The nostalgia neighborhood of Bat-Galim: a rich past and a promising future - Bat-Galim is a microcosm neighborhood on a global scale and is multi-layered and syncretic

introduction:

The most maritime neighborhood in Israel, Bat Galim, lies on a prominent peninsula on the coastline of Haifa and the State of Israel (it must be remembered and reminded that in Haifa Herzl saw the example of the vision of the "New Israel"). The neighborhood is located on the historic "Sea Road - Via Maris" in the Phoenician coastal area. In this area, civilizations passed and ancient dramatic historical events took place. The area was within the historic domain of the tribe of Manasseh which was part of the Kingdom of Israel which existed separately from the Kingdom of Judah. Despite this, a coastal and maritime Phoenician settlement was located at Tel Shikmona, in the south of Bat Galim and below the Maris stela and the Eliyahu cave. It was a sort of independent "city-state" with a port (as Philistine colonies and enclaves were simultaneously located in the south by sea on the coast of a Philistine neighborhood).

The Phoenicians were a Canaanite-Semi-Pagan people, which emerged as an ancient civilization on the stage of history about 3,500 years ago. Its uniqueness was in its developed maritime culture, which dealt with traffic and maritime trade throughout the Mediterranean. For this purpose, the Phoenicians established over seventy colonies on the coasts around the Mediterranean Sea. The colonies that also included colonies along the Israeli coastline (such as, among others: Dor and Apollonia), became significant entities in the course of history such as, among others: Tire and Sidon on the Lebanese coastline (which formed the root of the Phoenician formation) as well as among others: Carthage, Barcelona, ​​Palermo, Malaga, Beirut, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Paphos, Salamis and more.

The Phoenicians of Tire and Sidon had excellent relations with the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. They provided the cedars of Lebanon that were used to build the first temple in Jerusalem in Judea. With the Kingdom of Israel, the Phoenicians of Tire and Sidon had the closest ties and mutual influences, including marriage ties between the elites (Jezebel, Ahab's wife, was the daughter of the king of Sidon).

Another thing that characterized the Phoenician culture was the invention of glass in general and artistic glass in particular (lighting bonfires in the winter in the beach sand, where a strong wind blew revealed that when the layer of fire and sand cooled, glass was formed). The art of glass later spread to the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, Rome and more. Colored glass remains were found in the Tel Shikmona excavations. The Phoenician culture disappeared in the course of history. Its contemporary resonance can be found in the sacred writings of the Maronite-Lebanese Catholic Church written in the ancient Phoenician language.

It should be noted that the Maronite diocese of northern Israel is located in an impressive historic building in the Bat-Galim neighborhood, which was built by the Maronite Beirut family as a summer home. After the War of Independence they immigrated to South America. This family worked to introduce Western culture to the Levant. This building is located in front of a square named after the Cypriot "Papa" (who helped a lot to the illegal immigrants arrested by the British in Cyprus). The square was recently inaugurated, in the Bat Galim neighborhood, at the entrance to the new entrance bridge to the neighborhood.  

It should be emphasized that the excavations at Tel Shikmona, which began about sixty years ago, have not been completed to this day. The mound is currently located on the new coastal ecological boardwalk that is being built in stages around the neighborhood. This is a route of about eight kilometers of promenade from the Carmel beach to the Pacific beach. The boardwalk passes by the State-Scientific Institute for the Study of the Seas and Lakes adjacent to Tel Shikmona as well as by the marine reserve and the emerging local marine community. This is within the nature reserve and national park of the State Authority for Nature Reserves and National Parks. This was done in cooperation with the Society for the Protection of Nature. 

Were there or weren't there extraterrestrials? In the context of Tel Shikmona, we should also mention the possibility of the existence of impressive UFO events of extraterrestrials from developed cultures at Tel Shikmona. These events, the existence of which has never been proven, received a media resonance at the time, and took place in 1987/8. Engineers Ami Azavi and Hadassah Arbel were witnesses to this. Remains of magnesium and carbon materials of burnt earth and signs of burning remain in the mound, and samples of them were even collected for scientific tests at the Technion. The Technion, for its part, has never published any statement that extraterrestrials landed here. Those who believe that extraterrestrials really landed here, claim that the landing of extraterrestrials at the site apparently indicates a special And the uniqueness of the place.

The surfing center, which was destroyed in 2010, still stands, as of May 2018, as a sealed skeleton waiting for a redeemer: Under the new bridge, mentioned above, the water surfing center will be built. Another sailing center, which serves the yachtsmen, is located within the quiet beach in the neighborhood. In the quiet beach itself there is a bathing beach in the sea. This is in addition to the regulated beach in the historic Bat-Galim neighborhood.

In the northern part of the neighborhood is the Rambam Medical Center complex, which includes a huge underground emergency hospital (donated by the Ofer family, residents of the Bat Galim neighborhood). The complex also includes a medical school affiliated with the Technion. In the area of ​​the hospital is the ancient port of Haifa. In this port Archeological excavations have not been carried out yet. In the underground area of ​​Rambam, according to the rumor, there is located an ancient labyrinthine complex of tunnels in the style of Indiana Jones (which has an opening).

Close to the Rambam compound and one of the entrances to the port of Haifa located in the neighborhood - the "Harmel Station" neighborhood is located, where there was an Ottoman railway station, which connected the "Sahar-Hapura" complex to the Egyptians and the Hijaz. On the site of the Carmel Station there are underground sites of Old Haifa, which were not carried out in orderly and systematic archaeological excavations. Bat Galim is also bordered by the historical cemetery of Old Haifa (where the Amorite Abdimi Daman of Haifa is buried, which is also commemorated by the name of Bat Galim street). 

The Templar and International cemeteries also exist in this area; The British military cemetery where soldiers of the Allenby army who conquered Israel from the Ottomans in 1917 are buried, is also located near the neighborhood. 

In Greater Bat Galim, which has elements of Christian holiness, there are a number of Christian sites, which include, among others, the buildings of the Carmelite Hospital, which are now part of the Rambam Medical Center. There is a building inside a church, which has changed its purpose. At the Carmel station there is a restored Greek Orthodox church In the center of the Bat-Galim neighborhood is located "Beth-El" of the German Protestant order founded by Emma Berger in memory of Jacob. "Beit Scandinavia" is also located in the neighborhood.

In the northern part of the neighborhood along the boardwalk route in the Ein Haim area, a Greek-Latin church is located almost on the waterfront. The Carmel slope that flows into the neighborhood is sacred to Christianity and Christian sites are located there. The prophet Elijah's cave is sacred not only to Jews but also to Christians, Muslims and Druze. There is an unproven rumor that the Ramban is allegedly buried under the "Yetbata" building, which became the "Shavatina" restaurant.

Important sites in the neighborhood that need to be restored to their greatness are: "The Fisherman's Hut" close to the Shawatina restaurant (former Yatbata). The fishermen's hut has been used as a Greek tavern since the late sixties. The site of the ruined tavern that stands abandoned can also be used to establish a unique college for cosmic esoteric studies, suitable for the nature of the neighborhood.

One of the iconic symbols of the neighborhood was the "casino" and the swimming pool on the waterfront. The casino was used as an Olympic pool and a center for events, entertainment and swimming sports competitions during and after the British Mandate. A hotel is currently planned there. At the same time, work must be done to renew the Olympic swimming pool.

The Templar windmill that appears in historical paintings on the waterfront in Bat Galim, hidden by the naval base in the neighborhood, also deserves to be returned from private hands to the public as a site of historical significance. It is a neighborhood icon. In this windmill, to which a variety of grains were brought for grinding both from the Templars' grain fields that extended in Bat Galim and from the north of the country - it is assumed that Aharon Aharonson of Zichron Ya'akov (the agronomist who was also the head of Nili) conducted his research on wheat, and made the important discovery of "Am - the wheat", including its stem cells.

In this context, it should be noted that the founders of Bat Galim were, among other things, descendants of the founders of the settlement of Zichron Yaakov (this settlement was established by Rosh Pina immigrants who came from Romania).

It should be noted that "Freemasons" also lived in the neighborhood, led by Yaakov Caspi, one of the founders of the neighborhood, and the owner of "Shipping Finance", who died in 1964. Jacob Caspi was also the head of the Freemasons in Israel. Above some of the entrances to the Masonic houses ("the Freemasons") small triangular windows were set.

In the neighborhood, Israel Kahan (Cohen), Baron Rothschild's clerk, who managed the settlement Zichron Ya'akov on behalf of the Baron, located his house (which still exists today). His daughter, the choreographer Jordana Cohen, the bride of the Israel Prize, who was one of the designers of Israeli dance, lived all her life in the neighborhood.

In the yard of the compound of the veterinarian Yitzhak Samsonov's house in the neighborhood, the Association of Veterinarians in Israel was founded (at the entrance to the compound there is a "built heritage" sign).

Prof. Aharon Dolgopolsky, who came from Moscow University in the Soviet Union, lived in the neighborhood for over fifty years. This man was engaged in the study of the Nasturtean language - which is the mother of all languages. He lives in an apartment in the Rishonim building built by Yaakov Caspi. Jacob Caspi was one of the founders of the neighborhood, along with Pinchas Margolin and Aharon Rosenfeld (the names of all the founders are commemorated on the streets of the neighborhood).

According to the rumor, the summer home of the leaders of the worldwide Baha'i religion, centered in Haifa and Acre, was located in the neighborhood, in front of the sea.

In the 1930s, immigrants from Germany came to settle in the neighborhood in the fifth year.

The navy's training base in the neighborhood is planned for future evacuation and a large residential complex is to be built in its place. The marina plan planned for the Carmel slope was canceled after a nationwide public struggle, with the participation of global environmental groups such as Greenpeace and led by surfers and residents of the neighborhood. 

The military port of the Israeli Navy bordering the "Pacific Coast" was expanded and enlarged. A huge logistics building is being built there. The neighborhood is also bordered by the complex of the Navy Museum, Ha'Afeal, and the Maritime Museum.

Contemporary neighborhood sites to note: the community cooperative cafe as well as the community garden. In the neighborhood there is a community center in the process of being upgraded.

A public anthroposophical state school is located in Bat Galim - the first in Israel that is public and not private. 

In the neighborhood there is a cable car to Stella Maris. 

Also located in the center of Bat Galim is a train station of Israel Railways. There are also several hotels in the neighborhood. The intention is to place additional tourist accommodation facilities in the neighborhood. In Bat Galim there are heritage buildings in eclectic and international styles intended for preservation.

Another person who should be commemorated in the neighborhood in addition to the Cypriot "Papa" (who worked for the detainees in the detention camps in Cyprus), is the Basque-Spanish Captain Steve (Esteban Hernandora Sobiaga), who volunteered with other Basque sailors to lead emigration ships to Israel and later from the detention camps in Cyprus back to the state Israel after its establishment. The man settled down and lived in the neighborhood following his described activity. Haifa Municipality and Mayor Yona Yahav, a fan of the neighborhood, are called to act in this matter.

Every Sukkot holiday, the "Beit Galim" festival takes place in the neighborhood, which includes open houses of artists. 

The neighborhood was a neighborhood bordering a port that during the British Mandate was considered part of the port. The founders of the private Israeli merchant fleet: Ofer, Meno, Caspi, Rosenfeld and apparently also Allof lived and worked there.

Due to its qualities and uniqueness, the Bat-Galim neighborhood deserves to be recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO (the world cultural organization affiliated to the United Nations). This is in a category that would suit its uniqueness, but this issue was not addressed.

I would like to point out that Shabbat Galim is protected by a special energy, which prevents her enemies from harming her. The expected rise in sea levels due to the melting of the glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic should also be dealt with in a preventive action in advance, by establishing a moderate ecological blockade along the coasts.

Bat Galim during the British Mandate in Israel

During the first third of the British Mandate in Mandatory Israel - the Bat Galim neighborhood was planned and established as an ecological marine garden neighborhood. It was the result of cooperation between the Zionist movement and the mandate authorities. Another partner was the architect of the garden neighborhoods in Israel, Richard Kaufman. There was an organization of the founders of the neighborhood, some of whom have already been mentioned in this article above. The concept of garden neighborhoods developed in Britain as a genre at the same time (the British Crown Prince Charles currently promotes this concept, among other things in high schools for global-regional ecological leadership, which he helped to establish). The land for the establishment of the neighborhood for middle-class people from the general Zionist stream of about seventy families was purchased from the Irani family. Similar garden neighborhoods were established, among others, in Hadar and Neve-Shaanan in Haifa, as well as in the neighborhood and Beit HaKarem in Jerusalem.

The isolated neighborhood, bordered by the railroad tracks, had until recently only one entrance. The buses that led to the neighborhood were operated by the Bat Galim bus company. Its central station was near the "Casino" subsidiary Galimi (I would like to emphasize that the isolation of the neighborhood created its uniqueness).

British military and security facilities were located in the neighborhood. This included: a military workshop for repairing vehicles, which was used by the IDF after the establishment of the state - until it was moved from the place. In addition, it had the navy base and the military port that exist to this day. The mandatory non-military security services also had a base in the neighborhood. A huge ammunition bunker was located in the neighborhood For the purposes of managing the moves of World War II, the ammunition was transported by ships that arrived at the port of Haifa.

Haifa Port, which grew skin and tendons in the late 1920s and 1930s, turned the neighborhood into a municipal part of the port complex. The British saw the neighborhood as the "jewel of the neighborhoods." Their soldiers and administration liked to spend time in the casino, which was an entertainment center and not a gambling center. Many artists from Europe occupied by the Nazis came to the neighborhood and worked as singers, entertainers and musicians in the casino and nearby cafes, such as: "Company", who worked around the clock with an enormous joy of life. The spirit of the neighborhood was sporty. Israel's hockey, swimming and water polo teams participated in it, in connection with "Maccabi". In the Olympic pool in the neighborhood, Middle Eastern regional Olympic competitions were held with the participation, among others, of the Egyptian, Lebanese and other national teams. During the time of Mayor Amram Metzna, it was decided to cancel the historic pool and close it. Since then the place has been destroyed and deserted.

On the evening of the vote on the distribution plan, residents of the neighborhood gathered near the casino. The excitement was huge. Upon the arrival of the voting results, the representative of the public Moldavsky went up to the elevated balcony of the casino to congratulate. The words fell out of his mouth due to the excitement and he fell to his death from the balcony (great drama).

After the establishment of the state, a number of Bat-Glimim football players played in the uniform of the Israel national team and represented Israel with honor among the nations of the world. Among them: Almani and the brothers Robbie and Victor Young.

As the thirty-year British mandate neared its end, the British concentrated their resources in the Haifa port area. It should be noted that in Haifa there were important institutions of their rule in the Land of Israel.

In Bat Galim, the British built housing for the servants of the Israeli Jewish Brigade who fought in their army during the war years. They also thought about the option of leaving a British sovereign territorial enclave in the port of Haifa and the Bat Galim neighborhood. This is for their strategic reasons. This veterans' housing located above the huge British ammunition bunker in the Bat Galim neighborhood, mentioned above, is intended for restoration and preservation.

The idea of ​​leaving the British enclave did not help Haifa. The idea was also implemented in the British enclaves, located in Greek Cyprus (NATO uses military facilities located in these enclaves). These are Akrotiri, Dekalia, Episcopal where British air, sea and land bases are located, as well as intercontinental communication facilities on the summit of the Troodos mountains in Cyprus. The British presence is good for the Greek Cypriots to deter the Turks.

Immediately after the War of Independence, the Israeli government built in Bat Galim a housing for the soldiers who were released from the War of Liberation.

Bright future for Bat Galim

Bat-Galim's future can be predicted and predicted in the light of what was said in this article above. In my opinion, the neighborhood in essence must remain a unique marine ecological garden neighborhood. Design and conservation parameters must be maintained respectively. The development must be proportionate and in a dose appropriate to the unique character both physically and energetically of the neighborhood. 

This includes the continued development of the promenades that surround the neighborhood. This requires the completion of the evacuation of the coastal strip about fifty meters wide around the Navy's training base and the partial demolition of the base wall.

Along the boardwalk is a commemoration of Captain Steve, who was written about in this article above.

Below are suggestions for promoting requested ideas for the realization of the Bat-Glimi vision:

1. The revitalization of the casino and its surroundings as a cultural and entertainment center, to which a hotel and an Olympic swimming pool are adjacent.

2. The revitalization of the former "Fishermen's Hut" tavern, while building a modern tavern and/or such a one that combines a college for New Age and Esoteric studies.

3. Construction of a large conference hall on the site of the ruins of the Bat Galim/Gil cinema across from the casino.

4. Promoting the idea of ​​granting Bat Galim "World Heritage Site" status from UNESCO. We should pray that Bibi will not follow through on his statement to withdraw from this important international organization, which is now headed by a new Jewish head named Mrs. Azoulai, who is the daughter of David Azoulai, who is an advisor to King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

5. Promoting the completion of the multi-layered archaeological excavations at Tel Shikmona, including the visual reconstructions accepted in modern archeology sites. This includes announcing and establishing an archaeological garden in Shekmona, including a museum and a small exhibition and information center.

6. Completion of the construction of the existing skeleton under the new entrance bridge to the neighborhood - where the water surfing center in Israel will be located. This is the most suitable place because it is located at the entrance of the Carmel slope to the sea. This creates an excellent marine current regime for surfing in its various variations: windsurfing and kitesurfing. It is one of the unique places on the planet for that. That is why it is important that the construction of the marina on the site was avoided. 

7. Evacuation of the navy's training base and the construction of a low-rise residential complex. It should be combined with a moderate anchorage and promenade like in Herzliya. 

8. Overcrowding and compression of populations in the neighborhood must be avoided. Magdalization should be avoided.

Sources:

My sources of knowledge about the Phoenicians have accumulated over many years of interest in the subject.
The reason for the interest was and is the fact that I am from Galimi, of which Shikmona is a part and connects it to a very distant history.
Shakmona makes the entity called Bat Galim (on the coast of Haifa) equivalent in its length of history to Jerusalem, where I have lived since I was a student at the Hebrew University from the end of 1970.
The open and maritime subsidiary entity Glimith, with regional mutual influences, which was located in the Kingdom of Israel is a fundamental antithesis to Jerusalem, the closed and ethnocentric, of the Kingdom of Judah which included the tribes of Yehuda Levi and Benjamin. ) and Israel (Haifa) radiates on us even today. Benjamin Ze'ev Herzl was aware of this. Part of the process of the formation of contemporary Israeliness is part of this. The deep and essential debate on the definition of Israeli/or Jewish nationalism is also part of this.
In 1974, a book was published by "Reshafim" by Nissim Rafhal Ganor entitled: "Who were the Phoenicians".

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