Human impact on wildlife in Israel since the nineteenth century

Yoram Yom-Tov*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Palestine was a neglected part of the Ottoman Empire. Its human population had been decimated by wars and disease, and much of its area was deserted and uninhabited. Mark Twain visited the country during the mid-1880s, and was dismayed: "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes.. The noted Sea of Galilee, where Roman fleets once rode at anchor.. was long ago deserted by the devotees of war and commerce, and its borders are a silent wilderness; Capernaum is a shapeless ruin; Magdala is the home of beggared Arabs; Bethsaida and Chorazin have vanished from the earth, and the 'desert places' round about them.. sleep in the hush of solitude that is inhabited only by birds of prey and skulking foxes" (Twain 1869).

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationBetween Ruin and Restoration
Subtitle of host publicationAn Environmental History of Israel
PublisherUniversity of Pittsburgh Press
Pages53-81
Number of pages29
Volume9780822978114
ISBN (Electronic)9780822978114
ISBN (Print)9780822962229
StatePublished - 2012

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