Hawsha

The village was located on a low hilly area between the plain of Haifa and Marj ibn Amr (Jezreel Valley) and situated on an east–west axis. To the west lay a wide valley, Wadi Husheh, that was the dividing area between it and the neighboring village of Khirbat al-Kasayir.PEF and Stewardson, 1838, p. 153.

19th-century researchers have connected Hawsha to the biblical village of Hosah (Chossah), a border settlement of the Israelite tribe of Asher. More recently, this biblical city tends to be identified with archaeogical sites closer to Tyre.{{cite book|first=Pekka |last=Pitkänen |title=Joshua|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Q7tvG_w6uQEC&pg=PA327 327] |year=2010 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn= 978-0-8308-2506-6}}

{{See also|Usha (ancient city)}}

Usha was visited by 19th-century researchers such as Leopold Zunz and those from the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF), among others, have identified Hawsha as the site of the Roman and Byzantine period jewish city of Usha, the seat of the Sanhedrin after AD 135.Zunz (1841), p. 428.PEF and Stewardson, 1838, p. 35.Driver, 2004, p. 653.

Hawsha was mentioned as part of the domain of the Crusaders during the hudna between the Crusaders based in Acre and the Mamluk sultan al-Mansur Qalawun, declared in 1283.{{cite journal |author= Dan Barag |title= A new source concerning the ultimate borders of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem |journal=Israel Exploration Journal (IEJ) |volume= 29 |year= 1979 |pages= 197–217}}

Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the lands at Hawsha belonged to the inhabitants of Shefa 'Amr. The site contained many ancient ruins, parts of which were used to build some structures, including a shrine known as Maqam Nabi Hushan, a well (Bir Husheh), and tombstones.PEF and Stewardson, 1838, p. 86. William M. Thomson, writing in 1859, identifies the shrine as Neby Hǔshǎ, which he translates as the "Prophet Joshua," and describes it as a "white-domed mazar [...] a place of great resort."Thomson, 1859, p. [https://archive.org/details/landandbookorbi00thomgoog/page/n409 397] In the Survey of Western Palestine (SWP; 1838), it is noted that the Prophet Hosea is said to be buried near "Kh. Husheh."{{ref label|Joshua|i}} Also in the village was a mosaic floor from an ancient building.

V. Guérin, who visited the site in 1875, provides a lengthy description of the ancient ruins in evidence throughout the area. He states his belief that this is the site of ancient Usha and speculates that the ruins of a finely built edifice, in which there are the remnants of many columns, was a synagogue. He then says a synagogue of Ousha should be constructed if there is not already such a place of worship in the vicinity. Also noting the presence of the domed wali of Neby Houchan consecrated to the prophet Hosea, he cites the Muslim tradition that this prophet is here interred. He describes the shrine as being constructed of what appear to be ancient stones, with what seems to be a mihrab at its base, noting there are shreds of clothing strewn and floating about it.Guerin, 1880, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr01unkngoog#page/n428/mode/1up 415]-416. Partially translated in Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/311/mode/1up 311]

In an 1890 quarterly statement for the PEF, the ancient ruins of Hawsha are described as follows: "This ruin [...] must have been an important place, to judge from the mass of building stones and the fragments of columns lying about. Now that the grass is dried up a regular city wall can be traced. On the main road running from the well towards the ruin some fine capitals are lying about, which have a close resemblance to those which on other sites have been stated to be remains of synagogues. The shafts of columns lying about generally have the basis or capital worked out of the same piece, have a diameter of 18 inches, and are composed of Nari limestone."

In the same report, it is noted that the water of Bir Husheh, located at the western edge of the ruin, is praised by the locals for its "excellence." Older inhabitants relayed how Jezzar Pasha and Abdullah Pasha, former governors of 'Acca, had their drinking water supplied from the well, and tended to camp by the well during their trips to the interior.Gottlieb Schumacher (1890), p. [https://archive.org/stream/quarterlystateme21pale#page/24/mode/1up. 24]. Also mentioned in the report is a Greek-language inscription found on a flat stone {{convert|508|m|ft|sp=us}} to the east of the eastern city wall of the ancient city and {{convert|100|m|ft|sp=us}} to the west of a small olive grove, in a rocky region just to the south of a road leading to Shefa 'Amr. The inscription was discovered by natives of Shefa 'Amr who showed it to a priest from Beirut, who in turn shared it with Gottlieb Schumacher of the PEF.

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Husheh had a total population of 165, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-District of Haifa, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n35/mode/1up 33]. increasing in the 1931 census to 202, still all Muslims, in a total of 53 houses.Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 91]

Hawsha was categorized as a hamlet in the Mandate-period Palestine Index Gazetteer. The houses were clustered around the water cistern at the center of the village. The Muslim inhabitants shared a cemetery with Khirbat al-Kasayir. The villagers were agriculturalists and pastoralists who raised livestock. Beans were the most important agricultural product. The agricultural area of the village lay to the southwest. A small area north of the built-up part of the village was planted with olive and fruit trees.

In 1937, Kibbutz Usha was established {{convert|2|km|mi|sp=us}} west of Hawsha.

In the 1945 statistics, Hawsha was counted among Shefa-'Amr's suburbs and was noted with a population of 400 Muslims.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p15.jpg 15]Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Haifa/Page-049.jpg 49].Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Haifa/Page-092.jpg 92].Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Haifa/Page-142.jpg 142]

{{Gallery

| title = Nabi Hushan shrine

| width = 160

| height = 140

|File:Nabi Hushan shrine in the Hawsha cemetery.jpg|alt1=A small one-storey structure with whitewashed walls, topped with a light blue dome, with trees to its right and left. An unpaved walkway lined with stones leads to it and to the right of the walkway, similar stones mark the site of burial places.|Nabi Hushan shrine in the cemetery that was used by the villagers of Hawsha and al-Kayasir.

|File:Dedication plaque for Nabi Hushan shrine.JPG|alt2=A closeup of a plaque with large Arabic script. There is more Arabic script inside a small gold-framed picture to the left of the plaque and a golden octagonal amulet hanging to the right of it.|Plaque over the doorway of the entrance to shrine. It reads: "Shrine of the Prophet Hushan, peace be upon him."

|File:Interior of the Nabi Hushan shrine.JPG|alt3=A rounded wall with a rounded enclave, on the floor are a number of framed pictures and a chalkboard with Arabic script.|Part of the interior of the Nabi Hushan shrine. The chalkboard message on the right reads: "O ye inside this house [of prayer], pray to the Chosen Prophet [i.e. Muhammad]."

}}

On 11 April 1948, Fawzi al-Qawuqji ordered the ALA's Druze Battalion to begin operations around Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan. The Battalion occupied the semi-abandoned villages of Hawsha and Khirbat al-Kasayir and began to shell Ramat Yohanan and harass the neighboring settlements.Morris, 2008, p. 137 The Haganah responded and on the night of 15–16 April, what is known as the Battle of Ramat Yohanan, after the Jewish settlement bloc close to where it was fought, also known by Palestinian historians as the 'Battle of al-Husha and al-Kayasr'{{dubious|Kasayir?|date= January 2024}}, after the Palestinian villages that were conquered by the Haganah forces by the battle's end, ensued.Parsons in Nettler and Taji-Farouki, 1998, p. 145. According to Morris, "Wailing refugees fled to Shafa-Amr, spreading rumors of Jewish atrocities". According to Benvenisti, the Arab inhabitants who remained in the village following its conquest were evicted in the months following the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, as were the inhabitants of neighboring villages whose lands were coveted for Jewish settlement.Benvenisti, 2000, p. [https://archive.org/details/sacredlandscapeb00benvrich/page/n234 205]

A volunteer effort to restore the cemetery of the depopulated village of Hawsha was undertaken in 1994 and overseen by the Al-Aqsa Association of the Islamic Movement in Israel.Boqa'i and Masalha, 2005, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xYWNCX-eYRcC&pg=PA103 103].

{{Gallery

| title = Hawsha-al-Kayasir cemetery

| width = 160

| height = 140

|File:Cemetery of Hawsha-Kayasir.JPG|alt1=White headstones with Arabic inscriptions dot the ground, as well as rocks outlining burial spots devoid of inscriptions. There are a number of olive trees, among other types.|A view of the cemetery shared by the villages of Hawsha and al-Kayasir prior their depopulation.

|File:Tombstones in Hawsha cemetery.JPG|alt2=Two graves marked by the laying of square cut stones side by side, two on top of each other, among other headstones surrounded by trees.|Another view of the cemetery.

|File:Headstone in Hawsha cemetery from 1175.jpg|alt3=Close up view of the inscription of a rock that does not seem to have been worked on by a stonemason, given its irregular shape and unsmoothed surface.|Arabic inscription of a headstone for a grave in the cemetery which reads: "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful ... Il-Marhoum ('the mercifully departed') Hussein Abid [last name unclear] 1175 12 17."

}}

{{Reflist|25em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite journal |author= Barag, Dan |title= A new source concerning the ultimate borders of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem |journal= Israel Exploration Journal |volume= 29 |year= 1979 |pages= 197–217}}
• {{cite book |editor= Barron, J.B. | title= Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 |url=https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 |publisher= Government of Palestine |year = 1923}}
• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7itq6zYtSJwC&q=husha&pg=PA359|title=Sacred landscape: the buried history of the Holy Land since 1948|first=M.|last=Benveniśtî|author-link=Meron Benvenisti|edition=Illustrated|publisher=University of California Press|year=2002|isbn= 978-0-520-23422-2}}
• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYWNCX-eYRcC&q=husha+palestine&pg=PA103|title=Catastrophe remembered: Palestine, Israel and the internal refugees : essays in memory of Edward W. Said (1935-2003)|first1=Nihad|last1=Boqa'i|editor=N. Masalha|publisher=Zed Books|year=2005|isbn= 978-1-84277-623-0|editor-link=Nur Masalha}}
• {{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|authorlink1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|authorlink2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp01conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=1}}
• {{cite book |last= Dauphin |first = C.|author-link= Claudine Dauphin| title = La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FC1mAAAAMAAJ |volume = III : Catalogue | series = BAR International Series 726 | year = 1998 | publisher = Archeopress | location = Oxford|language =French|isbn= 0-860549-05-4}} (p. 671)
• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJoFV6Et_0oC&pg=PA653 |title=A dictionary of the Bible: dealing with its language, literature, and contents, including the Biblical theology, Volume 3, Part 2|first1=S.R.|last1=Driver|authorlink1=Samuel Rolles Driver|editor1=J. Hastings|editor-link=James Hastings|editor2=John Alexander Selbie |editor3=A.B. Davidson |editor3-link=Andrew B. Davidson |editor4=H.B. Swete |editor4-link=Henry Barclay Swete |publisher=The Minerva Group |year=2004|isbn= 978-1-4102-1727-1}}
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• {{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945 |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Department of Statistics|year=1945|publisher=Government of Palestine }}
• {{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongogr01unkngoog|volume=3: Galilee, pt. 1|year=1880|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=French}}
• {{cite journal|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center}}
• {{cite book|title=All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_By7AAAAIAAJ |first=W.|last=Khalidi|author-link=Walid Khalidi|year=1992|location=Washington D.C.|publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies|isbn=0-88728-224-5}}
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• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C |first=B. |last=Morris |author-link=Benny Morris |year=2004 |title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited|isbn=978-0-521-00967-6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
• {{cite book|author=Morris, B.|author-link=Benny Morris|year=2008|title=1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-12696-9|ref=refMorris08|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/1948historyoffir00morr}}
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• {{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund}}
• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WlyeJzQAowgC&pg=PA145 |title=Muslim-Jewish encounters: intellectual traditions and modern politics|first1=Laila|last1=Parsons|editor1=Ronald L. Nettler |editor2=S. Taji-Farouki |editor2-link=Suha Taji-Farouki |publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1998|isbn=90-5702-196-X }}
• {{cite book|title=A Gazetteer of Buildings in Muslim Palestine (British Academy Monographs in Archaeology)|url=https://www.academia.edu/21539664|volume =I |first=Andrew|last=Petersen|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-727011-0|page=[https://www.academia.edu/21539664/Gazetteer_4_D-J 151]}}
• {{cite journal | author = Schumacher, G.| author-link=Gottlieb Schumacher| title = Notes from Galilee | journal = Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund | volume = 22 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/quarterlystateme21pale/page/24 24]–25 | url = https://archive.org/details/quarterlystateme21pale| year = 1890}}
• {{cite book|last=Thomson|first=W.M.|author-link=William McClure Thomson|title=The Land and the Book: Or, Biblical Illustrations Drawn from the Manners and Customs, the Scenes and Scenery, of the Holy Land|url=https://archive.org/details/landandbookorbi05thomgoog |edition=1|volume=1|publisher=Harper & brothers |location=New York|year= 1859}}
• Zunz, L. (1841). "On the geography of Palestine from Jewish sources". In {{ill|Adolf Asher|de|Adolf Asher}} (ed.), The itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, Volume 2. Berlin: {{ill|Julius Sittenfeld|de|Julius Sittenfeld}} printing house. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RNUWAAAAQAAJ&q=husha%20&pg=PR8 428]. {{ISBN|1-152-34804-3}}. Access date 29 January 2024.
• {{cite book|title=The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament|editor1=Walvoord, J.F. |editor-link1=John Walvoord|editor2= R.B. Zuck|editor-link2=Roy B. Zuck |publisher=David C. Cook, 1985|isbn= 9780882078137|year=1983|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tSJWE-sR5HkC&q=Hoshea+Hosea+Joshua&pg=PA229}}

{{refend}}

• [http://www.palestineremembered.com/Haifa/Hawsha/index.html Welcome To Hawsha]
• [http://www.zochrot.org/en/village/49127 Hawsha], Zochrot
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 5: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8368 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.05.jpg Wikimedia commons]
• [http://www.alnakba.org/villages/haifa/hawsha.htm Hawsha], from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center

{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War}}

Category:Arab villages depopulated prior to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Category:District of Haifa

Category:Islamic shrines in Israel