According to the archaeologists who excavated there in 1987–1990, Malha is believed to be the site of Manahat, a Canaanite town on the northern border of the Tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:58–59[clarification needed]).[8] Remains of the village have been preserved at the Biblical Zoo.[8]
Byzantine- to Late Ottoman-period Georgian presence
Malha was a Georgian village in the fifth century, in the time of King Vakhtang I Gorgasali, who was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church.[9] There was a connection to the nearby Georgian Monastery of the Cross and other Georgian religious establishments around Jerusalem, with travellers noticing distinct habits among Malha's residents for centuries.[9] Eventually they adopted Islam and integrated into the surrounding Arab society.[9] By the 18th and 19th centuries, little more than the faint traces of a church, the few remaining locals naming themselves "Gurjs", Georgians, and their right of working the lands of the Monastery of the Cross remained as witness of the Georgian past.[10]
Ottoman period
Maliha in the 1940s Survey of Palestine map. The map shows the location of the Teddy Stadium, built in the 1990s, and referred to by Arabs as "Maliha stadium".[11][12]
In the 1596 tax records al-Maliha, (named Maliha as-Suqra), was part of the Ottoman Empire, nahiya (subdistrict) of Jerusalem under the Liwa of Jerusalem. It had a population of 52 Muslim households, an estimated 286 persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, and olive and fruit trees, goats and beehives; a total of 8,700 akçe. 1/3 of the revenue went to a waqf.[13]
In 1838 it was noted by Edward Robinson as el Malihah, a Muslim village, part of the Beni Hasan district.[14][15]
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed Malha with a population of 340, in 75 houses, though the population count included men, only.[16][17]
During a visit in the 1870s, Clermont-Ganneau recorded a local tradition stating that the residents could be categorized into two distinct origins: one group hailing from Transjordan and another from Egypt. Ganneau pointed out the locals' "peculiar" way of speaking, where their "a" sounds were long and similar to "o." He documented several findings including a broken inscription, rock-cut tombs, and a box of bones, shown to him by the locals. He also mentioned Ain Yalo, a nearby spring highly celebrated by the locals.[18]
In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described the village as being of moderate size, standing high on a flat ridge. To the south was Ayn Yalu.[19]
In 1896 the population of Malha was estimated to be about 600 persons.[20]
British Mandate period
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Malhah had a population 1,038, all Muslims,[21] increasing in the 1931 census to 1,410; 1,402 Muslims and 8 Christians, in a total of 299 houses.[22] Georgian researcher, B.V. Khurtsilava, connected the steep population rise between 1868 (c. 200), to 1896 (some 600) and the 1920s-30s (c. 100–1400) with a strong influx of people of various ethnic backgrounds.[23]
In the 1945 statistics the population of Malha was 1,940; 1,930 Muslims and 10 Christians,[4] and the total land area was 6,828 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of the land, a total of 2,618 dunams were plantations and irrigable land and 1,259 were for cereals,[24] while a total of 328 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[25]
1948 war
In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the village of al-Maliha, with a population of 2,250, was occupied as part of the battle for south Jerusalem.[26] In the early part of the war, Al-Maliha, along with al-Qastal, Sur Baher and Deir Yassin, signed non-aggression pacts with the Haganah.[27] On April 12, 1948, in the wake of the Deir Yassin Massacre, villagers from al Maliha, Qaluniya and Beit Iksa began to flee in panic.[28] The Irgun attacked Malha in early morning hours of July 14, 1948. Several hours later, the Palestinian Arabs launched a counter-attack and seized one of the fortified positions. When Irgun reinforcements arrived, the Palestinians retreated and Malha was in Jewish control, but 17 Irgun fighters were killed and many wounded.[citation needed] The Arab inhabitants fled to Bethlehem, which remained under Jordanian control. The depopulated homes were occupied by Jewish refugees from Middle Eastern countries, mainly Iraq. Some of the land in Malha had been purchased before the establishment of the state by the Valero family, a family of SephardiJews that owned large amounts of property in Jerusalem and environs.[29]
Israel
Malha, circa 1950
The first Palestinian fedayeen raid in Israel took place in November 1951 in Malha when a woman, Leah Festinger, was killed by infiltrators from Shuafat, at the time part of Jordan.[30]
Under the aegis of the Jerusalem Municipality, the neighborhood was modernised and a large housing development was established on the nearby hill and its eastern slopes. At the bottom of the hill are the Malha Shopping Mall, Teddy Stadium, Pais Arena Jerusalem, Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and the Jerusalem Malha Railway Station. Malha is now considered an upscale neighborhood. Schools include a vocational high school (ORT) and an elementary school, the Shalom School. The Jerusalem Technology Park houses many companies, including some high-tech start-ups as well as international media offices.[31] In 2019, plans were approved for the construction of 30-floor towers in the technology park.[32] A line of the Jerusalem Light Rail is being built from Jerusalem's Central Bus Station to the Malha sports complex.[33]
^Khurtsilava, Besik V. (2017). Sentries of "Jvari": On the traces of Gurjs from Malha. Ch. 2. First Data on forgotten tribesmen, pp. 23-24 (English translation). In "Georgia and Holy Land", Tbilisi. Accessed 25 September 2023.
^Arab MK welcomes cancellation of Argentina soccer game, Jun 6, 2018; Arutz Sheva, ""I congratulate the Argentine team on its decision to cancel the game at Al-Maliha Stadium," tweeted Zahalka, referencing the name the Arabs use to call the Teddy Stadium, where the game was to have been played."
^Beitar cancels Barcelona match after demand to not have game in Jerusalem, July 15, 2021; Jerusalem Post: "Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub received a letter from Laport about the match planned in Jerusalem on August 4 "in a stadium built on the ruins of the Palestinian village of al-Malha, whose residents were forcibly expelled and displaced in refugee camps," Wafa reported."
^Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 118. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 304
^Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 123
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