Zababdeh or Zababida () is a town in the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, located southeast of Jenin and from the Arab American University.

History Sherds from the Middle Bronze Age II, Iron Age I and II, through to the Byzantine Empire era have been found at the site.Zertal, 2007, p. 126

Remains of a Frankish bovaria (=farm) has been noted,Ellenblum, 2003, p. 250 while sherds from the Mamluk and Ottoman era have also been found.

Ottoman era The village was (re-)founded in 1834, during the Ottoman era, by three Christian Greek Orthodox families who purchased the land from Jenin Muslims.Alain Epp Weaver, 'The crescent and the cross are the marks on my hands: The performance of Palestinian unity amid political fragmentation,' in Paul S Rowe, John H.A. Dyck, Jens Zimmermann (eds.) Christians and the Middle East Conflict, Routledge 2014 pp.137-151, p.138. In 1838 "Zabedet" was noted as a Greek Christian village in the Haritheh area, north of Nablus.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 130

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as a "moderate sized village at the south edge of the arable plain called Wady es Selhab, supplied by a well on the east, with a low hill covered with brushwood on the south."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 229 The Latin Catholic mission established its presence in the village in 1883.

In the 19th century sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas lived here.Irving, 2012, p. 248

British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Zababdeh had a population of 482; 64 Muslims and 418 Christians,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p. 29 where the Christians were 83 Orthodox, 261 Roman Catholics and 74 Church of England.Barron, 1923, Table XV, p. 47 In the 1931 census the number of inhabitants had increased to 632; 91 Muslims and 541 Christians, in a total of 134 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 71

In 1945 Village Statistics Zababida had a population of 870; 90 Muslims and 780 Christians,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 17 and the jurisdiction of the village was 5,719 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 55 2,510 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 3,067 dunams for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 100 while 16 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 150

Jordanian era After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Zababdeh was ruled by the Hashemites of Jordan.

In 1961, the population of Zababide was 1,474,Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 25 It was further noted (note 2) that it was governed through a village council. of whom 1,077 were Christian.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, pp. 115-116

Post-1967 Zababdeh came under Israeli occupation along with the rest of the West Bank during the 1967 Six-Day War. The population of Kufeir Zababida in the 1967 census conducted by Israel was 1,520, of whom 329 originated from the Israeli territory.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2007 census, there were 3,665 residents, of which roughly two-thirds are Christians,64% according to : "Zababdeh is one of the larger Villages with significant Christian populations in the north of the West Bank with 2,251 Christians out of 3,500 citizen." divided into Roman Catholic (Latin), Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Anglican communities. For two decades, from 1974–75 until he was posted to a position as parish priest in Gaza in 1995, the village priest was Manuel Musallam, a Fatah activist and native of Birzeit, who developed excellent educational facilities in the village that attracted commuting Muslim students from Jenin. The city also has a Muslim minority; both communities live without conflicts.

Families Awwad Dawoud Daibes Diab Esaid (Saeed) Kasbari Khalil Ibrahim Sharqawi Turkman Two Khoury families related only by marriage Abu-Zaineh Antabil Abu Sahliya Obaid Musallam

In media Zababdeh was featured in a short film Salt of the Earth: Palestinian Christians in the Northern West Bank, which examined the lives of nine Palestinian Christians living in and around the cities of Jenin and Nablus. Released by Salt Films, Inc., in 2004, the film was produced by Presbyterian missionaries Marthame and Elizabeth Sanders while they lived and worked in the Palestinian Christian village of Zababdeh.

Twin towns – sister cities

Zababdeh is twinned with:

Ixelles, Belgium Graz, Austria

See also Khouloud Daibes Palestinian Christians Salt of the Earth: Palestinian Christians in the Northern West Bank

References

Bibliography

(p. 125)

External links

Zababdeh Official Website-Rajaie Welcome To al-Zababida Zababdeh, Welcome to Palestine Survey of Western Palestine, Map 12: IAA , Wikimedia commons