upper Galilee

Originally, the term "Upper Galilee" referred to a larger region, encompassing the mountainous regions of what is today northern Israel and southern Lebanon. The boundaries of this region were the Litani River in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Lower Galilee in the south (from which it is separated by the Beit HaKerem Valley), and the upper Jordan River and the Hula Valley in the east.{{Cite encyclopedia|author=Vilnai, Ze'ev|title=Upper Galilee|encyclopedia=Ariel Encyclopedia|volume=2|pages=1364–67|publisher=Am Oved|location=Israel|year=1976|language=he}}

According to the first century Jewish historian Josephus, the bounds of Upper Galilee stretched from Bersabe in the Beit HaKerem Valley to Baca (Peki'in) in the north, and from Meloth to Thella.M. Aviam & P. Richardson, "Josephus' Galilee in Archaeological Perspective", published in: {{Cite book | publisher = BRILL| isbn = 9004117938 |editor-last= Mason |editor-first= Steve |editor-link = Steve Mason (biblical scholar) | series = Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary | volume = 9 |title = Life of Josephus | date = 2001 |at= pp. 179;182}}; Josephus, De Bello Judaico (Wars of the Jews) II, 577; III, 46 (Wars of the Jews [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D3%3Awhiston+chapter%3D3%3Awhiston+section%3D1 3.3.1]) The extent of this region is approximately 470 km².Eric M. Meyers, "Galilean Regionalism as a Factor in Historical Reconstruction," in: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (No. 221, 1976), p. 95

In present-day usage, the toponym mainly refers only to the northern part of the Galilee that is under Israeli sovereignty. That is, the term today does not include the portion of Southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, or the corresponding stretches of the Israeli Coastal Plain to the west, or the Jordan Rift Valley to the east. These are considered to be separate geographical areas that are not part of “Upper Galilee.”{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

{{See also|Galilee#history}}

The Upper Galilee is home to numerous significant ancient synagogues, dating from Roman and Byzantine times. Those include the synagogues of Bar'am,{{Citation |last=Aviam |first=Mordechai |title=THE ANCIENT SYNAGOGUES AT BARʿAM |date=2001-01-01 |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004294172/B9789004294172-s008.xml |work=Judaism in Late Antiquity 3. Where we Stand: Issues and Debates in Ancient Judaism |pages=155–177 |editor-last=Avery-Peck |editor-first=Alan |access-date=2023-09-02 |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/9789004294172_008 |isbn=978-90-04-29417-2 |editor2-last=Neusner |editor2-first=Jacob|url-access=subscription }} Nabratein,Eric M. Meyers and Carol Meyers, "Excavations at Ancient Nabratein: Synagogue and Environs," Meiron Excavation Project Reports - MEPR 6, Eisenbrauns, 2009. Gush Halav,{{cite book |last=Hachlili |first=Rachel |title=Ancient Synagogues - Archaeology and Art: New Discoveries and Current Research |publisher=BRILL |year=2013 |isbn=978-90-04-25772-6 |series=Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1, Ancient Near East; vol. 105 = Handbuch der Orientalistik |pages=586, 588 |chapter=Dating of the Upper Galilee Synagogues |access-date=8 April 2020 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jRjhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA588}} Huqoq,[http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/article00436.html Remains of Roman Period Synagogue Discovered in Galilee, July 2, 2012, Science News] Chorazin,{{cite book |author1=Avraham Negev |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=27nq65cZUIgC&pg=PA118 |title=Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land |author2=Shimon Gibson |date=July 2005 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8264-8571-7 |page=118 |access-date=15 May 2011}} Meron{{Cite journal |date=1998 |editor-last=Urman |editor-first=Dan |editor2-last=Flesher |editor2-first=Paul V.M. |title=Ancient Synagogues (2 vols) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004511323 |journal=Brill |pages=62–63 |doi=10.1163/9789004511323|isbn=978-90-04-11254-4 |url-access=subscription }} and a few others. Remains of synagogues has also been found in Qision{{Cite journal |last=Avi-Yonah |first=Michael |date=1976 |title=Gazetteer of Roman Palestine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43587090 |journal=Qedem |volume=5 |pages=89 |jstor=43587090 |issn=0333-5844}} and Alma.{{Citation |title=XXIII. ʿAlma |date=2023-03-20 |work=Volume 5/Part 1 Galilaea and Northern Regions: 5876-6924 |pages=146–149 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110715774-031/html |access-date=2024-02-23 |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110715774-031 |isbn=978-3-11-071577-4|url-access=subscription }}

{{More citations needed section|date=January 2022}}

File:AinEbelWinter.jpg in the Lebanese Upper Galilee]]

Following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the Balfour Declaration in which the British Empire promised to create "A Jewish National Home" in Palestine, the Zionist Movement presented to the Versailles Peace Conference a document calling for including in the British Mandate of Palestine the entire territory up to the Litani river—with a view to this becoming eventually part of a future Jewish state.

However, only less than half this area was actually included in British Mandatory Palestine, the final border being influenced both by diplomatic maneuverings and struggles between Britain and France and by fighting on the ground, especially the March 1920 battle of Tel Hai.

For a considerable time after the border was defined so to make the northern portion of the territory concerned part of the French mandated territory that became Lebanon, many Zionist geographers—and Israeli geographers in the state's early years—continued to speak of "The Upper Galilee" as being "the northern sub-area of the Galilee region of Israel and Lebanon".

Under this definition, "The Upper Galilee" covers an area spreading over 1,500 km², about 700 in Israel and the rest in Lebanon. This included the highland region of Belad Bechara in Jabal Amel located in South Lebanon,{{cite book|last=Salibi|first=Kamal S.|title=A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered|year=1988|publisher=I. B. Tauris|location=London|isbn=1-85043-091-8|page=4}} which was at for some time known in Hebrew as "The Lebanese Galilee". As defined in geographical terms, "it is separated from the Lower Galilee by the Beit HaKerem valley; its mountains are taller and valleys are deeper than those in the Lower Galilee; its tallest peak is Har Meron at 1,208 m above sea level. Safed is one of the major cities in this region".

In recent decades, however, this usage has virtually disappeared from the general Israeli discourse, the term "Upper Galilee" being used solely in reference to the part located in Israel.

{{Wide image|Har Ari panorama.jpg|1200px|A panoramic view taken from mount Ari in the Upper Galilee towards the Lower Galilee}}

{{See also|Artists Quarter of Safed}}

The Upper Galilee region, specifically the city of Safed was a centre of Israeli and Jewish art since 1920 when the School of Paris painter, Yitzhak Frenkel visited the region and was the first to settle in Safed where he later established an art school.{{Cite news |last=ארי |first=מיכל בן |date=2009-03-02 |title=שיר שחלמתי על צפת |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/article/3675655 |access-date=2024-10-09 |work=Ynet |language=he}}{{Cite book |last=Barzel |first=Amnon |title=Frenel Isaac Alexandre |publisher=Masada |year=1974 |location=Israel |pages=16 |language=English}} In Safed was established the Artists' quarter of Safed. Safed harbored mysticism and was reminiscent of picturesque villages, which drew artists such as Frenkel, Marc Chagall, Moshe Castel, Mordechai Levanon and others.{{Cite web |title=FRENKEL FRENEL MUSEUM |url=https://www.frenkel-frenel.org/The_official_Isaac_Frenkel-Frenel_web_site/Welcome.html |access-date=9 August 2019 |website=www.frenkel-frenel.org}} Artists were drawn to the upper galilee due to its mountainous landscapes and "mysticsm". Prior to the air conditioner, Safed also attracted artists due to its climatic conditions which were more comfortable than Tel Aviv during the summer. Safed also offered different themes for the artists, from the Klezmer musicians to the Hasidim and the city itself.{{Cite book |last=Ofrat |first=Gideon |title=The Art and Artists of Safed |pages=89–90 |language=Hebrew}} Mount Meron was also an object in artworks by Jewish artists with artists such as Frenkel and Rolly Schaffer painting serene or fiery scenes of sunset over the mountain.

Image:Upper Galilee 123.JPG|Mountainous area in the Upper Galilee

Image:Baydar.jpg|Ain Ebel in the Lebanese Upper Galilee

Image:Meron_124PAN.jpg|A view looking north from the top of Har Meron in the Upper Galilee. Parts of southern Lebanon are visible in the background

Image:GalileeRoshPina.JPG|Old road from Rosh Pinna to Safed, Upper Galilee, Israel

Image:PikiWiki Israel 4518 Keshet Cave.JPG|The Keshet Cave (a natural arch) located on a ridge near Nahal Betzet

Image:Amud stream.JPG|The Amud river

Image:Safed 2009.jpg|Safed

Image:Karmiel.jpg|Karmiel

Image:AmudHorses.JPG|Horses roam in Amud stream, near the Sea of Galilee

• Galilee panhandle
• Northern District (Israel)
• Upper Galilee Regional Council

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.galil-elion.org.il/welcome.htm www.galil-elion.org.il]
• [https://ugmp.co.il/upper-galilee-museum-of-prehistory/ The Upper Galilee Museum of Prehistory]

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Category:Historical regions in Israel

Category:Regions of Israel

Category:Regions of Lebanon

Category:Wine regions of Israel