Jish

Jish (Arabic: الجش‎; Hebrew: גִ'שׁ, גּוּשׁ חָלָב‎, Gush Halav) is a town in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mt. Meron, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Safed, in Israel's North District. Its population is predominantly Maronite Catholic and Melkite Greek Catholic Christians with a Sunni Muslim minority, with many of these considering themselves Israeli Arabs.

Archaeological finds including two historical synagogues, a unique mausoleum and burial caves. According to Roman historian Josephus, Jish was the last city in the Galilee to fall to the Romans. Historical sources dating from the 10th-15th centuries Jish (Gush Halav) as a village with a strong Jewish presence. A small Druze community lived in Jish in the 17th century. The village was re-established in the 18th century AD by farmers from Mount Lebanon.

In 1945, Jish had a population of 1,090 with an area of 12,602 dunams. It was largely depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, but was resettled by Maronite Christians, who were expelled from the razed villages Kafr Bir'im, as well as Iqrit. In 2010, the population of Jish was 3,000. The village is a center for the Aramaic revival, recently officially recognized by the Israeli Ministry of Education as a taught language in local school.