Kiryat Arba

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. Founded in 1968, in 2019 it had a population of 7,326.

This article is mainly about the modern Israeli settlement, not the biblical town

Kiryat Arba

  • קִרְיַת־אַרְבַּע‎‎
  • قرية أربع‎
Local council
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • ISO 259Qiryat ʔarbaˁ
 • Also spelledQiryat Arba (official)
Kiryat Arba
Coordinates: 31°31′42″N 35°7′7″E
RegionWest Bank
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
Founded1968–1971
Government
 • Head of MunicipalityEliyahu Libman[1]
Area
 • Total4,386 dunams (4.386 km2 or 1.693 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)[2]
 • Total7,326
 • Density1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi)
Name meaningTown of the Four [Giants]
WebsiteOfficial website

The international community considers Israeli settlements illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[3]

Biblical town: etymology and location

In the Hebrew Bible

Kiryat Arba is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the former name of Hebron and as the place where Abraham's wife, Sarah, has died: "And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron)" (Genesis 23:2). The Book of Joshua says: "Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba; this Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim." (Joshua 14:15).[4] It is also a place listed as Nehemiah as where some of the people of Judah are living. There is no reference to Hebron in Nehemiah. [5]

Identification

Some researchers identify Tel Rumeida with the biblical town.

Meaning

There are various explanations for the name, not mutually exclusive. According to the 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 Talmai – 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)..."[6]

Some say that Anak ("giant", see Anak) is a proper name (Targum Jonathan and the Septuagint),[7] 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 Rebecca, Jacob and Leah, and according to the Zohar, Adam and Eve.[8]

History
Israeli settlement in Hebron

A secret government plan to establish the settlement began with the expropriation of Palestinian land ostensibly for a military base.[9] According to the minutes of a meeting between senior officials in the office of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in July 1970, houses would be constructed "for military purposes" before being turned over to Jewish civilians as a settlement.[9] This method of settlement foundation, which was very common at the time, was intended to give the appearance of compliance with International Law.[9] Israeli settlers claimed that Jewish settlement around Hebron was justified in light of the 1929 Hebron massacre and the continuous presence of Jews in the area until then.[10] 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.[11][12]

Israeli settlers living at Kiryat Arba have been subjected to multiple attacks by Palestinians. In 1980, three 20-year-old yeshiva students studying in Kiryat Arba were among the six Jews killed by terrorists after praying in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Friday night.[13] Between 1981 and 1986, four people from Kiryat Arba were shot and wounded in the Hebron marketplace. In 1994, a 17-year Sarit Prigral from Kiryat Arba was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting.[14][15] In March 2003, Eli and Dina Horowitz were shot to death in their home and five others wounded.[16][17] On November 26, 2009, a Palestinian stabbed and wounded two Israelis at a Kiryat Arba gas station. The Palestinian was then shot dead by an Israeli soldier.[18] On August 31, 2010, four residents, including a pregnant woman, were shot to death in their car by Hamas militants outside Kiryat Arba.[19] The Palestinian Authority arrested the perpetrators, but promptly released them after Hamas accused it of treason. On October 8, 2010, Israeli troops killed two of the perpetrators and arrested six during a raid in Hebron. In October 2011, a Palestinian stoning attack near Kiryat Arba caused the car of a resident to overturn, killing him and his infant son. The man's handgun and wallet were then stolen.[20] Following an investigation by Shin Bet, the IDF and police, two Palestinians from Halhul were arrested for throwing the stones that caused the car to overturn, and three others were arrested for stealing the gun.[21] On June 30, 2016, a Palestinian from the nearby village of Bani Naim entered a house in Kiryat Arba and stabbed to death 13-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel, an Israeli-American girl. The attacker was shot to death, after also wounding a security guard who responded to the Ariel stabbing.[22]

In October 2018, Eliyahu Libman was elected council head beating Malachi Levinger, the son of Moshe Levinger, who had served as head of council for 10 years.[1]

Landmarks

Education

The settlement has the following high schools and yeshivas:

  • The Kiryat Arba Ulpana for girls.[26]
  • The Kiryat Arba high school Yeshiva.[27]
  • The Nir Hesder Yeshiva.[28]

Notable residents

References
  1. NEW BINYAMIN REGIONAL COUNCIL HEAD CALLS FOR STRATEGIC ACTION ON SETTLEMENTS, JPost, 31 October 2018
  2. "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  3. "The Geneva Convention". BBC. December 10, 2009.
  4. "Joshua 14 / Hebrew – English Bible". Mechon-Mamre. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  5. "Bible Gateway passage: Nehemiah 11:25 - English Standard Version". Bible Gateway. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  6. "Navigating the Bible". Bible.ort. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  7. "Navigating the Bible: Giant". Bible.ort. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  8. Winter, Dave (1999). Israel Handbook. ISBN 9781900949484.
  9. Yotam Berger (July 28, 2016). "Secret 1970 Document Confirms First West Bank Settlements Built on a Lie". Haaretz.
  10. Michael Feige (2009). Settling in the Hearts: Jewish Fundamentalism in the Occupied Territories. Wayne State University Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0814327500.
  11. "Beit HaShalom – the House of Peace – a new Jewish building in Hebron". March 19, 2007. Archived from the original on April 30, 2007.
  12. Jpost Archived January 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Palestinian terrorist in killing of 6 Jews elected Hebron mayor". Times of Israel. May 14, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  14. "Terrorist attacks and violent incidents in Kiryat Arba". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  15. "Comprehensive Listing of Terrorism Victims in Israel". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  16. "Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism Since 2000". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  17. "Dina Horowitz". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  18. Fendel, Hillel (November 26, 2009). "Kiryat Arba: Two Wounded in Terror Stabbing". Arutz Sheva.
  19. Kieron Monks (November 2, 2010). "The Lawless West Bank: The Next Powder Keg?". Newstatesman.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  20. Altman, Yair (September 25, 2011). "Police conclude Kiryat Arba car crash a terror attack". YNet.
  21. Altman, Yair (October 6, 2011). "2 Palestinians arrested for Palmer murder".
  22. "Israeli girl stabbed to death by Palestinian inside bedroom". BBC News. BBC. June 30, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  23. Specter, Michael (November 6, 1990). "Jewish Leader Kahane Slain in New York". Washington Post.
  24. Hebron settlers shed no tears after slaughter: Militant Jews are turning mass killer Baruch Goldstein into a folk hero, writes Sarah Helm from Kiryat Arba, Sarah Helm, 28 February 1994, The Independent
  25. Man charged with attacking elderly woman at Jewish terrorist’s grave, 29 December 2016, Times of Israel
  26. אולפנת קרית ארבע חברון, ulpenot.co.il
  27. "ישיבה תיכונית "אור מנחם" קרית ארבע > אודות הישיבה". yatka.iscool.co.il. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  28. "ישיבת ניר קרית ארבע חברון- ישיבת הסדר גבוהה בקרית ארבע חברון תורת אבות לבנים". ישיבת ניר. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
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