Arraba, Galilee

Arraba עַרָבָּה, עראבה‎‎ عرّابة‎
Hebrew transcription(s)
• ISO 259	ʕarrabba
• Also spelled	Arrabe (official) 'Arraba-Batuf (unofficial)
Entrance to Arraba
Arraba
Coordinates: 32°51′2″N 35°20′20″E / 32.85056°N 35.33889°E / 32.85056; 35.33889Coordinates: 32°51′2″N 35°20′20″E / 32.85056°N 35.33889°E / 32.85056; 35.33889
Grid position	181/250 PAL
District	Northern
Government
• Type	Local council (from 1965)
• Head of Municipality	Umar Nassar
Area
• Total	8,063 dunams (8.063 km2 or 3.113 sq mi)
Population (2015)
• Total	24,072
Name meaning	The steppe or plateau of the Buttauf

Arraba (Arabic: عرّابة‎‎; Hebrew: עַרָבָּה‎), also known as 'Arrabat al-Battuf, is the fourth largest local council and largest Arab local council in Israel. It is located in the Lower Galilee in the Northern District, within the Beit Netofa Valley (Sahl al-Battuf) to the north of Nazareth and adjacent to Sakhnin and Deir Hanna. Arraba attained local council status in 1965. In 2015 its population was 24,072.

The symbol of the local council is an onion, a watermelon and a cantaloupe which symbolize the crops for which Arraba is famous. Throughout history Arraba was mostly an agricultural village depending mainly on the al-Batuf Plain (Hebrew name: Beit Netofa Valley) to grow crops. However, currently the dependence on agriculture is declining rapidly due to the rise in population, urbanization and a subsequently more modern lifestyle.

Arraba is associated with the Jewish village called Arab, known in Greek as Garaba, mentioned in the Mishnah and the Jerusalem Talmud in the sixteenth chapter of Tractate Shabbat. In the works of Josephus, it is often mentioned by its Greek corruption, Gabara. The famous Jewish Rabbi and scholar, Yohanan ben Zakkai, is said to have lived there eighteen years. During the Jewish war with Rome, Vespasian sacked the city, killing those of its Jewish citizens who had not already fled.