An Oral History of the Palestinian Nakba

by Doctor Nahla Abdo

19Haifa had had a national theatre group called “Al-Carmel actors group”, headed by Iskandar Ayoub Badran. The “Institute of Arab Music” was also established in Haifa, under the management of musician Saleem al-Hilu. Halim al-Roumu pursued his musical education there.

  20Cyril Marriott was British Counsel General designate in Haifa.

  21https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/.premium-1.2644759

  22Minutes of meeting with Patriarch Hakim, Saturday 26 June 1948. The State’s Archive, “The liberation of Haifa”, P-941/3.

  23The reference here is to the Israeli war against Lebanon, and the response by Lebanese Hezbollah.

  24Drawing on the stories he gathered from refugee camps over the course of many years, Elias Khoury’s epic novel Gate of the Sun (Bab Al-Shams) has been called the first magnum opus of the Palestinian saga.

  25Yaacov Salomon, a prominent figure in Haifa, indicated in one of his letters to Ben Gurion that he would not advise any Arab to return to Haifa, even if it were his closest friend. Letter by Yaacov Salomon about his meeting with Patriarch Hakim on 26 June 1948. The State’s Archive, Special Files, P-7/931.

  26Elected later as a Knesset member for the Israeli Communist Party.

  27Shelah himself returned to Haifa from Beirut in June 1948 with Patriarch Hakim. The State’s Archive, Special Files, P-7/931.

  28The State’s Archive, Bureau of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, File No. G-299/34.

  29Ibid.

  30A letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Middle East department, to the Minister of Minority Affairs, State Archive G-299/43.

  31At that time, the borders were not completely closed by Israel, and the northern area was still in a state of war.

  32The villages of Al-Majdal, Iqrith and Bir’im were among these villages (Manna 2016).

  33Article 109: expulsion from certain regions; Article 110: Police supervision and exile; Article 111: administrative detention; Article 124: imposition of curfew; Article 125: closure and restricted access to/from certain regions (Ozacky-Lazar 1996: 84).

  34The territories that were occupied in 1948, and that were supposed to be within the borders of the Arab state, per the 1947 Partition Plan.

  35The military governor established court-martials empowered to rule on breaches and non-compliance with the regulations. The judges of these court-martials were not necessarily qualified in the field of law and the judiciary. On the other hand, the High Court of Justice power of intervention with respect to the martial law was reduced. At the outset of the 1950s, the High Court ruled that it could not intervene in the decisions of the military governor, as his conduct was derived from security motives. It was determined that the court cannot investigate military governors on security issues, as this type of investigation would undermine the national security (Jiryis 1968: 21).

  36Some have researched the motives of the military government (Ozacky-Lazar 1996), its implications for the economic status of Palestinians (Bauml 2007) and their legal status (Lustik 1980; Korn 2000). Other studies have addressed the history of Palestinians in Israel, and their relationship with the Jewish state (Pappe 2013).

  37Muhammad Mustafa (2014) discussed Palestinian political organization in that period. The contribution of the military government in planning the space and restraining the urbanization process among the Arab population in Israel was the focus of Khamaisi’s (2014) study. While Mustafa Kabha (2014) examines the Arab press under the military government. In addition, Nahla Abdo (2011) discussed implications of this permit regime for Palestinians’ economic status.

  38Areen Hawari (2011) wrote about the impact of that period on masculinity, its development and variations in the Palestinian society based on interviews conducted with men and women who lived through that period. Hunaida Ghanim (2015) wrote about the lives of the residents of Al-Marjeh village, near the Green Line, under martial law. Mahmoud Ghanayem (2014: 119) researched the relationship between fiction and the reality experienced by the Palestinians under the military government, and how Arabic literature attempted to write a historical testimony that was not devoid of a political position. Based on the oral testimonies and the stories told by the residents, Ghanim (2015) researched the tools that they developed to deal with the new reality following the Nakba.

  39Military government in the cities ended one year after its fall (around July 1949).

  40Ramallah residents still call the neighbourhood a ghetto up to this day.

  41Upon the occupation of the city, the supreme national institutions declared on 5 May 1948 that the city shall not be subject to martial law; the civil responsibilities were assigned to “Va’adat ha-Matasav” (a special committee established by the Yishuv leadership to set the preparatory steps for establishing the mechanisms of the state). The responsibility for security issues was assigned to the Haganah forces.

  42Al HaMishmar, 27 April 1948.

  43Al HaMishmar, 4 May 1948.

  44Kol HaAm, 4 April 1948.

  45A letter from Yitach, head of the Minorities Bureau, to Haifa’s commander on 19 December 1948, the State’s Archive and the Minorities’ Book, File No. G- 30968.

  46It was the intelligence arm of the Haganah responsible for Arab affairs.

  47The report also includes the names of two detainees; one was suspected of involvement in the Refinery operation, while the other was accused of “smuggling” Arabs from Beirut (as indicated in the source). “The Participation of Hiram Unit in the search and seizure operation in the German colony and Abbass street on 5 July 1948”, The Haganah Archive, File No. 105/260.

  48The Haganah Archive, File No. 105/260.

  49Al HaMishmar, 4 May 1948.

  50The Haganah Archive, File No. 105/260.

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  9

  Saffourieh: a continuous tragedy

  AMINA QABLAWI NASRALLAH

  I am Amina Ahmad Ibrahim Qablawi Nasrallah. I was born on 6 March 1954 in Saffourieh in Galilee, five kilometres from Nazareth. Below I recount the experiences of my family during and immediately after the Palestinian Nakba of 1948 and my own encounters and memories of that period. This was a deliberate choice to draw on early memories which remain vivid in my mind and unobstructed by more mature political discourses used to adapt to young adult life as an internally displaced Palestinian refugee in Israel. The following account recalls events of two types. Firstly, events which I directly inherited and otherwise learnt about through my immediate and extended family. Secondly, events which I experienced personally.

  THE NAKBA OF 1948

  I have been told by my paternal grandmother, Radeyah Abdelhamid Abd Alhadi Abu Elne’aj (herein “Radeyah” or “my grandmother”), that on 15 July 1948 she was in her house preparing an Iftar meal for the breaking of fast during the holy month of Ramadan. On that day, like the rest of Saffourieh’s residents, she was surprised by the Israeli planes which began bombing the town indiscriminately. Radeyah was a widow, her husband Ibrahim Qablawi having been mysteriously killed earlier in the 1940s, his body found close to the British military camp a short distance from his house. Radeyah said that they were shocked and horrified, because it was the first time in their lives they had been bombed by a plane. Many were killed and injured, and the residents ran in different directions without knowing where to go or where they could find shelter. Some ran towards a nearby town called Shefa-’Amr, while others ran towards Nazareth. My grandmother, her eight children and other family members escaped towards Al Reineh, a village north of Nazareth. Radeyah and my family left their Iftar meal cooking in the pots, ready to be served, and fled hungry and thirsty. They found Al Reineh packed with refugees from other villages, who were all talking about the terrifying dangers they faced. My grandmother recounts that they were worried about being massacred by the Israelis, as had happened in other places in Palestine, especially Deir Yassin, Al Lydd and Ramla and the nearby village I’llut. The stories they had heard about the mass killings of people shook them and filled them with even more terror. They decided to keep walking north, away from the fighting, without knowing where they would end up. My grandmother and family had also fled with my great grandmother Amina Mifleh Al Amin. She was old and unable to walk for long distances, and therefore remained in Al Reineh. The family walked day and night until they reached the town of Bint Jbeil in South Lebanon.

  Bint Jbeil was crowded with Palestinian refugees from other parts of Galilee. There, they heard from other refugees that Damascus was safer. After spending some time in Bint Jbeil, the family continued walking until they reached Damascus.

  My grandmother used to say they thought their ordeal would be short and that they would return to Saffourieh within two to three wee
ks.

  In Damascus they entered into a state of shock on two levels: firstly, as refugees having lost everything and, secondly, the new experience of residing in a “big city”. Damascus was known for its rich history and civilization, grand buildings and large colourful markets, the Souk Al Hamediyeh in particular. My grandmother described the city’s wide streets, which she found unfamiliar and difficult to cross due to heavy traffic. They spent hours in the Ummayad Mosque and were fascinated by its beauty and the kindness of those in charge of it. My grandmother spoke about her visit to Salahuddin Al Ayyubi’s tomb inside the mosque, the great warrior who defeated the Crusaders in the battle of Hittin in 1187, a short distance from Saffourieh. This was poignant for her as Salahuddin had a special place in the hearts and minds of all Arabs, and the Palestinians in particular.

  My grandmother spoke about the open-minded and liberal women of Damascus, who were free to leave their houses alone, without male minders. She realized after seeing Damascus in all its glory why some Palestinians named their daughters Sureya, the Arabic name for Syria.

  During her stay in Damascus my grandmother became tired and demoralized by the search for accommodation. Eventually she found a derelict house in poor condition without proper doors, where they spent several months waiting for salvation and a return to Palestine.

  In Damascus my grandmother was accompanied by her three daughters, Khadra, Amina and Huda. Her eldest daughter, Khadra, was pregnant at the time, and was married to her cousin, Mohammad Ali Hussein Qablawi. Together they had an eighteen-month-old son called Salim. Amina was married to Salim Mo’ed from Saffourieh, and Huda, who was engaged prior to becoming a refugee, later married her cousin in Damascus.

  My grandmother also fled Saffourieh with her three sons, Ahmad, Saeed and Muhammad-Yaser, and her youngest daughter, Yosra. My grandmother looked after all of them. In that miserable and desolate house in Damascus, Khadra delivered her second child, Sami. My grandmother nursed Khadra while looking after the rest of the family. Soon Khadra fell ill and later died, leaving behind her two children in the care of my grandmother. My grandmother recalled burying her daughter Khadra in Damascus and described a feeling of deep sadness which remained with her for a long time after. Salim, Khadra’s eldest child, later developed an eye infection, causing him to lose sight in one eye.