32°56′16″N 35°42′15″E / 32.93778°N 35.70417°E / 32.93778; 35.70417

Yehudiya or Yehudiyye (Arabic: يهودية, lit. "Jewish") is an abandoned village and archeological site in the center of the Golan Heights, about 5 kilometers south of Katzrin within the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve.

Ancient Jewish settlement

In the houses of the village, artifacts were found which attest to the existence of a settlement from the Roman–Byzantine period. According to multiple testimonies, there was a Jewish presence there after the Arab conquest.^[1] The Jewish past of the settlement was known to the Arabs who settled there later, hence its name.

It is one of several possible identifications for Soganaea, a village fortified by Josephus in preparation for the First Jewish–Roman War.^[2]

Modern times

In the 19th century Arab peasants settled in the village houses. Near the village there is a large stone house that was used as a farm and employed many local villagers.^[3] After the establishment of the State of Israel, the Syrians renamed the village "Arabiya" to blur its Jewish past.^[4] The village was depopulated in 1967 with the occupation of the Golan Heights by the IDF during the Six-Day War.^[5] The ruins of the village are now part of the Yehudiya Forest reserve, covering 66 square kilometers.

References