Alma, Safad
| Alma | |
|---|---|
 Alma
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| Arabic | علما |
| Name meaning | from personal name |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Coordinates | 33°3′20.23″N 35°29′27.53″E / 33.0556194°N 35.4909806°ECoordinates: 33°3′20.23″N 35°29′27.53″E / 33.0556194°N 35.4909806°E |
| Palestine grid | 196/273 |
| Population | 950 (1945) |
| Area | 19,498 dunams |
| Date of depopulation | October 30, 1948 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Alma |
Alma (Arabic: علما) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on October 30, 1948 during Operation Hiram. It was located 10 km north of Safad.
In 1945 it had a population of 950. 'Alma had several nearby khirbas and architectural fragments with inscriptions from an ancient synagogue.
Alma was situated in the heart of upper Galilee in the middle of a fertile plain, about 4 km south of the Lebanese border. Ceramics from the Byzantine era have been found here.
The Crusaders called the village "Alme." Several ancient ruins remain and three inscribed architectural fragments in Hebrew and Aramaic from an ancient synagogue were found on the surface of the village site between 1914 and 1957.
While travelling though the region in the 12th century CE, Benjamin of Tudela noted that Alma contained fifty Jewish inhabitants and, "a large cemetery of the Israelites."
Remains of a ruined watch-tower was found on the crest of the ridge, and a quarter of a mile south of those there were three perfect dolmens, not very large.
At the beginning of the period of Ottoman rule over Palestine, an Italian traveller to Alma in 1523 noted that there were 15 Jewish families there and one synagogue. In the Ottoman tax registers of 1596, the village is listed as forming part of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Jira in the liwa' ("district") of Safad. It had a relatively large population of 1,440, consisting of 288 Muslim households and 140 Muslim bachelors, together with seven Jewish households and one Jewish bachelor. The village paid taxes on goats, beehives, a water-powered mill, and a press that was used for processing olives or grapes. Total tax revenue amounted to a substantial 51,100 akce. Alma's prosperity was attributed to its close proximity to Safad.
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Wikipedia