Wadi Nisnas

Haifa, Israel

Wadi Nisnas is an Arab neighborhood in the city of Haifa in northern Israel. Nisnas is the Arabic word for mongoose, an indigenous animal. The wadi has a population of about 8,000 inhabitants. Wadi Nisnas is the setting for the 1987 novel, Hatsotsrah ba-Vadi (Hebrew: "Trumpet in the Wadi") by Sami Michael. It centers on the love story between a young Israeli Arab woman and a new Jewish immigrant from Russia.