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'''Galilee''' ({{lang-he|הגליל}}, ] ''HaGalil''; {{lang-ar|الجليل}}, ] ''al-Jalīl'') is a region in northern ]. Traditionally refers to the mountainous part and divided into ] ({{lang-he|גליל עליון}} ''Galil Elyon'') and ] ({{lang-he|גליל תחתון}} ''Galil Tahton''). In the modern common usage Galilee refers to all of the Israeli area that is beyond ] to the northeast, extending from ] to the north, at the base of ], along ] to the ridges of ] and ] north of ] to the south, and from the ] to the east across the plains of the ] and ] to the shores of the ] and the ] in the west, including ]'s valley, ], and ], although practically it usually does not include ]'s immediate northern suburbs. By this definition it overlaps with much of the administrative ] of the country (which also includes the ] and part of ] but not ]). Western Galilee ({{lang-he|גליל מערבי}} ''Galil Ma'aravi'') is a common term referring to the western part of the Upper Galilee and its shore, and usually also the northwestern part of the Lower Galilee, mostly overlapping with Acre sub district. ] is a common term referring to the Israeli "panhandle" in the east that extends to the north, where Lebanon is to the west, and includes ] and ] mountains of the Upper Galilee. Historically, the part of ] south of the east-west section of the ] also belonged to the region of Galilee, but the present article mainly deals with the Israeli part of the region.

==Geography==
Most of Galilee consists of rocky terrain, at heights of between 500 and 700 m. Several high mountains are in the region, including ] and ], which have relatively low temperatures and high rainfall. As a result of this climate, ] and ] thrive in the region, while many birds annually migrate from colder climates to Africa and back through the Hula–Jordan corridor. The streams and waterfalls, the latter mainly in Upper Galilee, along with vast fields of greenery and colourful wildflowers, as well as numerous towns of ] importance, make the region a popular ].

Due to its high rainfall (900–1200 mm), mild temperatures and high mountains (Mount Meron's elevation is 1,000–1,208 m), the upper Galilee region contains some distinctive flora and fauna: prickly juniper ('']''), Lebanese cedar ('']''), which grows in a small grove on Mount Meron, ]s, ], and '']'' which sometimes appears on Meron.

==History==

===Ancient and classic antiquity===
]
], in the Sea of Galilee]]
According to the ], Galilee was named by the Israelites and was the tribal region of Naphthali and Dan, at times overlapping the ]'s land.<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary">{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/tribemap.html|title=Map of the Twelve Tribes of Israel &#124; Jewish Virtual Library|publisher=jewishvirtuallibrary.org|accessdate=2015-05-18}}</ref> However, Dan was dispersed among the whole people rather than isolated to the lands of Dan, as the Tribe of Dan was the hereditary local law enforcement and judiciary for the whole nation.<ref>Gen. 49:16 earliest reference among others</ref>{{primary source-inline|date=August 2013}} Normally,{{when|date=August 2014}} Galilee is just referred to as Nafthali.

Chapter 9 of I Kings states that ] rewarded his Phoenician ally, King ] of Sidon, with twenty cities in the land of Galilee, which would then have been either settled by foreigners during and after the reign of Hiram I, or by those who had been forcibly deported there by later conquerors such as the ]ns. Hiram, to reciprocate previous gifts given to David, accepted the upland plain among the mountains of ] and renamed it "the land of ]" for a time.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}

The region's Israelite name is from the ] root ''galil'', an ultimately unique word for "district", and usually "circle". The Hebrew form used in Isaiah 8:23 (or 9:1 in different Biblical versions) is in the construct state, "''g'lil hagoyim''", meaning "Galilee of the Nations", i.e. the part of Galilee inhabited by Gentiles at the time that the book was written.

The region in turn gave rise to the English name for the "Sea of Galilee" referred to as such in many languages including ancient Arabic. In the Hebrew language, the lake is referred to as ] (Numbers 34:11, etc.), from Hebrew ''kinnor'', "]", describing its ], ] (Luke 5:1, etc.), from ] (Hebrew) ''ge'', "]", and either ''netser'', "]", or ''natsor'', "to guard", "to watch" (the name which may have been a reference to ] town, alternatively renamed the ] (John 6:1, etc.), from the town of ] at its southwestern end, named after the ] ] following the first-century CE Roman Emperor's Greek derived name. These are the three names used in originally internal Jewish-authored literature rather than the "Sea of Galilee".<ref name= "Placenames of the World">Room, Adrian, 2nd Ed.(2006)) "" p.138.</ref> However, Jews did use "the Galilee" to refer to the whole region (Aramaic הגלילי), including its lake.

In Roman times, the ] into ], ], the ] and Galilee, which comprised the whole northern section of the country, and was the largest of the three regions under the ]. After ] became a Roman province in 6 CE (formed by a merger of Judea, Samaria, and ]), Galilee briefly became a part of it, then separated from it for two to three centuries.

The Galilee region was presumably the home of ] during at least 30 years of his life. Much of the first three Gospels of the ] give an account of Jesus' public ministry in this province, particularly in the towns of Nazareth and ]. Galilee is also cited as the place where Jesus performed many public miracles, including curing a blind man. After the death of Jesus, some accounts suggest his disciples returned to Galilee and their experience of his ] took place there.<ref>Mark 14:28 and 16:7</ref>

Many of the important ], the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah and Talmud, claim to have also spent their lives there, including ], ], and Ishmael the Galilean, among many others. Traditional rabbinic sources assert that the followers of the rabbis from the Galilee were widely reputed to believe their teachers (rabbis) were miracle workers, as opposed to those from Judea proper, Persia, and Babylon, who rarely are credited with miracles.{{Citation needed|date=February 2014}} Many are cited for their large number of students and followers throughout the Jewish people<ref>Mishnah Ta'anit 3:8 is one example in it Honi prays for rain, dancing and drawing circles and geometric patterns, on behalf of the Jewish agricultural community, and receiving rain for the original Mishnah's Hebrew of one version of that story. Honi does other miracles for the people of the Galilee elsewhere in Jewish lore.</ref> among the common people. The Galilee among the Jewish population was known as a wellspring of miracle workers and mystical philosophers of all types, especially just prior to the major split between Jesus' followers and those who opposed Jesus.{{Citation needed|date=February 2014}} According to the Talmud, one of the most important founders of the modern Jewish faith, ], was born there. ], one of the most famed of all the Tannaim, hid from the Romans in the Galilee, and dug tunnels there to hide.{{Citation needed|date=February 2014}} Many miracles are ascribed to him during his Galilean period after escaping Judea proper. In medieval Hebrew legend, he may have written the ] while there.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Jewish History and You|author=Scharfstein, S.|date=2004|publisher=Ktav Pub Incorporated|isbn=9780881258066|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uFuBCOzObf0C|page=24|accessdate=2015-05-18}}</ref>

The archaeological discoveries of synagogues from the Hellenistic and Roman period in the Galilee show strong Phoenician influences, and a high level of tolerance for other cultures,<ref name="sciencedaily">{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071121100831.htm|title=releases/2007/11/071121100831|publisher=sciencedaily.com|accessdate=2015-05-18}}</ref>
relative to other Jewish sacred sites from the period, the latter being "cleansed of impurities". The Galilee retained a Jewish majority until the seventh century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://torahofmessiah.org/project/galilee/|title=|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

===Middle Ages===
After the ] caliphate took control of the region in 638, it became part of ] (District of Jordan). Its major towns were Tiberias (which was capital of the district—]), ], ], ], and ].<ref name="Le Strange">Le Strange, Guy. (1890) '''' pp.30-32.</ref>

The ] ]s conquered the region in the 10th century; a breakaway sect, venerating the Fatimid caliph ], formed the ] religion, centered in Mount Lebanon and partially Galilee. During the ]s, Galilee was organized into the ], one of the most important Crusader seigneuries.

===Ottoman era===
The Jewish population of Galilee increased significantly following ] and welcome from the ]. The community for a time made ] an international center of cloth weaving and manufacturing, as well as a key site for Jewish learning.<ref name="jafi">{{cite web|url=http://www.jafi.org.il/education/noar/sites/tsfat.htm |title=The Jewish Agency for Israel |publisher=jafi.org.il|accessdate=2015-05-18}}</ref> Today it remains one of Judaism's ] and a center for ].

In the mid-18th century, Galilee was caught up in a struggle between the ] leader ] and the ] authorities who were centred in ]. Zahir ruled Galilee for 25 years until Ottoman loyalist ] conquered the region in 1775.

In 1831, the Galilee, a part of ], switched hands from Ottomans to ] until 1840. During this period, aggressive social and politic policies were introduced, which led to a violent ]. In the process of this revolt the Jewish community of ] was greatly reduced, in the event of ] by the rebels. The Arab rebels were subsequently defeated by the Egyptian troops, though in 1838, the Druze of Galilee led another ]. In 1834 and 1837, major earthquakes leveled most of the towns, resulting in great loss of life. In 1866, Galilee's first hospital, ], was founded under the leadership of American-Armenian missionary Dr. ], assisted by German missionary ].

], encompassing the Galilee]]

In the early 20th century, Galilee remained part of Ottoman Syria. It was administered as the southernmost territory of the ] (established in 1888).

===British administration and Israeli rule===
Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in ], and the ], it came under British rule, as part of the ]. Shortly after, in 1920, the region was included in the British Mandate territory, officially a part of Mandatory Palestine from 1923.

After the ], nearly the whole of Galilee came under Israel's control. A large portion of the population fled or was forced to leave, leaving dozens of entire villages empty; however, a large ] community remained based in and near the cities of Nazareth, ], ], ], and ], due to some extent to a successful rapprochement with the Druze. The ]im around the ] were sometimes shelled by the ]'s artillery until Israel seized the ] in the 1967 ].

During the 1970s and the early 1980s, the ] (PLO) ] on towns and villages of the Upper and Western Galilee from ]. Israel initiated ] (1979) and ] (1982) with the stated objectives of destroying the PLO infrastructure in Lebanon and protecting the citizens of the Galilee. Israel occupied much of southern Lebanon until 1985, when it withdrew to a ].

Until 2000, ], and earlier ], continued to fight the ], sometimes shelling Upper Galilee communities with ] rockets. In May 2000, ] ] unilaterally withdrew IDF troops from southern Lebanon, maintaining a security force on the ] recognized by the ]. However, clashes between Hezbollah and Israel continued along the border, and UN observers condemned both for their attacks.

The ] was characterized by round-the-clock Katyusha rocket attacks (with a greatly extended range) by Hezbollah on the whole of Galilee, with long-range, ground-launched missiles hitting as far south as the ], ], and ] below the Sea of Galilee.

==Demography==
] ]]]
], a joint Arab-Jewish ] in the Galilee]]
{{details|Demographics of Israel}}
The largest cities in the region are Acre, Nahariya, Nazareth, Safed, ], ], ], ], and Tiberias.<ref>{{cite web|title=Places To Visit In Israel|url=http://www.govisitisrael.com/haifa/150/|publisher=govisitisrae|accessdate=2013-07-25}}</ref> The port city of ] serves as a commercial center for the whole region.

Because of its hilly terrain, most of the people in the Galilee live in small villages connected by relatively few roads.<ref>{{cite web|title=Galilee in Jesus' Time Was a Center of Change|url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/biblearchaeology/a/041511-CW-Galilee-In-Jesus-Time-Was-A-Center-Of-Change.htm|publisher=Ancient History|accessdate=2013-07-25}}</ref> A railroad runs south from ] along the ], and a fork to the east is due to operate in 2015. The main sources of livelihood throughout the area are agriculture and tourism. ]s are being developed, bringing further employment opportunities to the local population which includes many recent immigrants. The Israeli government is contributing funding to the private initiative, the Galilee Finance Facility, organised by the ] and ].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195127516602&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull| title=Gov't expected to join financing of huge northern development project| author=Matthew Krieger| publisher=]| date=November 19, 2007| accessdate=2007-11-20}}</ref>

The Galilee is home to a large ] population,<ref>{{cite report | author = Israel Central Bureau of Statistics | authorlink = Israel Central Bureau of Statistics | url = http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton64/st02_17.pdf | title = STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF ISRAEL | date = 2013 | chapter = LOCALITIES(1) AND POPULATION, BY POPULATION GROUP, DISTRICT, SUB-DISTRICT AND NATURAL REGION | accessdate = 2014-06-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=In Galilee, Israeli Arabs finding greener grass in Jewish areas|url=http://www.jta.org/2008/11/03/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/in-galilee-israeli-arabs-finding-greener-grass-in-jewish-areas|accessdate=2013-07-25|newspaper=] |date=Nov 3, 2008}}</ref> comprising a Muslim majority and two smaller populations, of ] and ], of comparable sizes. Both Israeli Druze and Christians have their majorities in the Galilee.<ref>{{cite report | author = Israel Central Bureau of Statistics | authorlink = Israel Central Bureau of Statistics | url = http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton64/st02_13.pdf | title = STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF ISRAEL | date = 2013 | chapter = SOURCES OF POPULATION GROWTH, BY DISTRICT, POPULATION GROUP AND RELIGION | accessdate = 2014-06-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite report | author = Israel Central Bureau of Statistics | authorlink = Israel Central Bureau of Statistics | url = http://www.cbs.gov.il/statistical/arabju.pdf | title = The Arab Population in Israel | date = 2002 | at = sec. 23 | series = Statistilite | volume = 27 |accessdate = 2014-06-15}}</ref> Other notable minorities are the Bedouin, the ]s and the ].

The north-central portion of the Galilee is also known as Central Galilee, stretching from the border with ] to the northern edge of the Jezreel Valley, including the cities of Nazareth and Sakhnin, has an Arab majority of 75% with most of the Jewish population living in hilltop cities like ]. The northern half of the central Lower Galilee, surrounding ] and ] is known as the "Heart of the Galilee". The eastern Galilee is nearly 100% Jewish. This part includes the ], the Jordan River Valley, and the shores the Sea of Galilee, and contains two of Judaism's ]. The southern part of the Galilee, including Jezreel Valley, and the ] region are also nearly 100% Jewish, with a few small Arab villages near the ] border. About 80% of the population of the Western Galilee is Jewish, all the way up to the Lebanese border. Jews also form a small majority in the mountainous ] with a significant minority Arab population (mainly Druze and Christians).

The ] has attempted to ] in this area,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/20778/edition_id/426/format/html/displaystory.html | title=30 settlements planned for Negev and Galilee | accessdate=2008-01-19 | date=2003-08-08}}</ref> but the non-Jewish population also has a high growth rate, {{As of|2006}}, there were 1.2&nbsp;million residents in Galilee, of which 46.9% were Jewish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3481768,00.html|accessdate=2008-02-01|date=December 12, 2007|title=Jewish population in Galilee declining|author=Ofer Petersburg|publisher=]}}</ref>

Currently, the Galilee is attracting significant internal migration of ], who are increasingly moving to the Galilee and Negev as an answer to rising housing prices in central Israel.<ref name="ynetnews">{{cite web|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4031115,00.html|title=Haredim 'taking over' periphery - Israel Business, Ynetnews|publisher=ynetnews.com|accessdate=2015-05-18}}</ref>

==Tourism==
Galilee is a popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists who enjoy its scenic, recreational, and gastronomic offerings. The Galilee attracts many ], as many of the ] occurred, according to the ], on the shores of the Sea of Galilee—including ], ], and ] in ]. In addition, numerous sites of ] importance are located in the Galilee, such as ], Jezreel Valley, Mount Tabor, ], ], and more.

A popular hiking trail known as the ''yam leyam'', or sea-to-sea, starts hikers at the Mediterranean. They then hike through the Galilee mountains, Tabor, Neria, and Meron, until their final destination, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

In April 2011, Israel unveiled the "]", a 40-mile (60-km) ] in the Galilee for Christian pilgrims. The trail includes a network of footpaths, roads, and bicycle paths linking sites central to the lives of Jesus and his disciples, including ], the traditional site of Jesus' miracle of the loaves and fishes, and the ], where he delivered his Sermon on the Mount. It ends at ] on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus espoused his teachings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ca.news.yahoo.com/israel-unveils-hiking-trail-galilee-christian-pilgrims-20110415-093756-814.html|accessdate=2011-05-16|date=April 15, 2011|title=Israel unveils hiking trail in Galilee for Christian pilgrims|author=Daniel Estrin, Canadian Press|publisher=]}}</ref>
] on ]]]

Many kibbutzim and ] families operate '']'' (German: "rooms", the local term for a ]s). Numerous festivals are held throughout the year, especially in the autumn and spring holiday seasons. These include the Acre (Acco) Festival of Alternative Theater,<ref name="accofestival">{{cite web|url=http://www.accofestival.co.il/home_eng.html |title=Acco Festival |publisher=accofestival.co.il|accessdate=2015-05-18}}</ref> the olive harvest festival, and music festivals featuring Anglo-American folk, ], Renaissance, and ].

==Cuisine==
The cuisine of the Galilee is very diverse. The meals are lighter than in the central and southern regions. Dairy products are heavily consumed (especially the Safed cheese that originated in the mountains of the ]). Herbs like thyme, mint, parsley, basil, and rosemary are very common with everything including dips, meat, fish, stews and cheese.
In the eastern part of the Galilee, freshwater fish as much as meat (especially the tilapia that lives in the Sea of Galilee, Jordan river, and other streams in the region), fish filled with thyme and grilled with rosemary to flavor, or stuffed with oregano leaves, then topped with parsley and served with lemon to squash. This technique exists in other parts of the country including the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. A specialty of the region is a baked Tilapia flavored with celery, mint and a lot of lemon juice. Baked fish with tahini is also common in Tiberias while the coastal Galileans prefer to replace the tahini with yogurt and add sumac on top.

The Galilee is famous for its olives, pomegranates, wine and especially its ] w'] which is served with pita bread, meat stews with wine, pomegranates and herbs such as akub, parsley, ], mint, fennel, etc. are common. Galilean ] is usually flavored with cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, concentrated ], onion, parsley and pine nuts and served as meze with tahini dip.
Kebabs are also made almost in the same way with sumac replacing cardamom and with carob sometimes replacing the pomegranate juice.
Because of its climate, beef has become more popular than lamb, although both are still eaten there.
Dates are popular in the tropical climate of the Eastern Galilee - like rest of the eastern parts of the country.

==Subregions==
The Galilee is often divided into these subregions:
* ''']''' covers the area north of the Valleys (], ] and ]) and south of the ]. Its borders to the east on the ]. It contains the Arab village of ].
* ''']''' extends from the ] northwards into southern Lebanon. Its eastern border is the ] and the Sea of Galilee separating it from the Golan Heights. To the west it reaches to the Coastal Plain which separates it from the Mediterranean.
* The ''']'''
* ''']'''
* Valley of ''']'''
* ''']''' and its valley
* The ''']'''
* ''']'''
* Western Galilee in its minimal definition refers to the coastal plain just west of the Upper Galilee, also known as Plain of Asher, or Plain of the Galilee, which stretches from north of Acre to ] on the ], and in the common broad definition adds the western part of Upper Galilee, and usually the northwestern part of Lower Galilee as well, corresponding more or less to Acre sub district or the ].
* The "]" ({{lang-he|אצבע הגליל}}, ''Etzba HaGalil'', lit. "Finger of Galilee") is a ] along the ]; it contains the towns of ] and ], and the ] and ] rivers.

==Gallery==
] in the ]]]
], the eastern extension of the Jezreel Valley]]
<gallery perrow=4 widths=350px heights=300px>
File:Safed view 02.JPG|Safed
</gallery>

==See also==
{{wikivoyage|Galilee}}
{{Commons category}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==References==
{{reflist}}
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{{eastons}}

==Further reading==
* Aviam, M., "Galilee: The Hellenistic to Byzantine Periods," in ''The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land'', vol. 2 (4 vols) (Jerusalem: IES / Carta), 1993, 452–458.
* Meyers, Eric M. (ed), ''Galilee through the Centuries: Confluence of Cultures'' (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999) (Duke Judaic Studies 1).
* Chancey, A. M., ''Myth of a Gentile Galilee: The Population of Galilee and New Testament Studies'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002) (Society of New Testament Monograph Series 118).
* Aviam, M., "First-century Jewish Galilee: An archaeological perspective," in Edwards, D.R. (ed.), ''Religion and Society in Roman Palestine: Old Questions, New Approaches'' (New York / London: Routledge, 2004), 7–27.
* Aviam, M., ''Jews, Pagans and Christians in the Galilee'' (Rochester NY: University of Rochester Press, 2004) (Land of Galilee 1).
* Chancey, Mark A., ''Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, 134).
* Freyne, Sean, "Galilee and Judea in the First Century," in Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (eds), ''Cambridge History of Christianity. Vol. 1. Origins to Constantine'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) (Cambridge History of Christianity), 163-194.
* Zangenberg, Jürgen, Harold W. Attridge and Dale B. Martin (eds), ''Religion, Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Galilee: A Region in Transition'' (Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2007) (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 210).
* Fiensy, David A., "Population, Architecture, and Economy in Lower Galilean Villages and Towns in the First Century AD: A Brief Survey," in John D. Wineland, Mark Ziese, James Riley Estep Jr. (eds), ''My Father's World: Celebrating the Life of Reuben G. Bullard'' (Eugene (OR), Wipf & Stock, 2011), 101-119.
* Safrai, Shmuel, "The Jewish Cultural Nature of Galilee in the First Century" The New Testament and Christian-Jewish Dialogue: Studies in Honor of David Flusser, Immanuel 24/25 (1990): 147-186; electronically published on jerusalemperspective.com.

{{North District (Israel)}}

{{coord|32.7600|N|35.5270|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}


] ]

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Map of the Galilee region
An orchard in Upper Galilee
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