Jaffa

Jaffa is located on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in the west of Israel. Formerly a city by itself, Jaffa became a suburb of Tel Aviv in 1950, and is now officially named Tel Aviv-Yafo. [1]

Jaffa had always been an important port in history, especially as a gateway to Jerusalem. Due to that, the city often changed hands in its past. Originally it was a Phoenician city, but has also been Egyptian, Philistian, or Greek, for example. Especially during the Crusades, it was an important city and got claimed and reclaimed by both the Arabs and the Crusaders. After the First World War, Jaffa became a part of the Palestine mandate (1922-48), which was governed by the British. In 1947 and 1948, there were fierce battles between Jaffa, whose inhabitants were mostly Arabs, and the adjacent city of Tel Aviv, which was Jewish.[2] When the state of Israel was proclaimed in 1948, the Arabs in Jaffa surrendered and over 90 percent of the Palestinians abandoned the city. In 1950, Jaffa got integrated into the community of Tel Aviv. Eventually Jaffa's port was closed and replaced by the port of Tel Aviv.[3]

Old Jaffa panorama

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Old_Jaffa_panorama.jpg

[1]Simon, Reeva S.. "Jaffa." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Jaffa.aspx#1

[2] "Jaffa." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2015. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Jaffa.aspx#2

[3] Simon, Reeva S.. "Jaffa." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Jaffa.aspx#1