Kiryat Tiv'on (Hebrew: קִרְיַת טִבְעוֹן, also Qiryat Tiv'on) is a town in the Haifa District of Israel, in the hills between the Zvulun (Zebulon) and Jezreel valleys. Kiryat Tiv'on is located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southeast of Haifa, on the main road to Nazareth. Kiryat Tiv'on is the result of the municipal merger of several older settlements, Tiv'on (est. 1946), Elro'i (est. 1935), Kiryat Haroshet (est. 1935) and Kiryat Amal (est. 1937). On the outskirts of Tiv'on is a Bedouintownship called Basmat Tab'un. In 2022 it had a population of 19,130.[1]
In the area of Kiryat Tivon, one can find the National Park and the World Heritage Site Beit She'arim, the Sanhedrin's Seat and the burial place of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, as well as the sculpture of Alexander Zaid, who resided in the area with his family and was murdered nearby.
History
View of Kiryat Tivon from Beit She'arim National ParkThe southern houses of TivonWar Memorial in Kiryat Tivon - Yad LabanimThe water tower in Tivon
Ancient Israel
An ancient Jewish town called Tiv'on existed in the general area. It was mentioned in the Talmud and Mishnah.[2] It is mentioned several times in Talmudic literature in connection with various sages, some of whom lived there.[3]
Ottoman Empire
In 1859, the village of Tubaun[4] was estimated to have a tillage of 22 feddans.[5] In 1875, Victor Guérin found that the village had 200 inhabitants.[6] In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Tubaun as a small adobe village, on high ground, at the edge of the wood.[5] A population list from about 1887 showed that Tuba'un had about 90 inhabitants; all Muslims.[7]
The area was acquired by the Jewish community as part of the Sursock Purchase. In 1925 a Zionist organisation purchased 30 feddans in Kiskis (present Alonim) and Tabaun (present Kiryat Tiv'on) from the Sursuk family of Beirut. At the time, there were 36 families living there.[9] In the 1931 censusTabun had a population of 239, still all Muslim, in a total of 48 houses.[10] From 1931-1935, a significant land controversy arose from competing claims by the Jewish Agency and Palestiniantenant farmers over the area, culminating in a violent clash between local Bedouins and Jewish watchmen in 1935.[11]
In the 1945 statistics, al Tivon (Alonim) (previously Qusqus Taboun) had 370 Muslim and 320 Jewish inhabitants, with a total land area of 5,823 dunams.[12][13] Of this, 141 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 2,038 for cereals,[14] while 3,644 dunams were classified as non-cultivable land.[15]
Kiryat Amal 1938Kiryat Amal 1939Tiv’on 1945
Modern Israel
The symbol of Kiryat Tiv'on is the cyclamen, a flower that grows between the rocks, reflecting the town's appreciation of nature and its efforts to preserve the landscape and safeguard the environment.[16]
Population
According to data from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (as of the end of September 2020, an estimate), there are 18,312 residents living in Kiryat Tivon. The population has been growing at an annual rate of 3%. The percentage of those eligible for a matriculation certificate among 12th-grade students in the academic year 2020-2021 was 84.1%. The average monthly salary of an employee in 2019 was 12,598 NIS (national average: 9,745 NIS).[17]
Characteristics of Kiryat Tivon
Climate
The climate conditions in the area are considered comfortable. The annual average temperature difference is 19 Celsius degrees. The average temperature between day and night is 10 degrees Celsius. The average humidity is 65% - 70%. The number of sunny days per year ranges from 20 to 40 days, and heavy overcast days range from 3 to 6 days. The average annual rainfall is 700 millimeters.[18]
Flora
In the hilly area within the boundaries of the settlement and its vicinity, grow remnants of the Quercus ithaburensis forest, Styrax officinalis, Pistacia atlantica, a Mediterranean forest, as well as a new intensive forest of Pine trees planted by the Jewish National Fund (AKA Keren Kayemet LeYisrael). Among the Tabor oak trees stands the ancient oak tree with a trunk circumference of 5.3 meters. Benches have been placed around it as a corner of remembrance for the soldier Ilan Gabbai,[19] a paratrooper officer who died in the Second Lebanon War.
One-third of the settlement's area is covered with trees.[20]
The town is best known for the national park, Beit She'arim, which borders it on the southwest. Beit Shearim was an important Jewish spiritual center and necropolis during the Roman period, and was once the seat of the Sanhedrin.
