Maghar, Israel

Maghar (Arabic: المغار‎, Hebrew: מַעָ'ר, also al-Maghar or Mghar; lit. the cave) is an Arab village in Israel's North District with an area of 19,810 dunams. Maghar was classified with local council status in 1956. There were 19,900 people living in Maghar at the end of 2009.

History

Antiquity

Maghar was known as "Zar" during the Roman period. Many olive groves and wine presses testify to a long history of agriculture in the area, and numerous hillside caves show signs of ancient habitation. The village's name comes from the Arabic word for "the caves".

Ottoman era

In 1596 the village appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as Magar Hazur, part of the nahiya of Tabariyya in the Liwa of Safad. It had an entirely Muslim population consisting of 169 households and 17 bachelors. Taxes were paid on wheat, barley, olive trees, goats and/or beehives, and a press for olives or grapes, and in 1555 on silk spinning.

In 1875 French explorer Victor Guérin found the village, which he called el-Mehar, to be a large one with 1200 inhabitants. It was divided into three quarters, with Muslim, Christian and Druse inhabitants. In 1881, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described El Mughar as a "large stone-built village, containing about 1,100 Moslems, Druses, and Christians, situated on the slope of the hill, with extensive olive-groves to the south and west; a large spring and birkeh gives a good supply of water."

Israel

Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35

Israel (/ˈɪzreɪəl/ or /ˈɪzriːəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Yisrā'el; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎ Isrāʼīl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Medīnat Yisrā'el [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic: دولة إِسْرَائِيل‎ Dawlat Isrāʼīl [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a country in the Middle East, situated at the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. It shares land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories (which are claimed by the State of Palestine and are partially controlled by Israel) comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. It contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's financial and technology center is Tel Aviv, while Jerusalem is both its self-designated capital (unrecognised by the United Nations) and its most populous individual city under the country's governmental administration. Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is internationally disputed.

Israel (footballer)

Israel David Bascón Gigato (born 16 March 1987 in Utrera, Seville), known simply as Israel, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right midfielder.

Club career

Betis

A product of Real Betis's youth system, Israel made his debut for the first team against Real Sociedad, on 16 March 2005 (nine minutes, 0–1 away loss). During the 2004–05 season he made a further seven La Liga appearances, adding three in the Spanish Cup, where he scored his first goal for the Andalusians, against CD Mirandés.

In the following campaign Israel played again in just eight matches, all but one as a substitute, while also appearing in both European competitions, coming from the bench against Liverpool and R.S.C. Anderlecht in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

During the 2006 off-season, in August, vastly underplayed at Betis due to the presence of Joaquín in his position, Israel spent time at Chelsea on trial after a move to Real Madrid Castilla failed to materialise. His trial was unsuccessful, however, and the player then left for Mérida UD on a loan deal.

Land of Israel

The Land of Israel (Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל ʼÉreṣ Yiśrāʼēl, Eretz Yisrael) is one of several names for an area of indefinite geographical extension in the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (q.v. Israel (disambiguation)). The definitions of the limits of this territory vary between passages in the Hebrew Bible, with specific mentions in Genesis 15, Exodus 23, Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47. Nine times elsewhere in the Bible, the settled land is referred as "from Dan to Beersheba, and three times it is referred as "from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt” (1 Kings 8:65, 1 Chronicles 13:5 and 2 Chronicles 7:8).".

These biblical limits for the land differ from the borders of established historical Israelite and later Jewish kingdoms; over time these have included the United Kingdom of Israel, the two separated kingdoms of Israel (Samaria) and Judah, the Hasmonean Kingdom, and the Herodian Kingdom, which at their heights ruled lands with similar but not identical boundaries.