Nazareth Illit - History

History

The establishment of Nazareth Illit was conceived in the early 1950s when development towns such as Karmiel and Beit She'an were founded. There were economic and security reasons for developing a town in this region, but according to Shimon Landman, director of the Interior Ministry's Department of Minorities, the municipal elections in 1954, in which the Israel communist party Maki became the largest faction, were a source of concern.

A parcel of 1,200 dunams of land, about half within the municipal boundaries, was expropriated in 1954, relying on a law that permitted expropriations for public purposes. Protests at this action reached the Supreme Court of Israel, which in 1955 accepted (HCJ 30/55) the government's word that the sole purpose of the land was to erect government facilities. However, it had already been decided that only 109 dunams would be used for that purpose and planning for residential neighborhoods continued. The first dwellings were completed in September 1956 and the first residents moved in later that year.

According to historian Geremy Forman, an important aim of Upper Nazareth was to ensure Jewish sovereignty in the region. The director of the IDF Planning Department, Yuval Ne'eman, stated that the new town would "safeguard the Jewish character of the Galilee as a whole, and... demonstrate state sovereignty to the Arab population more than any other settlement operation." Forman wrote that Upper Nazareth was meant to address the challenge perceived as emanating from the all-Arab city of Nazareth, and the goal was to build a neighborhood that would overpower Nazareth numerically, economically, and politically.

Initially the settlement was referred to as the "Jewish neighborhood" of Nazareth, then as Kiryat Natzeret. The name Nazareth Illit was adopted in 1958. In 1960 the part within the municipal boundaries of Nazareth was excised from Nazareth, and the following year Nazareth Illit was endowed with the municipal status of local council.