Jisr az-Zarqa
Jisr az-Zarqa
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| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
View of Jisr az-Zarqa | |
Jisr az-Zarqa Jisr az-Zarqa | |
| Coordinates: 32°32′17″N 34°54′44″E / 32.53806°N 34.91222°E | |
| Grid position | 141/217 PAL |
| Country | Israel |
| District | Haifa |
| Government | |
| • Head of Municipality | Morad Ammash |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,520 dunams (1.52 km2; 0.59 sq mi) |
| Population (2023) | |
• Total | 15,709 |
| • Density | 10,300/km2 (26,800/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | The blue bridge (literally; understood to refer to the bridge over the River Zarka) |
Jisr az-Zarqa (Arabic: جِسْر الزَّرْقَاء lit. The blue bridge, Hebrew: גִ'סְר א-זַּרְקָא; often shortened as Jisr) is an Israeli Arab town on Israel's northern Mediterranean coastal plain. Located just north of Caesarea within the Haifa District, it achieved local council status in 1963. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) the town had a population of 13,689 in 2014, living on 1,500 dunams (1.5 km2) of coastal land. 80% of residents reportedly live below the poverty line. The name Jisr az-Zarqa is a reference to Taninim Stream, which is known in Arabic as the "Blue Wadi" (Wadi az-Zarka). The mayor is Morad Ammash.
Jisr az-Zarqa is the only Arab-majority town in Israel located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is also the only suriviving Palestinian village inhabited primarily by Ghawarina, or Marsh Arabs.