Reineh

• Name — Reineh • Native Name — * الرينة • Settlement Type — Local council (from 1968) • Translit Lang1 — Hebrew • Translit Lang1 Type1 — ISO 259 • Translit Lang1 Info1 — Réina • Translit Lang1 Type3 — Also spelled • Translit Lang1 Info3 — Reine (official) • Grid Name — NIG PG • Grid Position — 229/736 179/236 • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Type2 — District • Subdivision Name2 — Northern • Subdivision Type3 — Subdistrict • Subdivision Name3 — Jezreel • Subdivision Type4 — Natural Region • Subdivision Name4 — Nazareth-Tir'an Mountains • Unit Pref — dunam • Population Footnotes — reference • Population Total — Reine • Population As Of — Year • Population Density Km2 — auto • Demographics Type1 — Ethnicity • Demographics1 Footnotes — reference • Demographics1 Title1 — Arabs • Demographics1 Info1 — 99.9% • Demographics1 Title2 — Jews and others • Demographics1 Info2 — 0.1%

Archaeological remains dating from the Middle Bronze Age, Persian period (fifth–fourth centuries BCE), Hellenistic (second century BCE), Early and Middle Roman period (first century BCE and second century CE) Byzantine, early Islamic period, Crusader and Mamluk 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.

• Illustration — St. Joseph Worker Church in Reineh In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Rayna, located in the Nahiya of Tabariyya of the Liwa Safad. The taxable population was 151; 139 families and 6 bachelors; all Muslim, in addition to 6 Christian families. They paid taxes for various agricultural products; 5200 akçe on wheat, 2100 on barley, 350 on fruit trees, 200 on vegetable and fruit gardens, 250 on goats and beehives, in addition to 900 for occasional revenues and 480 for Jizya. Archaeological remains from the early Ottoman era have also been found here. A map from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 by Pierre Jacotin showed the place, named as El Raineh. In 1806, Seetzen noted a spring in the village (which he called Reni), whose inhabitant were half Muslim, half "Greek Christians". 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.

• Illustration — Reineh in the 1870 PEF Survey of Palestine, showing Ain Kana, identified by Claude Reignier Conder as the location of biblical Cana. In the Mandatory Palestine, at the 1922 census of Palestine, Reineh had a population of 787; 423 Christians and 364 Muslims. 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.

• Illustration — 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 murdered by Israeli authorities after they had been detained near the village, brought into Reineh and accused of smuggling. 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 2022, 85.4% of the population was Muslim and 14.8% was Christian. The Muslim families living in Reineh include: Al-Bassoul, Al-Zidan, Al-Jiyussi, Al-Khutba, Al-Zaroura, Al-Sbarja Arabs, Al-Saydi, Al-Tatur, Al-Asila – Al-Hashma, Al-Othmanah – Al-Othamla, Tatur, Al-Gharaba, Al-Maghariba (Al-Maghrabi) – Algerians, Al-Mu‘ammar, Al-Munasirah, Mansour, and Al-Mustrihi. The Christians in Reineh belong to four denominations, the largest being the Eastern Orthodox Church, followed by the Melkite Catholic Church, the Latin Church, and the Anglican Church. The Christian families in Reineh include: Abu Hanna, Abu Khadra, Ayoub – Boulos, Bransi, Jubran, Khamis, Khouri, Rashid, Rawashdeh, Rizq, Al-Sakran, Al-Sayegh, Arram, Karim, Mazzawi, Muslim, Nawatheh, Nweesrah, and Worour.

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.

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

The local football club, Maccabi Bnei Reineh F.C. is, as of the 2022/3 season in the Israeli Premier League.

In the 2022 election, 95 percent of voters in Reineh voted for the Arab parties, while 2 percent voted for the parties of the center-left coalition led by Yair Lapid and 2 percent voted for the parties of the right-wing coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Among the voters for the Arab parties, 39 percent voted for Balad, while 33 percent voted for the Hadash–Ta'al list and 29 percent voted for Ra'am.