Ḥurfaysh

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ḤURFAYSH

ḤURFAYSH , Druze village in Upper Galilee, Israel, on the Nahariyyah-Sasa road. In 1967 Hurfaysh received municipal status. Its area is 1.5 sq. mi. (4 sq. km.), and its population rose from 1,510 in 1968 to 4,480 in 2002. A center of the Galilean Druze community, Ḥurfaysh lies at the foot of Mt. Sabalān where the sanctuary al-Nabī Sabalān is located. Al-Nabī Sabalān is identified with Zebulun, son of Jacob, according to Druze and Muslim tradition. Ḥurfaysh's economy is based on hill farming, mainly tobacco and deciduous fruit orchards.

[Efraim Orni]

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