Maronites in Israel are an Arabic-speaking minority who belong to the Maronite Catholic Church, who reside in Israel and some of whom self-identify as Arameans, while the majority identify with the Arab nationality, while acknowledging their ancient Aramaic heritage. Their church has historically been tied with Lebanon. They derive their name from the SyriacSaint Maron, whose followers moved to Mount Lebanon from northern Syria, establishing the Maronite Church, most of whose members currently reside in Lebanon. The Maronites in Israel encompass the long-existing Maronite community in Jish area and the families of former South Lebanon Army members, 7,000 of them who fled South Lebanon in April–May 2000 to Israel. Of the 7,000 SLA and their families who left their family members and belongings in Lebanon, just 2,700 have remained in Israel. Over the years, some of them decided to return home to Lebanon, while others opted leaving Israel for Europe and the US. The Maronite community in Israel is trying to revive the ancient Western Neo-Aramaic language, which used to be the lingua franca of the region after the spread of Christianity, and a common language within the Maronite community until the 16th century. In 2014, the Maronite-majority village of Jish initiated a teaching program of neo-Aramaic language for young children in Jish Elementary School, with approval of the Israeli Ministry of Education. The program was implemented briefly by the School, but was quickly dropped.
History
The Maronite community in upper Galilee spans from the 18th century, being concentrated in the village of Kafr Bir'im and Jish. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the residents of the Maronite village of Kafr Bir'im were ordered by the IDF to evacuate temporarily, due to its strategic proximity to the Lebanese border. However, the Maronite residents were prohibited from returning to their hometown Kafr Bir'im after the war , and thus ended up taking residence in neighboring villages, predominantly, in Jish and Rameh, both of which had been almost emptied from much of their Arab Muslim population, who fled during the war. The Maronites constitute the biggest portion of Jish's population, as 55% of the inhabitants of Jish are Maronite Christians, in comparison to 10% being Melkites and 35% being Sunni Muslims. The Maronite population of Israel has significantly increased, as a direct result of the May 2000 withdrawal of IDF from southern Lebanon. Several thousands of former SLA militia members and their families, mostly Lebanese Maronites, fled from South Lebanon to Galilee during April–May 2000. While many of them later immigrated to France, Canada, United States and South America, the rest have remained in Israel. The cities and communities where most Maronites in Israel reside are Haifa,Nazareth, Jish, Mi'ilya, Fassuta and Kafr Yasif
In a study on Maronites' identity in Israel, performed at Haifa University, it was found that the large majority of this community reject Arab identity in favor of a distinct Maronite identity. Many Maronite residents of Jish consider themselves as Aramean Christian Maronites and not Lebanese. In 2014, Israel decided to recognize the Aramean community within its borders as a national minority, allowing some of the Christians in Israel to be registered as "Aramean", instead of "Arab" or "Unclassified". The Christians, who may apply for recognition as Aramean, are mostly Galilean Maronites, who trace their culture, ancestry and language to Arameans.
Language
Traditionally, neo-Aramaic had been the spoken language of the Maronites up to the 17th century, then Arabic took its place, while classical Syriac remained in use only for liturgical purposes. Recently, the Jish community has made efforts to revive neo-Aramaic to the level of a spoken language. Although the vast majority of Maronites in the Middle East are currently Arabic-speakers, the Jish Maronite community of Galilee is unique, as they have retained a "Syriac-like" dialect, due to their Aramaic heritage. In 2014, the Israeli Ministry of Education funded Aramaic language studies, as an unofficial language, for children in Jish Elementary School; however, this program quickly came to a halt. As of 2020, Jish Elementary School no longer offers this program.
