JAFFA.

MY ISRAEL:

JAFFA : A city steeped in intrigue.

Reputed to be the oldest port city in the world with a history that spans 4000 years. The city’s history is a treasure trove of intriguing tales. Mentioned in both Egyptian & Assyrian documents and of course the Hebrew Bible, Jaffa is included in the tribal allotment of Dan (Joshua 19:46). Again mentioned in 2 Chronicles 2:15 in connection with the building of the Temple by Solomon & in the book of Jonah 1:3 which tells the story of Jonah & a great fish. It was from Jaffa that Jonah set sail to Tarshish instead of Ninevah as commanded by the Almighty. The city also features in Greek mythology where Poseidon held Andromeda captive on the rocks close to the seashore until rescued by Perseus. According to the Christian narrative, Jaffa is the location of Peter’s resurrection of Tabitha & his vision of both kosher & non-kosher animals descending from heaven & interpreting it as sign that the laws of Kashrut were no longer applicable.

The Phoenicians, famed for their commercial & maritime prowess were in control of the port city when the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile in 538 B.C.E. During the Hellenistic period (332 B.C.E.-167 B.C.E.). Jaffa was an autonomous city.

The initial part of the Hasmonean period (167 B.C.E - 63 B.C.E.), saw conflict arise between Jews and gentiles which came to a head when 200 Jews were forced out to sea and drowned. In response Judah, the then leader of the Hasmoneans, destroyed the city & slaughtered its inhabitants. During the later reign of the Hasmonean leader Alexander Yannai (103 B.C.E – 76 B.C.E), the port city began to prosper once more.

Renamed Flavia Joppa during the Roman period (63 B.C.E. – 324 C.E), Jews continued to reside in the city after the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70 C.E. The beginnings of this period were witness to the conflict between Mark Anthony & Cleopatra on the one side, and Herod (37 B.C.E. – 4 B.C.E.) on the other. With the Roman conquest of the Holy land in 63 B.C.E, Herod took control of Jaffa. Mark Anthony had more power than Herod & was in control of the Levant. He gave Jaffa together with other coastal cities to his lover, namely Cleopatra. Anthony’s & Cleopatra’s demise was sealed after being defeated by Octavian’s forces at the naval Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.E. Control of Jaffa returned to Herod once Octavian became Caesar Augustus.

During the Byzantine period (324 C.E. – 640 C.E), Jaffa attracted serious Jewish scholars. Travelers of this period described Jaffa as a flourishing port city & an important commercial center, which also served as the seat of the Christian bishop.

Just prior to the start of the Early Arab Period (640 C.E. – 1099 C.E) Jaffa fell to the Muslims in 636 C.E. The port served as a storage center for merchant shipping as well as a port of entry for both Jewish & Christian pilgrims. Riots and anarchy periodically arose endangering both security and trade & in 1050 Ibn Batlan an Arab geographer wrote negatively about the city.

An important port during the Crusader period (1099-1291) but destroyed in 1268 by Baybars the Mamluk leader prior to the start of the Mamluk period (1291-1516). This action taken to prevent the Crusaders from returning by sea.

During the Ottoman period,(1516-1917), the city was rebuilt and again served as an entry point for Jewish and Christian pilgrims. In 1799 on his way to conquer the port city of Akko further north, Napoleon besieged Jaffa & sent a representative to the city in order to obtain a surrender. The representative was tortured & decapitated, as were later messengers. In retaliation, Napoleon battered down the walls and slaughtered the population. The slaughter resulted in the outbreak of a plague, which affected everyone including his soldiers. Napoleon continued to Akko but failed to conquer the city & had to retreat to Egypt. Whether on the way to or from Akko, Napoleon poisoned 50 of his infected soldiers, & I can only assume that this was done to prevent them from falling into the hands of his adversaries.

With the advent of steam ships in the 19th century, produce could be transported to distant locations within days. Exports of the famed Jaffa oranges increased substantially as did the manufacture of Jaffa soap, reputed to be the best quality soap in the Middle East. The building in which soap was manufactured still stands today. Other produce included olive oil, spices & cotton. Muhammed Aja Pasha, nicknamed Abu Nabut, the Ottoman governor of Jaffa from 1810 to 1820 foresaw the city’s potential. He embarked on extensive renovations & in addition to other projects, renovated the al-Mahmudiyya Mosque & upgraded both the market and the port. European interest in the Holy Land also revived, and flags of different consuls began to appear throughout the city.

Mohammed Ali Pasha (1805-48), an Albanian Ottoman governor & viceroy of Egypt, renounced his allegiance to the Ottomans & expelled the Turks from both Egypt & Jaffa for a brief period from 1830 to 1842. To consolidate his hold on Jaffa and the surrounding area he established cities to the south of Jaffa, namely Manshia, Salame & Abu Kabir & populated them with his subjects from the Sudan, Iraq, Malta & North Africa.

The Turks regained control of the city in 1842. Due to the improved economic situation, the population increased substantially absorbing Sephardic Jews from Morocco, Turkey, Greece & Bulgaria as well as Ashkenazi Jews from Central & Eastern Europe.

Between the years 1879 & 1890 the city expanded. New neighborhoods to the north of the city were established, namely Neve Tzedek in 1887 & Neve Shalom in 1890. This period saw a building boom and new houses, storage facilities, shops and khans appeared. Unable to contain the population explosion, the city of Tel Aviv to the north of Jaffa was born out of necessity in 1909.

Jaffa’s iconic clock tower, was built in 1900 to celebrate 25 years of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid 2 rule. Other clock towers built in celebration of Abdul Hamid’s rule reside in Akko, Haifa, Tzfat, & Nablus (Shechem). The British dismantled the Jerusalem clock tower built by the Ottomans and used the stones to create a monument celebrating their conquest of the Holy land.

During WW1 (1914 – 1917), conflict between British and Turkish forces compelled residents of the city to either accept or reject Turkish Nationality. Those residents, who rejected Turkish citizenship, were expelled from the city, the majority of whom were Jews. The British victory in WW1 resulted in the mass return of Jews to the city, which angered the Arab populace. Hostilities broke out in the form of the 1920, & the 1936 to 1939 anti-Jewish & anti-British riots, which resulted in the expulsion of Jews from Jaffa once again. During the 1948 War of Independence, the Irgun & Haganah forces captured the city, which in 1950 amalgamated with Tel Aviv.

In contrast to Jaffa’s tumultuous past is a rare but heartwarming story between Jewish and Arab residents. Jaffa is home to the Arab-owned Abulafia bakery. About 50 years ago, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Shtauber owned a shoe factory adjacent to the bakery. On seeing non-observant Jews frequent the bakery on Pesach, the festival of unleavened bread, he approached the then owner Sayeed Abulafia and asked how much profit the bakery makes over the Pesach holidays. “Pesach” Sayeed responded, “was the bakeries most profitable week of the year”. The Rabbi then offered to reimburse Sayeed the amount made over the Pesach holidays if he would close the bakery during this period. A contract was agreed & signed upon, and for the next 5 years, Sayeed was reimbursed for the loss of revenue. Prior to the 6th year of closure Sayeed approached the rabbi and cancelled the agreement, saying "Our family has had so much profit and blessing from Allah in the merit of our closing on Passover, that there is no longer any need to pay us. We will stay closed without the money." The bakery remains closed on Pesach to this very day.

Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect).

Website: rontraub-tours.com

Photo’s: Rimonah Traub.