History

According to the Bible, the recalcitrant prophet Jonah shirked his divine calling by fleeing to Joppa (today’s Jaffa) to catch a boat to Tarshish. When a great tempest threatened to destroy the ship, Jonah asked crewmates to hurl him overboard, for he knew the Lord had created the storm. The sea calmed, but an enormous fish surfaced and swallowed the prophet. After three days and nights, Jonah repented and the fish delivered him safely to dry land. (See Ashdod.) According to the New Testament, the Apostle Peter brought the disciple Tabitha back to life in Joppa.

The latter then dwelt in the seaside house of the town tanner and received divine instructions to preach to non-Jews. To this day, you can still visit the house of Simon the Tanner. The earliest archeological finds in Jaffa date from the 18th century BC. In 1468 BC, the Egyptians conquered Jaffa by hiding soldiers in life-size clay jars that were brought into the city market. King David conquered the city in about 1000 BC, and under Solomon it became the main port of Jerusalem, a position it maintained until the development of Caesarea under King Herod. During the 12th century, Jaffa was captured by the Crusaders, Salah ad-Din, Richard the Lion-Hearted, the Muslims, and finally the Crusaders again, who then built magnificent walls and towers, parts of which are extant still. In 1267 the Maraluks overpowered the city, and Jaffa remained an important Arab stronghold until 1948.