These days it is hard to imagine a reality that existed in Israel until the 1990s in the Sharon region - a taxi travels between the moshavs of Shadi Hamed, Hagor and the village of Jaljulia, and collects passengers of all types and sectors who just drove together to Hafcem district, regardless of religion, race or political affiliation.
Just people who want to get home safely.
Raid Abu Riya and Ahmad Balalu, childhood friends from Jaljulia in their late 50s, recall those days and cuddle with a smile.
"The taxi traveled through Jaljulia, because the entrance to the Jewish settlements was only from the village," they say.
But today, road 531 and road 444 divide and isolate the three neighboring settlements, and perhaps the traffic development is only a small symbol of the division that happens, unfortunately, between companies in Israel today.
A tour of the Jaljulia local council (photo: Ziv Reinstein, editing: Noa Levy)
"Tourism - an anchor for the development of the village"
Jaljulia is surrounded by all the roads of Gush Dan - highway 6, 444, 531 and has almost nowhere to expand, maybe a little north.
The Jews know the local council of 11,000 residents, usually only from shopping or hummus they come to sweep on the weekend.
But a tour of the ancient village reveals quite a few surprises under the radar.
"Tourism is part of an economic vision and an anchor for the development of the village," says Darvish Ravi, head of the council for the past five years, "and we have built an economic vision that attacks the historical sites."
By this Rabbi means the Mamluk Khan from the 14th century in the Council, whose remains are barely standing.
These days the Khan is undergoing extensive renovation and will (inshallah) open on March 23, the beginning of the month of Ramadan.
"Tourism is part of an economic vision and an anchor for the development of the village."
Wall painting in Jaljulia (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Motivate processes for residents and visitors.
Jaljulia Council (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Arab settlement, Jewish CEO
The person who arrived two years ago to manage the council (which was established in 1957) and to put things into practice, is actually a Jew named Itai Zahar, who was the CEO of the neighboring Kfar Saba municipality and travels every day from Moshav Beit Zeit near Jerusalem to Jaljulia. I believe in the public sector," he says, "and I offered myself to be CEO here. It's a managerial and value challenge for me."
In the last two years, Ravi and Zahar began to implement projects that should bring economic, social and educational well-being to the residents, and along the way also attract travelers to the village.
"The vision in 2030 will be an income of 25 million shekels from projects under construction," explains Zahar, referring to the solar panels project that saved the council about a million shekels in 2022, or the replacement of street lighting with LED bulbs, which saved 150 thousand shekels in electricity expenses.
"We want to return the public space to the whole - from lighting, through names to the streets, to establish playgrounds," Tzahar continues enumerating the future plans.
From a social point of view, the council established a women's and men's basketball team, martial arts classes, and these days they are building an Olympic stadium with two soccer fields, a sports hall and a stadium.
Jaljulia on the napkin!
However, two issues that Jaljulia does have to deal with, as perhaps in most of Arab society, are the violence, which is admittedly on the decline in favor of Zahar, and of course the dirt that is definitely evident on the sidewalks and other places.
"There is a tender for trash removal, we added a cleaning patrol with workers and we want to be a city with zero landfill waste," says Zahar.
Let's hope that next to the statements there will also be actions in the future.
Wheel drives in Jaljulia.
The council building (photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The Arab who bakes challah for Shabbat
But beyond all the developments in Jaljulia, it seems that the thing that holds the village together the most are the people themselves.
"They are proud that they come here as travelers and that they have something to show," says Ilanit Harmati, manager of the "Intertwined Paths" program from Beit Merhavim, which promotes a common society through tourism, social and educational activities in Arab communities in Israel.
"This is one of the settlements in which we operate the most and this is due to the human capital and the tourists who come here."
The one who took on the issue of tourism development in the village and also serves as a local guide is Raid Abu Riya, a native of Jaljulia who works as a banker in a senior position, and simply loves the place where he lives.
"One of the goals of tourism here is to increase the residents' affiliation with the council and give them pride," he says.
According to him, many children do not speak Hebrew in the council, so they formed a group of children from the 11th grade in the association who will join the groups and explain to the Jews who come to meet, and along the way they will improve their Hebrew.
There are quite a few buildings for preservation.. The old school building in the village (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Hala for Shabbat for 8 shekels
I walk with Raid through the streets of the council, on the way we pass by a large building with the inscription: "Light for parents".
Raid explains that it is a nursing home with 120 beds and that 90 percent of its residents are Jewish.
"It's funny to see Jews here on Shabbat pushing their parents in wheelchairs through the streets," he says.
We are on our way to the Jamal Harbush bakery, which on Fridays and Shabbat bakes for Shabbat.
He learned the art of baking from the Jews, when he was a child and worked in a bakery in Petah Tikva.
"I entered a bakery and asked for a job, and I stayed for 10 years," he recalled.
Later, 25 years ago, he opened his own bakery which is located on the main road in Salah al-Din Street.
It doesn't have a big, inviting sign and you have to drive carefully so you don't miss it, but "lots of Jews come to shop here and the Arabs also started buying challah because they are delicious," Raid explains.
With a normal look into the bakery, you don't see the secret of Harbush that is behind the scenes - an ancient German "Winkler" pita machine.
"They stopped making it in 1937 and only I know how to fix it," Harbush boasts.
The prices are very cheap (challa Shabbat for 8 shekels), and there are also pita breads, rolls, kirshala (a dry cookie with sesame seeds that is dipped in tea and becomes soft).
They stopped producing it in 1937.
"Winkler" machine for baking harbush (photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Learned to bake as a child with the Jews.
Jamal Harbush in his bakery (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The surprise shop
From the bakery we walk to the core of the ancient village of Jaljulia and see a building that should have been preserved, which used to be the first school of the village, and is now in private hands.
Will it be saved?
There is no telling.
Raid says that the teacher who died two years ago bought the plot near the school "because he loved the place so much".
In the street that is decorated with some beautiful murals, there is also the shop of Jamal Azoni, one of the village's veterans.
"His father was Jaljulia's butcher," Raid declares.
"As a child I remember his father with a sleeve, and his brother was the only one who had a television, and every Friday I would pay him to watch a movie."
Jamal, who for over 40 years volunteered to accompany groups that went to Mecca for the pilgrimage (Hajj), is now retired for many years and decided to open a clothing store for the common people, "not to make a profit but so that they come to visit," says Raid and adds that every product is sold in a few shekels.
"I don't want to close the store," says Jamal, who sells clothes, an electric kettle, household equipment, toiletries and other unrelated products, "this is my memory."
On Fridays, after the important midday prayer of the week, the Jaljulia veterans gather in the parliament store.
"They enjoy criticizing passers-by," Raid concludes.
On Fridays, the parliament of the village elders gathers at his place.
Jamal Azoni (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Selling things for the company, not for a living (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
One settlement, two ways
Jaljulia has existed as a settlement since the Canaanite period (about 1500 years BC), and its name probably comes from the biblical Gilgal (in Sharon and not in the Bekaa).
In the Roman period the settlement was called "Galgulis" mentioned in the onomasticon of Bishop Eusebius (4th century AD).
"But there is another interpretation," says Raid, "because the Hamaris (the sea road - Z.R) and the Darb al-Brid (the post road - Z.R) pass here and caravans pass over them, and the noise of the chariots is called in Arabic 'Jaljala' '"
A settlement established between two important and intersecting roads, it was built in Jaljulia Khan Mamluk (14th century AD) by Emir Tankhuz, which was used by the armies and caravans that passed through it on the way to/from Damascus to Cairo and Mesopotamia at that time.
"The place was very neglected," says Raid, "and the first time we brought people here, they hardly saw it - everything was garbage and abandoned, and with social pressure from the locals we raised 1.5 million shekels to preserve the place."
In the works that have been going on for a year at the Shemet Lanpol Khan, the walls of the Khan and the vaulted rooms that spread over a plot of about 5,000 square dunams and a farmers' market with stalls will be built there, which should open in the month of Ramadan this year, March 23.
Should open as a farmers' market already this month, in Ramadan.
The Khan (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
It was established on the main road that passed by the settlement.
Khan Jaljulia (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
There is something to preserve
A minute's walk from the Khan, on the corner of Salah al-Din and Al Khan streets, there is a great building, which is also abandoned and neglected.
This is the Al-Aun Mosque, named after "Abu Al-Aun", one of Saladin's army commanders.
Excavations at the site revealed a well that was the source of the area's water.
"The caravans stopped to drink here, and ate and slept in the khan," says Raid.
There is also a belief that the place was used as a distillery in ancient times - a site for making sugar from sugar cane, since Nahal Kana (a tributary of the Yarkon) runs right by and a stream with water is needed for the benefit of the aforementioned growth. Today the building, whose unique decorations and construction style are still visible from the outside, is abandoned and neglected Let's hope they knew how to preserve it and the deep well next to it.
In general, Jaljulia was considered throughout the ages as an agricultural place with good soil for cultivation, as well as water that passes near the settlement. "Jaljulia was known as a fertile area thanks to its soil," explains Raid, "and there were 14 orchards in it, like the Nabulsi orchard of the rich Effendi from Nablus",
There is a belief that the place was used as a winery in ancient times.
Al Aon Mosque (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The painted police building
We go further into the depths of the settlement and we arrive at the Jaljulia police building, which is located in front of a local soccer field.
About a year ago, the wall of the large building was painted as part of a project by the Lottery on the occasion of 20 years of activity in the council.
"They chose several towns and took an Arab artist and a Jewish artist to paint their works on the wall," Raid explains the meaning of the painting, "Jaljulia was looking for a large wall and chose to paint the police building."
On the wall is a portrait of Padwa Tukan, a poet from Nablus, whose poetry speaks of giving and love that change destinies and perceptions between people.
Among her quotes painted on the wall, you can read (in Arabic) "Give us love, because love is a treasure of goodness that overwhelms people".
"Jaljulia was looking for a big wall and chose to paint the police building."
The new mural (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
A portrait of Padva Tukan, the poet from Nablus, in the large mural (photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The secret of hummus
It's noon in the council, which means that many of its residents are flocking to Hummus Karim - perhaps one of the best-known institutions of Jaljulia.
Hummus Karim, which for 23 years has been feeding the Arabs and Jews of Jaljulia and the region.
"Karim 'moved' from Kalkilia," as Raid says with a smile, "and married a local."
In a place where they sell a dish of hummus for 25 shekels and a pita with falafel for 12 shekels, he serves clean hummus, hummus from Shawasha and the famous "triangle" dish - hummus, pul and masbah.
"My secret to hummus is that I put a lot of tahini in the hummus, at least half," explains Karim, who adds that already from the early hours of the morning (07:00) the locals show up at his place to eat a dish.
At 16:00 there is no one to talk to anymore.
And the hummus?
It was really great.
A dish for 25 shekels, falafel for 12.
Hummus Karim (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Puts one very important ingredient in hummus - the heart.
Karim (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The delicatessen of the Jews
For a bit more fancy food, on Al Quds Street, the culinary street of Jaljulia, where Hummus Abu Hani is also located, is the "Aldaya" deli, which means "Zula", a place to eat.
Yosef Issawi, a successful local contractor, who moved to the nearby village of Bara, opened a butcher shop in 2009 that developed into a culinary establishment that has everything: meats from abroad that are kept in a refrigerator specially brought from Argentina, sauces from around the world, preserves and special fruits and vegetables, and what not. About three years ago For months, this delicatessen shop was joined by a sister shop called "Dagim Al Aida", which sells fish of all kinds, which are displayed in a shop window like items in a museum. "90 percent of my customers are Jews," says Iswai, who says that on Saturdays the place is bursting with Jews who come to shop and have turned the place into a kind of parliament their own.
Meat from all over the world.
Butcher shop "Aldaya" (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
My sweetie
The neighboring store of "Aldaya" is "Hammudi Sweets", managed by Ahmed Blalo - such a cute man who smiles all the time and just wants you to have sweets.
Blalo worked for the council for 31 years, and two years ago he retired and opened the place.
"In the middle of the week, it's pretty quiet here in terms of clients," he says, "but Thursday is a blast."
Belalu prepares knapa, baklawat, patayir, kataif and awama in Ramadan or on the weekend, as well as sabusa and tere leche cake that his wife the baker makes. But what is special about Abu Amjad, Belalu's nickname, is the knapa that he personally prepares on the spot for those who come , "and also makes deliveries," he adds. He brings the cheese called "Akaavit" from Jordan and tells about a new trend - knapa ice cream."
Prepares on the spot.
Raid (from the left), Ahmed Blalo and Ilanit taste kannapa at "Mamataki Hamudi" (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
"A place in heaven"
Finally, at the exit of the village stands perhaps the most magnificent monuments of Jaljulia.
Anyone who gets off Highway 6 and travels to Sharon, Kfar Saba and the area, sees the Golden Dome with two long minarets rising on its sides.
This is the "Al Rawda" ("Place in Heaven") mosque, one of three mosques in the council, which was built about five years ago with donations of NIS 20 million.
His imam is Awad Abu Riya, who also practices Chinese medicine.
"Those who need spiritual treatment I treat them with the Koran, and those who need physical treatment then with Chinese medicine," he says jokingly.
"The mosque was built in a unique artistic way to give a sense of comfort," Raid explains when we go inside and I marvel at what my eyes see.
At the top of the columns that stand in the round structure, Corinthian capitals (a familiar Greco-Roman model in our region) are gilded, and Raid says that "the dome was so heavy that they brought cranes to lift it."
Inside the dome and around it are works by artists from the territories and abroad, who painted verses from the Koran, as well as a huge Turkish carpet on which people pray. The mosque can hold about a thousand fire inside and about 1,500 more outside. Don't miss a visit inside - this is a magnificent creation that simply must not be missed.
Built with a donation of NIS 20 million.
Al Rawda Mosque (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
A luxurious Turkish carpet and design by artists from abroad. Al Rawda Mosque (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
A minute before going back to road 531, Raid, Blalo, Ilanit and I were sitting enjoying a hot knapa that Blalo had just taken off the fire.
"There is nothing on this knapa," said Raid with a smile as he rolled a piece of this sweet dessert on his fork.
They cuddled up to the days when they were children and the same taxi drove between Jaljulia and the Jewish settlements, when a cart with a donkey passed right outside the store.
I thought to myself, there are things that would be better left as before.
As part of the month of Ramadan, which will begin this year on March 23, tours will be held in Jaljulia and other Arab cities in Israel as part of the association "Crossroads".
Come and get to know the Arab society in Israel.
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