Reineh

Reineh (الرينة; ) is an Arab town in northern Israel. Located in the Galilee, between Nazareth and Qana of Galilee, it attained local council status in 1968. In it had a population of , the majority of whom are Muslims (85%), with a significant Christian minority (15%).

Archaeological remains dating from the Middle Bronze Age, Persian period (fifth–fourth centuries BCE), Byzantine, have been found here. A 2,000 year old Jewish workshop for creating stone vessels has been unearthed in Reineh. It dates to the Roman period. The analysis of the site and its artifacts suggests a rigorous adherence to purity laws among Galilean Jews, akin to the practices of Jews of Judea. Pottery imported from Syria and Italy in the 14th–16th century CE found here, indicate that the village had a strong economy in the Mamluk period. Archaeological remains from the early Ottoman era have also been found here. In 1806, Seetzen noted a spring in the village (which he called Reni), whose inhabitant were half Muslim, half "Greek Christians". In 1837, Reineh was badly damaged in the Galilee earthquake. William McClure Thomson travelled in the region three weeks afterwards, and described how Reineh, (which he called Rumaish), was mostly destroyed, with thirty deaths occurring as people were crushed in their homes. Many more would have suffered the same had they not been at evening prayers at the church there, which was a small building that was not seriously damaged. A total of 200 people were killed in Reineh. In 1838; the population of Reineh was described as being Greek Orthodox Christians and Sunni Muslim, and in 1852 a "Greek" church was noted in Reineh. In 1875 Victor Guérin noted: "On 22 June, after a day resting up at Nazareth, I set out on my march again at 5 am, heading northeast, then north northeast. At 5.33 am, I passed by a copious spring, called A'in er Reineh. Next to the small pool that catches its flow, an ancient sarcophagus has been placed, in the form of a trough, the external parts of which tank are elegantly sculptured with whorls and garlands. This spring waters gardens planted with fig and pomegranate trees. The village of Reineh stretches over the southern slopes of the hill it abuts. It contains approximately 800 residents, half of them Muslims and the other half schismatic Greeks, with some Protestants as well. The reason for the latter is that an English mission has been active here for some years and established a local school." In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it: "A large village of well built houses, containing about 500 Christians and Moslems. There are two springs south of the village; one, called 'Ain Kana. It is surrounded by arable ground and olive groves. There is a church in the village." A population list from about 1887 showed that Reineh had about 1150 inhabitants; half Muslims and half Christians.

[[File:Reineh in the Survey of Western Palestine 1880.06 (cropped). jpg|thumb|Reineh in the 1870 PEF Survey of Palestine, showing Ain Kana, identified by Claude Reignier Conder as the location of biblical Cana. Among the Christians, 203 were Greek Orthodox, 87 Roman Catholics, 101 Greek Catholic (Melkites) and 32 Church of England. The population increased in the 1931 census to 1,015 residents living in 243 houses. The religious breakdown of the population was 389 Christians, 1 Jew and 625 Muslims. The 1927 earthquake hit Reineh worse than the other villages in the area, and afterwards the Christians started rebuilding in the area called "New Reineh". In the 1945 statistics Reineh (Er Reina) had a population of 1,290; 500 Christians and 790 Muslims. The total land area was 16,029 dunams; 15,899 owned by Arabs and the rest, 130 dunams, were public land. Of this, 915 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 10,451 for cereals, 10 for citrus and bananas, while 139 dunams were classified as built up (urban) areas.

thumb|The catholic Latin patriarchal school in Reineh. Reineh was conquered by Israeli forces in July 1948, during Operation Dekel. In September, 14 Arab residents were reportedly killed by Israeli authorities after they had been detained near the village, brought into Reineh and accused of smuggling weapons. The victims included a young Bedouin woman, and Yusuf al Turki, a member of the "Land of Israel Workers Alliance". In December 1948/January 1949 it was proposed that Saffuriya's remaining inhabitants be moved to Reineh, as their "neighbouring [Jewish] settlements coveted Saffuriya lands". When the Saffuriya inhabitants were expelled by the Israelis in January 1949, 14 were expelled to Lebanon, while the rest went to Nazareth, 'Illut, Kafr Kanna and Reineh.

In 1878 Claude Reignier Conder suggested that the small spring south of Reineh, named "Ain Kana", was the location of biblical Cana.

In Reineh, Israel, archaeologists uncovered a Jewish factory for producing stone vessels dating back to the Roman period. The site, which includes a chalk cave functioning as both a quarry and a workshop, provides evidence that Galilean Jewish communities adhered to purity laws with the same rigor as those in Judea. The site yielded numerous findings, such as stone cores and partially completed vessels, which are consistent with types used in Jewish ritual purification practices. The Reineh workshop is the fourth of its kind in Israel, with similar workshops found at Hizma and at Jebel Mukaber (both in the vicinity of Jerusalem) and another one close to Reineh. The discovery of the workshop in Reineh contributed to the historical understanding of Jewish religious life in ancient Galilee. It suggests that the observance of purity laws, previously thought to be weaker in Galilee compared to Judea, was in fact similarly strict. This is supported by the production scale of stone vessels, which were preferred over pottery due to religious beliefs about purity derived from Levitical law.