Wadi Nisnas

Street in Wadi Nisnas
Map of Wadi Nisnas

Wadi Nisnas (Arabic: وادي النسناس; Hebrew: ואדי ניסנאס) is a formerly mixed Jewish and Arab neighborhood in the city of Haifa in northern Israel, which is becoming mixed again.[1][2][3] Nisnas is the Arabic word for mongoose, an indigenous animal. The Wadi has a population of about 8,000 inhabitants.[4]

Wadi Nisnas was developed at the end of the nineteenth century as a Christian-Arab neighborhood outside the walls of Haifa. After 1948, the neighborhood became the center of Haifa Arab community, providing the community with education, religious, and other civic and cultural services.[5][6] The current Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics census estimates that 66% of the Wadi Nisnas population are Christians, 31.5% are Muslims, and the rest are Jews.[7]

Wadi Nisnas is the setting for the 1987 novel, Hatsotsrah ba-Vadi (Hebrew: "Trumpet in the Wadi") by Sami Michael. It centers on the love story between a young Israeli Arab woman and a new Jewish immigrant from Russia.

Bibliography

  • Sami Michael, Trumpet in the Wadi. New York:Simon & Schuster, 2003, translated by Yael Lotan. ISBN 978-0-7432-4496-1

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gentrification in Haifa soars as Palestinian homes are converted into luxury real estate". 16 January 2019.
  2. ^ Being different in Haifa
  3. ^ "Treasure hunting in Haifa's Wadi Nisnas". 8 June 2017.
  4. ^ Beit-Hagefen - Arab Jewish Center Yael Adar - Gems in Israel.
  5. ^ Lefkowitz, Daniel (2004). Words and Stones: The Politics of Language and Identity in Israel. Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780198028437. There are two main Arab neighborhoods in Haifa—Wadi Nisnas, which is largely Christian, and Halisa, which is largely Muslim.
  6. ^ Tripodi, Lorenzo (2011). Everyday Life in the Segmented City. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 73. ISBN 9781780522586.
  7. ^ Tripodi, Lorenzo (2011). Everyday Life in the Segmented City. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 74. ISBN 9781780522586.

32°48′59″N 34°59′47″E / 32.81639°N 34.99639°E / 32.81639; 34.99639

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