Yafa an-Naseriyye is an ancient town where rock-cut tombs and
cisterns have been found. Pottery finds date to the
Iron Age IIA-B (late tenth and ninth centuries BCE),
Hellenistic (late second and early first centuries BCE.), and
Roman era (first to fourth century). It has been identified with the ancient town of
Japhia, mentioned in the
Book of Joshua as a border town belonging to
Zebulun.
Classical antiquity First-century Jewish historian
Josephus mentions the city Japha (Yafa) in his
Life of Flavius Josephus (§ 37 and 45) and
The Jewish War (Book 3, chapter 7, verse 31). He describes Japha as the largest village in Galilee, where he resided for a time and fortified it in 66 CE. Josephus also details the village's capture during the
First Jewish–Roman War by the
Roman army under M. Ulpius Traianus and
Titus in the spring of 67 CE. Chambers, cut in stone, three storeys high, have been found in the village. This was probably an old
granary.
Victor Guérin noted that when one of the chambers was cleared out in 1869, a vase was found containing about two hundred coins of
Roman emperors. According to his observations, there were two of the subterranean systems, one of which is described above, both of which have suffered considerable damage since they were first visited by him in 1870. He found nothing of the ancient town, except five or six fragments of
columns, broken stones, and about thirty
cisterns. The city formerly included three adjacent hills. A stone
quarry, also dating from the Roman period, has been excavated. It was in use from the late first century CE to the mid-fourth century CE. The remains of a
synagogue, initially reported by Vincent in the 1920s, were later excavated by
Sukenik in 1950, confirming the site's identification. The excavation of the building, which is approximately 19 meters long and oriented east-west, only revealed partial details of
its plan.
Mosaic fragments discovered during the excavation hinted at a central
motif — a large circle with 12 smaller dots — suspected to represent either a
zodiac, or, as suggested by Sukenik, depicting the
Twelve Tribes of Israel. One notable discovery from the synagogue is an
Aramaic mosaic fragment from its floor, showcasing three
Hebrew letters (possibly signifying the last letters of the name
Ephraim), next to the head of an animal. This finding dates back to the 3rd to 4th centuries AD.
Middle Ages Local medieval tradition holds that
Zebedee and his two sons, the
Apostles James and
John lived in Yafa. As the first to mention this tradition was
Marinus Sanutus, it was most likely a
Crusader-era invention.
Mamluk period Remains of a building from the
Mamluk era has been excavated, with pottery
sherds from that period.
Ottoman period In 1517, the village was incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the Ottoman
tax registers as being in the
nahiya ("Subdistrict") of
Tabariyya under the
Liwa ("District") of
Safad with a population of 14
Muslim households. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on wheat, barley, fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 2,200
akçe. A map from
Napoleon's invasion of 1799 by
Pierre Jacotin showed the place, named as
Iaffa. In 1838
Edward Robinson described it as a small village, with 30 houses and the remains of a church. When
Guérin visited in 1875, he found 400 inhabitants including
Latins,
Greek Orthodox, and Moslems. There were also Protestant schools in the village. In 1881, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as a "moderate-sized village in a strong position on the spur running from Nazareth down to Jebata. It has a well to the north side and a second in the valley to the north-east." A population list from about 1887 showed that
Yafa had about 900 inhabitants; half Muslims, half Christians.
British Mandate In the
1922 census of Palestine conducted by the
British Mandate authorities,
Yafa had a total population of 615; 215 Muslims and 400 Christians, Of the Christians, 168 were Orthodox, 112 Catholics, 108 Greek Catholic (
Melchite) and 12 Anglicans. The population had increased at the
1931 census, when Yafa, (including
Arab el Ghazzalin), had a population of 833; 456 Muslims and 377 Christians, in a total of 213 houses. In the
1945 statistics the population size of Yafa was 1,070; 580 Muslims and 490 Christians, with a total of 17,809
dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 710 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 12,701 used for cereals, while 149 dunams were built-up (urban) land. In 1921, a synagogue
lintel was found there, and in 1950 part of a synagogue paved with mosaics was excavated near the Greek Orthodox church.
State of Israel In 1948 Yafa was captured by the Israeli army during
Operation Dekel which was launched in July. The remaining population were put under
martial law which remained in force until 1966. A substantial portion of Yafa's population today are the descendants of
internally displaced Palestinian Arabs from the neighbouring village of
Ma'alul which was depopulated during the
1948 Arab–Israeli war. People from Ma'alul participated in the local elections in Yafa under the banner of the "Ma'alul refugees' party", with a platform also focused on issues of interest or concern to the wider population, as a way of attracting political support from local parties. ==Economy==