Nahf

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Arab town in northern Israel

title: "Nahf" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["arab-localities-in-israel", "local-councils-in-northern-district-(israel)"] description: "Arab town in northern Israel" topic_path: "geography/israel" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahf" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Arab town in northern Israel ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameNahf
native_name{{Hlist
rtl
{{Langar
settlement_typeLocal council
translit_lang1Hebrew
translit_lang1_type1ISO 259
translit_lang1_info1Náḥep
translit_lang1_type3Also spelled
translit_lang1_info3
image_skylineFile:נחף2.JPG
pushpin_mapIsrael northwest
pushpin_mapsize250
pushpin_label_positiontop
grid_position179/260 PAL
coordinates
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_name
subdivision_type2District
subdivision_name2Northern
unit_prefdunam
area_total_dunam
population_footnotes
population_total
population_as_of
population_density_km2auto
demographics_type1Ethnicity
demographics1_footnotes
demographics1_title1Arabs
demographics1_info199.8%
demographics1_title2Jews and others
demographics1_info20.2%
::

| name = Nahf | native_name = {{Hlist | {{Script/Hebrew|נַחְף}} | نحف | settlement_type = Local council | translit_lang1 = Hebrew | translit_lang1_type1 = ISO 259 | translit_lang1_info1 = Náḥep | translit_lang1_type3 = Also spelled | translit_lang1_info3 = | image_skyline = File:נחף2.JPG | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map = Israel northwest | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_label_position = top | grid_position = 179/260 PAL | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = | subdivision_type1 = | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Northern | unit_pref = dunam | area_total_dunam = | population_footnotes = | population_total = | population_as_of = | population_density_km2 = auto | demographics_type1 = Ethnicity | demographics1_footnotes = | demographics1_title1 = Arabs | demographics1_info1 = 99.8% | demographics1_title2 = Jews and others | demographics1_info2 = 0.2%

Nahf (, Naḥf or Nahef; ) is an Arab town in the Northern District of Israel. It is located in between the lower and upper Galilee, about 23 km east of Acre. In it had a population of . Archaeologists believe that the area was an important center for viticulture in the Hellenistic period and possibly the Early Bronze Age IB period (ca. 3100 BC).

History

Remains have been found from Early Bronze IB, EB II, Middle Bronze Age II and Iron Age II, as well as coins from the Ptolemaic dynasty and Antiochus III. Tombs from the 2nd to the 4th centuries have been found. Nahf contains Persian, Hellenistic and Roman remains.

From archaeological finds, it is assumed that blown glass vessels were produced in the village during the Byzantine era. A bath, containing a hypocaust from the same period has also been excavated. Dating from the late Byzantine era, it was in continuous use in the early Umayyad era.

In the Crusader era it was known as "Nef." In 1249 John Aleman transferred land, including the casalia of Beit Jann, Sajur, Majd al-Krum and Nahf to the Teutonic Knights.

Remains, including potsherds of bowls, plates and jars, all from Mamluk era, (fourteenth–fifteenth centuries CE), have been found in archaeological excavations.

Ottoman era

In 1517, the village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine, and in 1596, Nahaf appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in nahiya (subdistrict) of Akka, part of Sanjak Safad. It had a population of 108 households and 9 bachelors, all Muslims. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees, goats and/or beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 6,629 akçe.

A map from 1799 by Pierre Jacotin showed the place, named as "Nafeh". When Victor Guérin visited Nahf in 1875, he described the village as containing 400 Muslims and some Greek Orthodox families, while in 1881 Nahf was described as a village of 200 Muslims living in houses built of stone surrounded by olive groves and arable land.

A population list from 1887 showed that Nahf had about 475 inhabitants; all Muslims.

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Nahf had a population of 818, 2 Jews, 6 Christians and 810 Muslims. where all the Christians were Orthodox. At the time of the 1931 census the population had increased to 994, all Muslims, in 194 houses.

In the 1945 statistics the population of Nahf was 1,320, all Muslims, who owned 15,745 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey. 1,088 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 4,571 used for cereals, while 44 dunams were built-up (urban) land.

State of Israel

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Lower_Galil_Looking_Towards_the_Upper_Galil.JPG" caption="View of Nahf"] ::

Nahf was captured by Israel on 18 July 1948 during Operation Dekel led by the Sheva (Seventh) Brigade. Its defenders included the town's local militia as well as Arab Liberation Army volunteers. The town was left intact and most residents did not flee their homes. According to Benny Morris, Israeli troops may have used undue force to compel residents to hand over weapons, which sparked an irate response from the military commander who said those who committed such acts would be prosecuted and punished. The population remained under Martial Law until 1966.

In and around Nahf, there are a number of archaeological remains dating from the Middle Ages, including mosaics and a cemetery. In a nearby location lies the shrines of Muslim leaders Sheik Muhammad Rabiah and Sheik Mahmud who fought against the Crusaders. The Auba cave, which dates from the time of the Assyrians, is also located here.

Demographics

In 2022, 99.9% of the population was Muslim and 0.1% was Christian.{{Cite web |title=נחף |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2024/local_authorities22_1957/%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%A3.pdf |access-date=17 July 2025 |website=Central Bureau of Statistics}}

Notable structures

The largest medieval structure in the village is a roughly 10 meter long wall, made of large drafted blocks with a rubble core, which may be of Crusader origin.

The Maqam (shrine) of Shaykh Rabi is located on a steep hill above the village, surrounded by a cemetery. It is a domed rectangular building, with an entrance from the east. A deep mihrab ("Islamic prayer niche") is located inside, in the middle of the south side. By the north wall is the elongated cenotaph of Shaykh Rabi.

References

Bibliography

  • {{cite book |last = Dauphin |first = C. |author-link = Claudine Dauphin |title = La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FC1mAAAAMAAJ |volume = III : Catalogue |series = BAR International Series 726 |year = 1998 |publisher = Archeopress |location = Oxford |language = fr |isbn = 0-860549-05-4
  • {{cite journal | first1=Rafael | last1=Frankel | title=Topographical notes on the territory of Acre in the Crusader period | journal= Israel Exploration Journal | volume=38 | number= 4 | year=1988 | pages= 249–272}}
  • {{cite book |title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine |url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html |first=S. |last=Hadawi |author-link=Sami Hadawi |year=1970 |publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center
  • Cited in Petersen, 2001

References

  1. Palmer, 1881, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/64/mode/1up 64], [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/92/mode/1up 92]
  2. (2014). "Characterizing a Middle Bronze Palatial Wine Cellar from Tel Kabri, Israel". PLOS ONE.
  3. Smithline, 2005, [http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=137&mag_id=110 Nahf]
  4. Cinamon, 2012, [http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=2083&mag_id=119 Nahf]
  5. Tepper, 2007, [http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?search=&id=573&mag_id=112 Nahf (East)]
  6. Dauphin, 1998, p. 640
  7. Abu Raya, 2013, [http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=2265&mag_id=120 Nahf]
  8. Pringle, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC&pg=PA114 114]
  9. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/255/mode/1up 255]. Cited in Petersen, 2001, p. [https://www.academia.edu/21620056/Gazetteer_5_K-R 239]
  10. Strehlke, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/tabulaeordinist00stregoog#page/n94/mode/1up 78]-79, No. 100; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RHH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n314/mode/1up 308], No. 1175; cited in Frankel, 1988, pp. 254, 265
  11. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/208/mode/1up 208]
  12. Lerer, 2009, [http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=1118&mag_id=115 Nahf]
  13. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 192
  14. Karmon, 1960, p. [http://www.jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,Y_1960_Jacotin_Map(IEJ_10).pdf 166] {{Webarchive. link. (2019-12-22 , Cited in Petersen, 2001, p. [https://www.academia.edu/21620056/Gazetteer_5_K-R 239])
  15. Guérin, 1880, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr01unkngoog#page/n464/mode/1up 451] - [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr01unkngoog#page/n465/mode/1up 452] Cited partially in Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/255/mode/1up 255]. Translation in Petersen, 2001, p. [https://www.academia.edu/21620056/Gazetteer_5_K-R 239]
  16. Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/203/mode/1up 203]
  17. Schumacher, 1888, p. [https://archive.org/stream/quarterlystateme19pale#page/n199/mode/1up 174]
  18. Barron, 1923, Table XI, [[Acre Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine. Sub-district of Acre]], p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n38/mode/1up 36]
  19. Barron, 1923, Table XVI, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n52/mode/1up 50]
  20. Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 102]
  21. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p04.jpg 4]
  22. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Acre/Page-041.jpg 41]
  23. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Acre/Page-081.jpg 81]
  24. Rogan and Shlaim, 2001, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=oi8cmbTa6qMC&pg=PA54 54]-[https://books.google.com/books?id=oi8cmbTa6qMC&pg=PA55 55]
  25. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Nahf/index.html Welcome To Nahf]
  26. Petersen, 2001, p. [https://www.academia.edu/21620056/Gazetteer_5_K-R 239]

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arab-localities-in-israellocal-councils-in-northern-district-(israel)