1938 Tiberias massacre

Tiberias ( ty-BEER-ee-əs; Hebrew: טְבֶרְיָה, ; Arabic: طبريا, romanized: Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed. In 2022, it had a population of 48,472. Tiberias was founded around 20 CE by Herod Antipas and was named after Roman emperor Tiberius. It became a major political and religious hub of the Jews in the Land of Israel after the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of Judea during the Jewish–Roman wars. From the time of the second through the tenth centuries CE, Tiberias was the largest Jewish city in Galilee, and much of the Mishna and the Jerusalem Talmud were compiled there. Tiberias flourished during the early Islamic period, when it served as the capital of Jund al-Urdunn and became a multi-cultural trading center. The city slipped in importance following several earthquakes, foreign incursions, and after the Mamluks turned Safed into the capital of Galilee. The city was greatly damaged by an earthquake in 1837, after which it was rebuilt, and it grew steadily following the Zionist Aliyah in the 1880s. In early modern times, Tiberias was a mixed city; under British rule it had a majority Jewish population, but with a significant Arab community. During the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, fighting broke out between the Jewish residents of Tiberias and its Palestinian Arab minority. As the Haganah took over, British troops evacuated the entire Palestinian Arab population; they were refused reentry after the war, such that today the city has an almost exclusively Jewish population. After the war ended, the new Israeli authorities destroyed the Old City of Tiberias. A large number of Jewish immigrants to Israel subsequently settled in Tiberias. Today, Tiberias is an important tourist center due to its proximity to the Sea of Galilee and religious sanctity to Judaism and Christianity. The city also serves as a regional industrial and commercial center. Its immediate neighbour to the south, Hammat Tiberias, which is now part of modern Tiberias, has been known for its hot springs, believed to cure skin and other ailments, for some two thousand years.

Bethmaus, (Greek: Βηθμαούς) or Beth Maʿon (Hebrew: בית מעון), also called Maon, was a Jewish village during the late Second Temple and Mishnaic periods, and which was already a ruin (Tell Maʿūn) when Kitchener visited the site in 1877. It was situated upon the hill, directly north-west of the old city of Tiberias, at a distance of one biblical mile, rising to an elevation of 250 metres (820 ft) above sea-level. It is now incorporated within the modern city bounds of Upper Tiberias. The remaining structure built over the site is a Sheikh's Tomb. Others place the ancient Bethmaus (Ma'on) where is now the Arab ruin, Khirbet Nadhr ad-Din, saying that with the passing of time, the old namesake was transferred to Tell Maʿūn, a short distance away. The Midrash (Genesis Rabba § 85:7) says of the village, "Beth Maʿon, they ascend to it from Tiberias, but they go down to it from Kefar Shobtai." The Jerusalem Talmud, citing a variant account, says that they would go down to Beth Maʿon from its broad place.

The Capture of Tiberias took place on 25 September 1918 during the Battle of Sharon which together with the Battle of Nablus formed the set piece Battle of Megiddo fought between 19 and 25 September in the last months of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. During the cavalry phase of the Battle of Sharon the Desert Mounted Corps occupied the Esdraelon Plain (also known as the Jezreel Valley and the plain of Armageddon) 40–50 miles (64–80 km) behind the front line in the Judean Hills. One squadron from each of the 3rd and 4th Light Horse Brigades Australian Mounted Division attacked and captured Tiberias (on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee also known as Lake Tiberias), along with the Yildirim Army Group's Ottoman and German garrison. The Tiberias garrison formed part of a rearguard stretching to Samakh and on to Deraa which was intended to cover the retreat of three Ottoman armies. They were set up to delay the advance of the Desert Mounted Corps of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) after the British Empire infantry victories at the Battle of Tulkarm, Battle of Tabsor during the Battle of Sharon. These and other battles fought during the Battle of Nablus including the Third Transjordan attack, also part of the Battle of Megiddo, forced the retreat of the Ottoman Fourth, Seventh and Eighth Armies north towards Damascus. Tiberias was captured by two squadrons of light horse, one from the 3rd Light Horse Brigade supported by armoured cars, and one from the 4th Light Horse Brigade after fighting the Battle of Samakh. The two squadrons converged on the town from the north–west and south respectively and took 100 prisoners. The remainder of the garrison retreated northwards to form a rearguard at Lake Hule with the survivors from the Samakh garrison. The next day the Australian Mounted Division and the 5th Cavalry Division pursued the Ottoman forces towards Damascus, paralleling the pursuit on the inland route begun by the 4th Cavalry Division a day earlier.

The Maimonides Heritage Center (MHC) (Hebrew: מרכז מורשת הרמב"ם) is an educational and cultural non-profit organization in the Israeli city of Tiberias. Established in 2003 by Rabbi Yamin Levy, it works to disseminate the teachings and worldview of Maimonides to the general public. The main attraction is the Setton Family Hospitality Center, a small museum and study hall.

According to Jewish tradition, the Tomb of Maimonides (Hebrew: קבר הרמב"ם Kever ha-Rambam) is located in Tiberias, Israel. Although Maimonides, a Sephardic Jew, died in Fustat, Egypt, on 12 December 1204, it is believed that he was only briefly buried in that city before being reinterred in Tiberias. Owing to his recognition as a prominent Jewish philosopher, his tomb is one of Israel's most important Jewish pilgrimage sites and is also among Tiberias' most visited tourist attractions. The site also serves as the burial place of Yohanan ben Zakkai, a prominent Tanna of the Second Temple period; and Isaiah Horowitz, a prominent Jewish mystic of the 16th/17th century.

The Scots Hotel is a hotel in Tiberias, Israel, formerly the Scots Mission Hospital, also known as the Scottish Compound. The hotel is run by the Church of Scotland.

Tiberias Municipal Stadium (Hebrew: האצטדיון העירוני של טבריה), is a football stadium in Tiberias.

The Tomb of the Matriarchs (Hebrew: קבר האמהות, Kever ha'Imahot) in Tiberias, Israel, is the traditional burial place of several biblical women: Bilhah, handmaid of Rachel. Zilpah, handmaid of Leah. Jochebed, mother of Moses. Zipporah, wife of Moses. Elisheba, wife of Aaron. Abigail, one of King David's wives. The marble structure beside a modern apartment building block is surrounded by a stone wall.

Nasir ad-Dīn (Arabic: نصر الدين) was a small Palestinian Arab village 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) southwest of Tiberias, on the crest of a slope that overlooks the Sea of Galilee. The village had several springs to the east, south, and southeast. In the 1931 British census 179 people lived there, decreasing to 90 in a 1945 census. Nasir ad-Din and nearby al-Manara were in the same jurisdiction with 4,185 dunams of land, most of which was allocated to cereals.

The Swiss Forest or Switzerland Forest is a forest area on the western side of the Sea of Galilee in Israel, situated above the city of Tiberias. The forest was established in 1928 by the Forestry Branch of the Mandatory Palestine government thanks to a contribution from friends of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund in Switzerland, which is how it got its name. The forest was established to prevent flooding such as in the Great Flood of 1934 when mud and torrential floods destroyed property and caused a number of deaths in Tiberias. It continues under the direction of KKL-JNF.

Mitzpa (Hebrew: מִצְפָּה) is a moshava in the Lower Galilee Regional Council, Israel. Located next to the Sea of Galilee and Tiberias, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lower Galilee Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 125.

Hammath Tiberias or Hammat Tiberias is an ancient archaeological site and an Israeli national park known as Hamat Tverya National Park, which is located on the adjacent to Tiberias on the road to Zemach that runs along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.