01In brief
Ras Ali is a small Arab village in the Haifa District of northern Israel, administered by the Zevulun Regional Council. The 2022 Israel Central Bureau of Statistics locality file records 663 residents, all classified as Arabs. Government transportation planning groups Ras Ali with Ibtin, Basmat Tab'un, and Khawaled in a rural Galilee cluster oriented toward Haifa and Shefa-'Amr for employment, commerce, leisure, and recreation.
02Overview
Ras Ali is assigned locality code 990 and the English name RAS ALI by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and falls within the Haifa subdistrict of the Haifa District.[1] It is administered by the Zevulun Regional Council.[1]
For transportation and planning purposes, the Israeli government groups Ras Ali within the Basmat Tab'un settlement cluster, alongside Ibtin, Basmat Tab'un, and Khawaled.[2] The plan describes this cluster as part of the rural fabric characteristic of Galilee localities and identifies Haifa and Shefa-'Amr as its principal centers for employment, commerce, leisure, and recreation.[2]
03Demographics
The 2022 Israel Central Bureau of Statistics locality file records a total population of 663 in Ras Ali, with all residents classified as Arabs.[1] This follows populations of 652 in the table used for the 2020 Peripherality Index and 643 in the 2019 population file.[3][4]
The 2020 Peripherality Index assigns Ras Ali a value of -0.190020983322845, placing it at rank 560 among the listed localities and in peripherality cluster 4.[4] The Zevulun Regional Council as a whole is placed in peripherality cluster 5.[4]
The Ras Ali School serves children from Ras Ali and the neighboring Bedouin village of Khawaled. A 2021 report described it as a mixed Bedouin-Arab school located outside Haifa.[5]
04Economy and Culture
The government transportation plan identifies Haifa and Shefa-'Amr as the principal employment, commerce, leisure, and recreation centers for Ras Ali's settlement cluster. It also identifies Shefa-'Amr as an important shopping destination for the area's residents.[2]
Ras Ali received national press coverage in 2021 when American volunteers taught English at the village's school.[5] One volunteer had never heard Arabic spoken before arriving; teaching and speaking with the students subsequently improved both her Arabic and her relationship with them. The report also described the volunteers as having been welcomed into the community.[5]
05Transportation and Services
The Israeli government's master plan for public transportation to Arab communities states that existing lines from the cluster to Haifa are long and do not meet the need for service.[2] It calls for greater emphasis on faster or direct routes from principal roads instead of collecting routes within the villages.[2]
The plan identifies a future transportation terminal in Shefa-'Amr as the principal terminal serving Ras Ali and Ibtin.[2] For the wider cluster, it names the University of Haifa and Technion campuses as the main academic destinations and Rambam Medical Center as the principal medical destination.[2]
The plan recommends regional and intercity service, including direct connections to the Lev HaMifratz transportation center and Shefa-'Amr. It also proposes demand-responsive service because the cluster's communities have low population density and dispersed settlement patterns.[2]
Sources
- 1Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Localities File 2022 (accessed September 17, 2026)
- 2Israeli Government, Arab-Community Public Transportation Master Plan (accessed September 17, 2026)
- 3Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Population in Localities 2019 (accessed September 17, 2026)
- 4Israel CBS, Table 3: Localities and 2020 Peripherality Index (accessed September 17, 2026)
- 5The Jerusalem Post (accessed September 17, 2026)
IsraelPedia Question & Answers
What is Ras Ali?
Ras Ali is a small Arab village in the Haifa District of northern Israel, administered by the Zevulun Regional Council. As of 2022, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 663 residents, all classified as Arabs. For transportation and planning purposes, the Israeli government groups Ras Ali within a rural Galilee settlement cluster alongside Ibtin, Basmat Tab'un, and Khawaled, with Haifa and Shefa-'Amr serving as its principal centers for employment, commerce, leisure, and recreation.
How peripheral is Ras Ali compared to other Israeli localities?
The 2020 Peripherality Index assigns Ras Ali a value of -0.190020983322845, placing it at rank 560 among the listed localities and in peripherality cluster 4. The Zevulun Regional Council as a whole is placed in peripherality cluster 5.
What school serves Ras Ali, and who does it educate?
The Ras Ali School serves children from Ras Ali and the neighboring Bedouin village of Khawaled. A 2021 report described it as a mixed Bedouin-Arab school located outside Haifa.
What brought national press attention to Ras Ali in 2021?
Ras Ali received national press coverage in 2021 when American volunteers taught English at the village's school. One volunteer had never heard Arabic spoken before arriving, and teaching and speaking with the students subsequently improved both her Arabic and her relationship with them. The volunteers were also described as having been welcomed into the community.
What are the public transportation challenges facing Ras Ali, and what improvements has the government proposed?
The Israeli government's master plan for public transportation to Arab communities states that existing lines from Ras Ali's settlement cluster to Haifa are long and do not meet the need for service. The plan calls for greater emphasis on faster or direct routes from principal roads rather than collecting routes within the villages, and proposes demand-responsive service given the cluster's low population density and dispersed settlement patterns. It also recommends direct connections to the Lev HaMifratz transportation center and Shefa-'Amr, and identifies a future transportation terminal in Shefa-'Amr as the principal terminal serving Ras Ali and Ibtin.