1957 Survey of Israel Hebrew Map of Haifa, Israel

An impressive, large-format Hebrew-language survey map of Haifa, produced in 1957 by the Survey of Israel.

A Closer Look

Coverage includes the city of Haifa and its environs up to the northern slopes of Mount Carmel. A grid surrounds the map, corresponding to an index of streets and public buildings at the right. Much of the city's land is color-shaded according to the legend below the title, with grey indicating built-up areas, darker grey signifying public buildings (most of which are numbered and listed in the index), green for parks and public greenspaces, and shading to indicate forests and other natural resources. Roads (paved and unpaved), paths, and railways are also noted, along with elevation along contour lines.

Historical Context

Situated on the only natural harbor in the Mediterranean, the area around Haifa and Acre has been an essential link to the sea for many centuries. Archaeological sites throughout the city, including Tel Shikmona (תל שִׁקְמוֹנָה) at left, provide important information on ancient trade routes, including the Phoenician, Greek, and Roman worlds. The city's modern history was shaped in large part by Jewish immigration during the First and Second Aliyah in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the early 20th century, the port city also became a stop on the Hejaz Railway, and several other industrial projects were undertaken. Culturally, the city also saw the birth and development of the Baháʼí faith, whose founder, Baháʼu'lláh (1817 - 1892), is entombed in a large shrine near the center here. The Mandatory Period, especially its later part, saw communal violence between Jews and Arabs, including a December 1947 tit-for-tat massacre of employees of the Haifa Oil Refinery towards the top-right (numbered 130).

Sha'ar Ha-'aliyah

After the founding of the State of Israel, Haifa became the major entry point for Jewish refugees and migrants. An immigration center managed by the Jewish Agency was established at Sha'ar Ha-'aliyah (שער העליה, at left here), often likened to Ellis Island, which processed an influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants from March 1949 through January 1952. In order to handle such a large volume of new arrivals, the center adopted tactics that were controversial at the time, including mass quarantine behind barbed wire fences (especially vexing for European Jews who had recently survived the Holocaust). The lack of a common language among arrivals and between arrivals and the camp's staff also added stress to an already fraught situation. Processing through Sha'ar Ha-'aliyah was a formative experience for many citizens of the new State of Israel and informed their later political participation and cultural identity.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by the Department of Measurements (מחלקת המדידות) of the Survey of Israel in 1954, based on a 1924 Ordinance Survey map conducted by the British administration of Mandatory Palestine. It was then updated in 1957 and reissued in 1959. The only known institutional holdings of this printing of the map, as well as the 1954 original, are with the National Library of Israel. According to the library's catalog listing, the map was used as an appendix to travel guidebooks for teachers and youth.