Ed-Dahi (Arabic: الدحي, Hebrew: דַחִי) is an Arab village in northeastern Israel. Located on Givat HaMoreh (Jebel Dahi in Arabic) overlooking Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bustan al-Marj Regional Council. The village is situated at an altitude of 550 meters above sea level.[3] As of 2022 it had a population of 723.[2]
History
Dahi mosque
Ed-Dahi was named after Dahia Bin Khalifa al-Kalbei, who according to Islamic tradition, was a friend of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Dahia, an ambassador of Muhammad, attempted to convert Byzantine emperor Heraclius to Islam. According to local tradition, Dahia was killed and buried in the site of the village.[3]
Ottoman era
In 1870–1871 an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Shafa al-Shamali.[4] In 1875 Victor Guérin found here a small village, consisting of fifteen "miserable" houses, surrounded by gardens and bordered by cactus hedges.[5]
In 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as "a little hamlet of stone cabins, on the saddle west of the conical peak of Jebel ed Duhy. Straggling olives exist on the north and west. The water supply is from a well lower down the hill, on the north."[6]
In the 1945 statistics the population was 110, all Muslims,[9] while the total land area was 8,038 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[10] Of this, 19 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land,
2,979 for cereals,[11] while 10 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[12]
State of Israel
In February 2016 Bustan al-Marj Regional Council announced that its offices would move from Afula to Ed-Dahi. Council chairman Ahmed Zoabi noted "The offices are now located in one of the four villages of the council and this is important". In September 2017, the regional council completed its road-paving project.
Israel
