Two Jews Among Arabs : Israelis Seek Heritage in Ancient Galilee Village

Only two Jews still live in this ancient hillside village in northern Galilee, but for many Israelis, they symbolize the Jewish claim to Palestine.

“My family has lived here for 2,000 years,” says Margalit Zeinati, 53, custodian of the town’s only synagogue opposite the home she shares with her 75-year-old mother.

The simple place of worship contains stones that date back to the 2nd Century. Jewish visitors to the mostly Arab town still pray there.

“There is no better proof that this is the Jews’ land,” Zeinati says of the synagogue.

Israelis believe Jews have lived continuously in Peqi’in since biblical days, a claim disputed by a local Arab scholar.

Hundreds of Israeli schoolchildren, tourists and pilgrims converge on the village daily in search of their roots.

Historical Claims

Although Jewish habitation in the Holy Land dates back to the Bible, most Jews fled in the wake of foreign invasions in the first centuries of the Christian era.

Since the rise of the Zionist movement in the late 19th Century, Jews and Arabs have turned every stone in search of evidence of their historical birthright to the land.

While the conflict has flared into violence elsewhere, residents say Peqi’in has for centuries been a model of peace and tolerance among Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze.

Tour guides are quick to draw a lesson from history. “Peqi’in shows that we once lived here, that it actually belonged to us, and that we have our roots in Israel,” guide Shlomit Longboim says.

Zeinati dresses much the same as the 3,500 other villagers. She wears black sandals, a light green smock over her dress and a scarf with purple dots on her head. Arabic is her mother tongue.

Many scholars doubt the claim that the Zeinati family and other Jews have lived in Peqi’in since the days of Jerusalem’s Second Temple.

Peqi’in resident Muna’m Haddad, a Christian Arab who wrote a doctoral thesis on the folklore of Peqi’in, argues that the families came to the area soon after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492.

“Even Jewish scholars have said that the Jews in Peqi’in only came in the 15th or 16th centuries.” Haddad says. “Nowadays the government tries to say that everything is Jewish.”

Mostly Arab

The older homes in Peqi’in are built of stone, the newer ones stucco, many with rooftop gardens. A single road runs through the village, and traffic is sparse. Small, winding alleys connect the rest of the village.

Seventy percent of the residents are Arab Druze, followers of a sect that is an offshoot of Islam. The men wear baggy trousers and circular fez hats and sport handlebar mustaches. Many women wear headdresses. Their children prefer jeans.

Two recent disputes between the Zeinatis and others in town have ruffled the tranquility of Peqi’in.

Two Druze brothers have accused Zeinati of slandering their restaurant, one of the two in town.

They say Zeinati told tourists they were members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, scaring customers away to a Muslim restaurant across the street.

Gathering evidence through a private detective, the Druze brothers decided to file suit against Zeinati in court. The trial is scheduled to begin in August.

“We’re not concerned with money but the honor of the community,” 28-year-old restaurant owner Ghalib Kheir says. “She slandered the whole Druze community.” Zeinati denies the slander charges and intends to fight the case.

Cemetery Dispute

A dispute over the village cemetery also divides the religious groups. Zeinati, backed by the government, asserts that the graveyard is for Jews only, while Muslims and Christians claim part of it as theirs.

“The issue has made for tension between the Arabs and the Zeinati family,” Haddad said. The dispute has been in court for a decade.

Neither Haddad nor the Zeinatis believe the disputes will destroy the serenity of this enclave in the hills.

“This is a village where four religions--the Christians, Jews, Muslims and Druze--all live in peace,” Zeinati said.

Concluded Haddad in his doctoral thesis: “In spite of little wrangles from time to time . . . (Peqi’in) can be used as an example for all the nations of the Middle East.”