View source for Kafr Ra'i

{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Kafr Ra'i
| translit_lang1     = Arabic
| translit_lang1_type = [[Arabic script|Arabic]]
| translit_lang1_info = كفر راعي
| type               = [[Municipality (Palestinian Authority)|Municipality type C]]
| image_skyline      = East Barta'aBehin is Kafr Rai9448 L9452.JPG
| image_caption      = 
| pushpin_map        = Palestine
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Kafr Ra'i within [[State of Palestine|Palestine]]
| image_map          = 
| map_caption        = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|32|22|34|N|35|09|18|E|region:PS|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name          = [[Palestine grid|Palestine&nbsp;grid]]
| grid_position      = 164/197
| subdivision_type   = State
| subdivision_name   = {{Flag icon|Palestine}} [[State of Palestine]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|Governorate]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Jenin Governorate|Jenin]]
| established_title  = Founded
| established_date   = 
| government_footnotes = <!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| government_type    = [[Municipality (Palestinian Authority)|Municipality]]
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| unit_pref          = dunam
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 
| area_total_dunam   = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_min_m    = 
| elevation_max_m    = 
| population_footnotes = <ref name="PrelimCensus2017">{{cite report |date=February 2018 |title=Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 |url=https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2364-1.pdf |department=[[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS) |publisher=[[State of Palestine]] |pages=64–82 |access-date=2023-10-24}}</ref>
| population_total   = 8471
| population_as_of   = 2017
| population_note    = 
| population_density_km2 = auto
| blank_name_sec1    = Name meaning
| blank_info_sec1    = "Village of the Shepherd"
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
}}
'''Kafr Ra'i  ''' ({{langx|ar|كفر راعي}}, transliterated ''Kafr Râày'') is a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] town in the [[Jenin Governorate]] of the [[State of Palestine]], in the northern [[West Bank]], located 22 kilometers (11 miles) southwest of the city of [[Jenin]]. According to the [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]], Kafr Ra'i had a population of 7,364 in the 2007 census and 8,471 by 2017.<ref name="PrelimCensus2017" /><ref name="PCBS2007">{{cite web|title=Table 26 (Cont.): Localities in the West Bank by Selected Indicators, 2007 |url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_PCBS/Downloads/book1487.pdf |publisher=[[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] |year=2007 |page=106 |language=ar |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210081942/http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_PCBS/Downloads/book1487.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-10 }}</ref>

==Etymology==
"Kafr Ra'i" translates as "Village of the Shepherd" in Arabic.<ref>Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/184/mode/1up 184]</ref>

==History==
Pottery remains from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], early [[Muslim]] and the Middle Ages have been found here.<ref name=Zertal422>Zertal, 2016, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XytzCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA422 422]-423</ref>

In 1265, after the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]]s had defeated the [[Crusades|Crusaders]], Kafr Ra'i was mentioned among the estates which Sultan [[Baibars]] granted his followers.<ref name=Zertal422/> The village  was divided equally between two of his  [[Emir#Military ranks and titles|emir]]s: Shuja' al-Din Tughril al-Shibli and Ala' al-Din Kundughdi al-Hubaishi.<ref>[[Ibn al-Furat]], 1971, pp. 81, 82, 210, 249 (map)</ref>

===Ottoman era===
The village was incorporated into the [[Ottoman Empire]] with the rest of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] in 1517. In the 1596 Ottoman [[Defter|tax records]], it appeared under the name of Kafr Ra’i, located in the [[Nahiya]] [[Qaqun]], in the [[Nablus Sanjak]]. It had a population of 35 families, all [[Muslim]]. They  paid a fixed tax-rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and  a press for olive oil or grape syrup; a total of 7,914  [[akçe]].<ref>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 137</ref>

In 1838,  it was noted as a [[Muslim]] village, ''Kefr Ra'y'', located in the  ''esh–Sha'rawiyeh esh–Shurkiyeh'' District.<ref name=Robinson129>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/129/mode/1up 129]</ref>

In 1870 [[Victor Guérin]] noted it as a village, situated on a hill, NNE of [[Rama, Jenin|Rama]].<ref>Guérin, 1875, p. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr04gugoog#page/n241/mode/1up 216]</ref>  In 1882, the [[Palestine Exploration Fund|PEF]]'s ''[[PEF Survey of Palestine|Survey of Western Palestine]]'' described Kafr Ra'i  as "a large village on high ground, with good olives to the south and two [[Water well|wells]]."<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1882, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/154/mode/1up 154]</ref> In 1871 (1288 [[Anno Hegirae|AH]]), an Ottoman census listed the village, divided into two quarters- or census registration unites, in the ''[[Nahiyah|nahiya]]'' (sub-district) of al-Sha'rawiyya al-Sharqiyya.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grossman |first=David |title=Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine |publisher=Magnes Press |year=2004 |location=Jerusalem |pages=254}}</ref>

===British Mandate era===
British forces captured [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], including Kafr Ra'i, in 1917, during [[World War I]], and thereafter established the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]]. In the [[1922 census of Palestine|1922 British census]], Kafr Ra'i had a population of 1,088 Muslims.<ref>Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n32/mode/1up 30]</ref> The population rose to 1,470, still all Muslims, living in 334 houses, in the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]].<ref>Mills, 1933, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 70]</ref>

In the [[Village Statistics, 1945|1945 statistics]], the population was 2,150, all Muslims,<ref name=1945p16>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p16.jpg 16].</ref> with 35,868  [[dunam]]s of land, according to an official land and population survey.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Jinin/Page-054.jpg 54].</ref> Of the village's lands, 3,254 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 6,254 dunams for cereals,<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Jinin/Page-099.jpg 99].</ref> while 36 dunams were built-up (urban) areas.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in  Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Jinin/Page-149.jpg 149].</ref>

===Jordanian era===
Kafr Ra'i came under [[Jordan]]ian rule during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]].

In 1961, the population was  2,823.<ref>Government of Jordan, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p14.pdf 14]</ref>

===1967, aftermath===
Kafr Ra'i has been under [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli occupation]] since the 1967 [[Six-Day War]].

On 2 February 1989, during the [[First Intifada]], Israeli soldiers had been clashing with Palestinians in the nearby village of [[Fahma]] and when four teenagers from Kafr Ra'i approached the village, Israeli soldiers sped and shot towards them in their vehicle. As the boys fled, one of them, 14-year-old Salameh Tahsin Sobeih, was shot and fell down. Witnesses reported that some ten soldiers proceeded to kick Salameh and drag him to their vehicle. A Palestinian doctor asked to see Salameh, but was denied. Members of Kafr Ra'i's village council found Salameh's body with three gunshot wounds and bruises, a bloodied mouth and broken nose, at the local military headquarters, where soldiers told them he was being interrogated. A funeral was held for Salameh the following day in Kafr Ra'i, with attendees also coming from [[Arraba, Jenin|Arraba]] and Fahma.<ref>Hall, 2009, pp. 15–17.</ref>

==Demographics==
In the 1997 census by the [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS), Kafr Ra'i had a population of 5,824. [[Palestinian refugees]] accounted for 27.6% of the inhabitants.<ref name="PCBSRefugees">{{cite web|url=http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/jen_t6.aspx |title=Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status |access-date=2015-10-17 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207051850/http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/phc_97/jen_t6.aspx |archive-date=February 7, 2012 }}. 1997 Census. [[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics]] (PCBS). 1999.</ref> In the 2007 PCBS census, the population grew to 7,364, living in 1,395 households with each household containing an average of between five and six members. The number of housing units was 1,559. The gender ratio was 49.7% female and 50.3% male.<ref name="PCBS2007"/>

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book | editor =Barron, J.B. | title = Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 |url=https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 |publisher = Government of Palestine | year = 1923}} 
*{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=2}} 
*{{cite book | title = First Census of Population and Housing. Volume I: Final Tables; General Characteristics of the Population | author = Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics | year = 1964|url=http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensus1961bits.pdf}}
*{{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945 |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics|year=1945}} 
*{{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongogr04gugoog|volume=2: Samarie, pt. 2|year=1875|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}} 
*{{cite book|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center}}
*{{cite book|last1=Hall|first1=M. Clement|title=Intifada|date=2009|publisher=Lulu|isbn=9780557202546|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7aUJAwAAQBAJ&q=Kufr+Rai&pg=PA15}}
*{{cite book | last1= Hütteroth |first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth  |first2=K. | last2=Abdulfattah |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah| title = Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ  | year = 1977 | publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft|isbn= 3-920405-41-2}} 
* {{cite book  | title = Ayyubids, Mamluks and Crusaders: Selections from the "Tarikh Al-duwal Wal-muluk" of Ibn Al-Furat : the Text, the Translation| author =Ibn al-Furat | author-link =Ibn al-Furat | year = 1971| volume =2| others =Translation by Malcolm Cameron Lyons, Ursula Lyons| editor = Jonathan Riley-Smith | editor-link =Jonathan Riley-Smith | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Shh4vgAACAAJ| publisher = W. Heffer | location =Cambridge}}
*{{cite book | editor = Mills, E. | title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}}
*{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]}} 
*{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838|  location=Boston|publisher=[[Crocker & Brewster]]|volume=3}} 
*{{cite book|last=Zertal|first=A.|author-link=Adam Zertal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XytzCwAAQBAJ   |title=The Manasseh Hill Country Survey|volume=3|location=Boston|publisher=BRILL|year=2016|isbn=978-9004312302 }} 
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Kafr_Ra_i_1269/index.html Palestine remembered]
*[https://www.welcometopalestine.com/destinations/jenin/kafr-rai/  Kafr Ra’i], Welcome to Palestine
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 11: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8373  IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.11.jpg Wikimedia commons]

{{Jenin Governorate}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in the West Bank]]
[[Category:Jenin Governorate]]
[[Category:Municipalities of the State of Palestine]]