Tira
| |
---|---|
Hebrew transcription(s) | |
• ISO 259 | Ṭira |
• Also spelled | Tire (official) |
Coordinates: 32°13′56″N 34°56′54″E / 32.23222°N 34.94833°E | |
Grid position | 145/182 PAL |
District | Central |
Government | |
• Mayor | Mamoun Abd al-Hay |
Area | |
• Total | 11,894 dunams (11.894 km2 or 4.592 sq mi) |
Population (2022)[1] | |
• Total | 27,802 |
• Density | 2,300/km2 (6,100/sq mi) |
Name meaning | The High Land |
Tira (Arabic: الطـّيرة al-Tira, Hebrew: טִירָה), lit. "The Fort")[2] is a city in the Central District of Israel. Part of The Triangle, a concentration of Arab towns and villages adjacent to the Green Line, Tira is close to Kfar Saba, and is well known by its neighbors for its weekly outdoor market, as well as for its Arab cuisine. In 2022 it had a population of 27,802.[1]
In the 12th century, during the Crusader period, the village was owned by the Order of St. John. It was lease to Robert of Sinjil and his heirs. In the 14th and 15th century, Tira was a stop on the road between Gaza and Damascus,[3] and a khan was constructed.[4]
Pierre Jacotin called the village Ertahah on his map from 1799.[5]
In 1870, Victor Guérin found it to be a “village of seven hundred inhabitants, with gardens planted with fig trees and pomegranates, separated from each other by hedges of cactus.”[6]
In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Tira as: "A conspicuous village on a knoll in the plain, surrounded by olives, with a well on the west side."[7]
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Tireh had a population of 1,588 inhabitants; 1,582 Muslims[8] and 6 Orthodox Christians,[9] increasing in the 1931 census to 2,192; 2,190 Muslims and 2 Christians, in a total of 380 houses.[10]
In the 1945 statistics, Tira had 3,180 Muslim inhabitants,[11] who owned a total of 26,803 dunams of land.[12]
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Israeli Alexandroni Brigade was ordered to "capture and destroy" Tira.[13] However, the village was held by Iraqi troops and not captured. In May 1949, the village was transferred to Israeli sovereignty as part of the Jordan-Israeli Armistice Agreement and the villagers were not expelled.[13]
According to CBS, in 2004 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.9% Sunni Muslim Arab citizens of Israel (see also: Population groups in Israel).
A small number of Jews also live in Tira, mainly due to the cheaper housing costs offered by Tira than in many Jewish localities, such as nearby Kfar Saba.[14]
According to CBS, in 2001 there were 9,600 males and 9,300 females. The population of the city was spread out, with 47.4% 19 years of age or younger, 16.2% between 20 and 29, 19.9% between 30 and 44, 10.8% from 45 to 59, 1.8% from 60 to 64, and 3.8% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 2.8%. In 2004, 41.3% of the population was 17 years or younger, 54.5% were between 18 and 64 years of age, and 4.2% were aged 65 and above.
Tira is described as a prosperous Arab community.[15] According to CBS, as of 2000, in the city there were 3,654 salaried workers and 953 are self-employed. The mean monthly wage in 2000 for a salaried worker in the city is ILS 3,767, a real change of 2.4% over the course of 2000. Salaried males have a mean monthly wage of ILS 4,494 (a real change of 6.1%) versus ILS 2,319 for females (a real change of −13.0%). The mean income for the self-employed is 4,289. There are 69 people who receive unemployment benefits and 1,183 people who receive an income guarantee. In 2004, 41.9% of the population was part of the workforce.
According to CBS, there are 10 schools and 4,735 students in the city. There are seven elementary schools with 2,896 students, and three high schools with 1,839 students. Of 12th grade students, 64.8% were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
In 2004, 6.5% of the population had 0 years of education, 17.1% had up to 8 years, 55% had 9 to 12 years, 11.8% had 13–15 years, and 9.7% had 16 or more years of education. Ten percent had an academic degree.
The city's schools include:
High school students from Tira have received scholarships from Israeli universities and participate in exchange programs such as Y.E.S (Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs), Seeds of Peace, and CISV.
Tira has been plagued by violent crime,[17] and organized crime is seen as the main driver. [18] Other factors leading to the crime wave include family feuds and organised gangs.[19] Violence in the name of protecting "honor" is also a problem.[20]
According to the Israeli police, a contributor to problems policing towns such as Tira is inadequate co-operation from local population, whose fear and suspicion of the police makes them reluctant to report crime.[21] Calling for extra police to be assigned, Tira's leaders charge that police treat Arabs as second class citizens and don't properly investigate crime,[22] pointing to the fact that only 1 of 8 murders in Tira since 2020 has been solved, versus 71% percent of murders in Jewish communities.[23] Between 2011 and 2019, Tira was the site of 31 homicides, the fifth highest per capita rate of all Arab towns in Israel. [24] In response, a new police station was opened in Tira in 2013. Most Tira residents were opposed to this, but the Mayor overrode them. [25]
According to a native Arab Israeli resident of Tira, Nimer Sultany, now reader in law at SOAS, Tira has a high crime and poverty rate, problems with education, employment, elements which the author attributes to the effects of decades of land confiscation.[26]
Tira is twinned with: