was shot to death in a drive-by shooting. [10] On August 31, 2010, four Jewish residents, including a pregnant woman, were shot to death in their car outside Kiryat Arba.[11]

Status under international law

Like all Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories, Kiryat Arba is considered illegal under international law, though Israeli disputes this.[12] The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory.[13] Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian territories as they had not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel taking control of them. This view has been rejected by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross.[14]

Neighborhoods

Kahana Park, Kiryat Arba

Kiryat Arba has four neighborhoods: the Kirya, Ashmoret Yitzhak, Ramat Mamre (also known as Givat Harsina) and Givat Avot, near the entrance of Hebron.

Landmarks

Kahane Park is named for Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of Kach, a far right political party, who was assassinated in the United States by an Arab gunman.[15] The grave of Baruch Goldstein, who perpetrated the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, is across the street from the park. According to a BBC news report in 2000, a group of 40 Jews held a Purim costume party at the site.[16]

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ "Table 3 - Population of Localities Numbering Above 2,000 Residents and Other Rural Population" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2008-06-30. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  2. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  3. ^ http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0614.htm
  4. ^ http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=4&CHAPTER=13
  5. ^ http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=4&CHAPTER=13#C2984
  6. ^ Israel Handbook
  7. ^ New Advent Catholic Encylcopedia.
  8. ^ Hebron
  9. ^ Jpost
  10. ^ Terrorist attacks and violent incidents in Kiryat Arba
  11. ^ The Lawless West Bank: The Next Powder Keg?
  12. ^ Israel settlers obstruct building curbs inspectors BBC News. 1 December 2009
  13. ^ The settlers' struggle BBC News. 19 December 2003
  14. ^ Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004. pp. 44-45
  15. ^ Specter, Michael (1990-11-06). "Jewish Leader Kahane Slain in New York". Washington Post.
  16. ^ "Graveside party celebrates Hebron massacre." BBC News, 21 March, 2000. [1]
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