PLace

al-Manshiyya

Place
al-Manshiyya — المَنْشِيَّة
Known also as: Manshiyyat Samakh
District
Galilee
Subdistrict
Tiberias
Average Elevation
-200 m
Distance from Tiberias
11 km

The village stood on flat ground near the Jordan River, about 2 km south of the point where the river issued from Lake Tiberias, close to a highway that ran north to Samakh, on the lake. It was only 0.5 km south of Khirbat Umm Juni (203233) and in most sources is not distinguished from it. In 1881 Khirbat Umm Juni had a population of between 250 and 330 and was located on the east bank of the Jordan River. During the 1880s the lands of al-Manshiyya and Khirbat Umm Juni were purchased by Baha' Allah, the leader of the Babi religious sect (which later became the Baha'i religion). The people of al-Manshiyya continued to farm their lands as tenants, however, until at least the first decade of the twentieth century, when the Baha'is sold the land to the JNF. In 1922 there were still 79 Arab residents living in Khirbat Umm Juni (no figures are available for nearby al-Manshiyya).

This village was probably depopulated at the same time as al-'Ubaydiyya (Tiberias sub-disctrict), only 2 km to the southwest.

The settlement of Beyt Zera' (204232), founded in 1926, is 1 km southeast of the site. It was built on lands that were acquired in 1911 by the Jewish National Fund.

The site is covered with grasses and a few palm and eucalyptus trees; no traces of buildings remain. The surrounding lands are cultivated by Israelis.