Afula

Afula's ancient tell (settlement mound) suggests habitation from the Late Chalcolithic to the Ayyubid period. A fortress was built at the site during the Crusader or Mamluk period.

A small Arab Palestinian village during the Ottoman period, it was sold in 1872 along with the entire Jezreel Valley to the Lebanese Sursock family. In 1925, the same area was acquired by the American Zionist Commonwealth as part of the Sursock Purchase. The majority Muslim and Christian population were removed by the family, and Jewish immigrants, marking the foundation of modern Afula. After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Afula was settled by Jewish immigrants from Iraq, Yemen and Romania. In 1972, it gained the status of a city. The 1990s saw Jewish immigration from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union contribute to the growth of the city. Since 1995, the city has almost doubled its population.