Harish, Israel
Harish
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| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • ISO 259 | Ḥariš |
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 Harish
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| Coordinates: 32°29′21″N 35°6′28″E / 32.48917°N 35.10778°ECoordinates: 32°29′21″N 35°6′28″E / 32.48917°N 35.10778°E | |
| District | Haifa |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9,736 dunams (9.736 km2 or 3.759 sq mi) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 969 |
| Name meaning | Ploughed furrow |
Harish (Hebrew: חָרִישׁ pron. ha-reesh) meaning "ploughed furrow", is a town (local council) in the Haifa District of Israel. Its jurisdiction is 9,736 dunams. It is currently being expanded into a city projected to eventually have a population of 100,000. In 2015 it had a population of 969.
Harish was founded as a Nahal settlement in 1982 and converted into a kibbutz in 1985. The kibbutz failed to take off, and was abandoned by it's residents in 1993, leaving only a Border Police detachment behind. Subsequently, it lost it's kibbutz status and became a regular town, and the government sold off the apartments to career army officers, but most of them never actually moved there. During the same period, it was merged with neighouring Katzir to form a new town, Katzir-Harish. However, the three settlements were split in 2012, with Harish remaining a town, and Katzir reverting to the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council.
Throughout the 1990s, young Israelis moved to Harish, attracted low cost of housing. Many of these new residents were young and secular, but in 2003, about 50 Garin Torani families moved to the town. In addition, a Bedouin clan from Ramla was moved to Harish in order to end a bloody feud with another clan.
In 2007, Israeli Housing Minister Ariel Atias decided to turn Harish into a city of 100,000. It was originally planned that it would be a Haredi city. The plans to turn it into a Haredi city caused secular residents led by Hemi Bar-Or to petition the Israeli Supreme Court against the plan, arguing that they would be unable to continue to live there if it became Haredi. The Supreme Court ruled that housing tenders would have to be offered to all residents of Israel. Shortly afterward, housing tenders were put on offer, and an organized effort to have secular Israelis buy them up bore fruit among young Israelis looking for affordable housing and bicycle enthusiasts attracted to the nearby forests as a cycling destination on weekends. In 2012, a secular buyers group organized to bid on lots zoned for 400 housing units there.
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