District Northern Population (2015) 822 | Council Merom HaGalil Local time Thursday 7:39 PM | |
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Founded 1946 (original)
1971 (current) Founded by Religious Kibbutz Movement Weather 11°C, Wind SW at 6 km/h, 95% Humidity | ||
Birya (Hebrew: בִּירִיָּה, also Biriya) is an agricultural village in northern Israel. Located in the Upper Galilee near Safed, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Merom HaGalil Regional Council. In 2015 its population was 822.
Contents
Map of Birya, Israel
History
The town of Birya is mentioned in the Talmud.
In 1946, a group of pioneers affiliated with the Religious Kibbutz Movement settled at a site near Birya Fortress. According to the Jewish National Fund,
According to the Jewish National Fund, Biria was frequently attacked both by Syrian troops and by Kaukji's men. In February 1946, after an attack on an Arab Legion camp in the area, the British army searched the village and found arms on the land. All the kvutza members were arrested and the village was occupied by the British military, "whereupon thousands of young Jews from all parts of the country re-established the settlement not far from the original site." The British withdrew their troops two months later, although the villagers were not released until the following summer. In 1947, Birya had a population of 150.
Modern Birya was founded in 1971. Birya was one of the settlements hit by Katyusha rockets launched by Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Efforts have been made to resuscitate the forest on its outskirts, which suffered severe damage in the war. The forests were planted by the Jewish National Fund in the 1940s with contributions from within Palestine, as well as the Mizrahi Organization of Great Britain, and the Mizrahi Women of Britain and America.