Khirbat Al-Burj, Haifa
Khirbat Al-Burj was a former Palestinian village, depopulated in 1948. Presently, Khirbat Al-Burj or Burj Binyamina is a ruined stone-built structure in the Sharon Plain 1 km south of Binyamina from the Ottoman period. It is one of the estates established around Qisarya, alongside al-Manshiya, al-Sufsafa, and Hudaydun.
History
Byzantine period
During June 2009, archeological excavations in the courtyard of the Burj building from the Ottoman period exposed a small building that dated to the Byzantine period. Byzantine ceramics have been found at the structure.Crusader period
A stone with Greek inscription was found at the burj site, which has been reused in a Crusader fortress.Late Ottoman">Late Ottoman period">Late Ottoman and Mandate periods
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP), which called it Burj el Kheil, described it as "A Baikeh or cattle-yard in the plain".Gottlieb Schumacher found in 1887 that the site had been settled since the PEF map was prepared, now consisting of "12 huts, moderate village". A population list from about 1887 give for that place, called Burj el Kheil, about 105 inhabitants; all Muslims.
On October 26, 1898, German Kaiser Wilhelm II stayed at the Burj khan building during his visit to the Holy Land.
Early Zionist activity
Turkish owner, Sidki Pasha, brother of Jamal Pasha, sold 4,000 dunams of the Burj farmland to ICA in 1903. The serious drawback was that most of the land was an uncultivable swamp. Rothschild turned the land over to Binyamina's holdings. Initially a group of farmers from Zichron Ya'akov stayed at the khan during the week, due to the distance to their hometown. The group was called Burja’im.Binyamina (1922)
Subsequently, Binyamina was founded. A letter from early 1920s describes establishment of Binyamina: "The 'Zichronim' owners of Burj farm decided to establish a moshavah in this farm, in order to settle their sons there…".Burj became Binyamina in 1922. In the 1931 census Khirbat Al-Burj was listed under Binyamina. The ownership of the village land was determined in 1934 according to the Land Settlement Ordinances.
By the time of the 1945 village survey, there were 5,291 dunums, 15 of which were owned by Arabs, 4,933 owned by Jews, and 343 were public.
The building, after renovations, now operates as an event venue.