One Family’s Nakba Experience
May 11
Written By Admin CFOS
May 15 is known among Palestinians as Nakba Day – or Day of Catastrophe. It marks the annual commemoration of the 1947-1949 displacement of a majority of Palestinians from their homes, in the context of the creation of the State of Israel. In this issue of our Bulletin, we highlight the story of a close friend of Canadian Friends of Sabeel, whose family experienced the Nakba firsthand. Names have been changed and the author remains anonymous due to security concerns for Palestinians in Israel at this time.
My mother’s mother (Teta) was born and raised in Nazareth. Teta married Sido in Haifa. When it was time for her to give birth to my mother, in 1936, Teta went to Nazareth to have her baby, and stayed with her family for a while. They had five children – my mother is the oldest -- and were living in Haifa when the 1948 Nakba began. The fighting was particularly intense there, because Haifa had a strategic port.
Postcard of Nazareth
Source: Palestine Museum Digital Archive
My mother’s father (Sido) was born in Haifa, Palestine. Mom’s grandfather was an Orthodox priest and her dad (my grandfather) wanted to follow his father’s path. He left Haifa as a teenager and moved to Jerusalem preparing to be a priest. But later he changed his mind and returned to his home city of Haifa. Since he spoke five languages, he got a job as a translator. At that time Haifa was the centre of business and entertainment in Palestine. Haifa’s population prior to 1948 was 180,000. After 1948,its population dropped tremendously—to 5,000.
Palestinian home being searched by the occupation in 1948 Haifa
Source: PalestineRemembered.com
The Nakba at Haifa
In 1948 the Nakba began. Palestinian resistance fighters battled alongside forces from some of the Arab countries against Israel. However, the tragic ending was the occupation of Palestine and the beginning of the State of Israel.
A Map of Destroyed Palestinian Villages 1948 - 1950
Source: Palestine Museum Digital Archive
The situation was chaotic and Palestinians were in total confusion and fear. The British planted fear in Palestinian people’s hearts and minds and pushed them to flee their homes. Especially the residents of the city of Haifa, who were escorted towards the port and loaded on to awaiting boats which sailed toward Lebanon. All they took with them was some jewelry, pillows, and a few personal belongings. They really believed they would return to their homes soon, as they had been told by the army. They took their home key with them under the assumption they were soon coming back. Seventy-five years later, they still have the keys but never saw their home again. The symbol of the Key is very significant for Palestinians.
Mom recalls a true story that happened on the boat carrying Palestinian refugees from Haifa to Lebanon. The British army kept screaming at passengers to throw some of their belongings into the sea because the load was too heavy for the boat. One woman had grabbed her baby, pillows, and some belongings and rushed to escape from the battle in Haifa. She threw a pillow and some bed sheets overboard, in the confusion not remembering that her baby was wrapped in it. Once she realized what had happened, the mother screamed and pleaded for the boat to stop and begged for help to rescue her baby. The soldiers screamed and threatened to kill her if she did not “shut up.”
In this way Haifa fell under the new occupiers in 1948. Many, many people were massacred. Sido and many other men were sent to the centre square of Haifa to collect and bury the bodies of murdered Palestinians in a mass grave. It was very traumatizing for these men. They had no choice and were forced to do it.
"Nashrat al-Ihtifal", a Bulletin Issued by Haifa Municipality, 24 June 1958. This document shows a bulletin entitled "Nashrat al-Ihtifal" (The Ceremony Bulletin), which was issued by the Haifa Municipality to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Israeli Occupation State and as a tribute to the achievements of the State and the Municipality during this period.
Source: Palestine Museum Digital Archive
The Nakba at Nazareth
Jewish immigrant families moved into the homes of Palestinians who had fled or died, and occupied them, some of them until now. Sido and Teta fled not to Lebanon but to Nazareth for safety. Teta’s father owned many properties there. He gave her and her family a home and helped them financially.
But in June 1948 Nazareth also surrendered. Panic and fear spread among everyone. Palestinians fled their homes and sheltered in monasteries and hotels.
A few weeks later, a Syrian priest encouraged the Nazareth people to go back to their homes and not to leave them empty, for fear of them being taken by incoming Jewish Immigrants. Sido and Teta and their family left the monastery and tried to go back to their home in Nazareth. When Sido opened the door, he found soldiers in his home. Sido told them “This is my house.” A soldier screamed at him, started towards him in a threatening way, and ordered him to get out or he and his family would be killed. Sido quietly gathered his family and again they left their home.
Sit-in at the Church of the Assumption in 1982 Nazareth
Source: Palestine Museum Digital Archive
A few hours later, Sido bravely made another attempt to claim his home. This time, the soldiers had left and there was only one soldier inside. He was staring at a statue of the Virgin Mary that rested on the shelf in the living room. The soldier turned around, looked at Sido and the family, and slowly walked out. My family believed that the soldier was Christian. Nazareth residents have always believed that the city is protected by the Virgin Mary, and maybe that is why the city was spared, and suffered less of the massacres and the ethnic cleansing.
Ongoing Suffering
During this time, Palestine was placed on a daily curfew from 2:00 pm till the next morning. Massacres were taking place in many, many towns and villages. People were terrified. The Israeli army succeeded again in spreading fear amongst the people. Massive groups were fleeing the cities and towns and abandoning their homes looking for safety, but there was nowhere safe.
There was also no work or food available. People were trying to smuggle food to feed their families. Special military permits were required to move from town to town. Many people were caught without a permit and were thrown in jail. Lots of men ventured out to get food for their families and were never seen again.
"Written in both Arabic and Hebrew, this document shows ʿabdallah al-Khatib's prisoner of war memo, numbered 791, during his detention at the Central Arabs Prison during the 1948 War. The memo includes a handwritten letter from al-Khatib to his brother Hafeẓ from Beit Iba in which he informs him of his recovery after his return from the hospital. The letter is also sealed with the Israeli and the International Red Cross stamps. DATE CREATED: December 28, 1948"
Source: Palestine Museum Digital Archive
Many residents of the surrounding towns and villages found refuge in Nazareth. Their homes where they had lived for hundreds of years were either demolished or confiscated by the Israeli government. Sadly, these families who had had businesses, jobs and a good life ended up losing everything. They were separated from the rest of their extended families. Things were so bad that they ended up begging for a bag of flour to feed their families. Slowly, some people were able to attend to their businesses and work again (always with restrictions).
Sido had lost his job in Haifa and no one was allowed in or out of Haifa. So the family stayed in Nazareth. But Sido had five children to feed. Depressed and traumatized, he struggled like everyone else. He started teaching and picking up odd jobs whenever he could. Soldiers still raided the homes unexpectedly, threatening and throwing objects around. However, slowly the Nazareth situation calmed down, though intimidation and violence were continuing throughout the country.
Sido had also lost all his extended family in Haifa. They had fled to Lebanon and settled in a refugee camp. Their homes were taken and occupied by Jewish immigrant families. Sido would cry daily, hoping someone from his family would be allowed back, but to no avail. He cried every year on the days of his siblings’ birthdays and was never able to celebrate. He had no idea if they were dead or alive. He would pray every day. His strong faith kept him going. He had to concentrate on supporting and feeding his family. Eventually he found out some of his relatives were killed and the rest had fled to Lebanon. He never saw them again.
Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon - Source: IMEMC News
Several years passed. Sido and Teta decided to settle permanently in Nazareth, with their five children. The children started school. Sido opened a business with the support of Teta’s family, though restrictions on movement were continuous. Teta’s family were well off and able to help the family for the next few years.
Sido passed away at the age of 77. Teta died at 83. She was one of the luckier ones—her parents and siblings lived in Nazareth and stayed together as a family.
My mother’s family is resilient. My mom’s siblings all achieved post-secondary education, became professionals, and did well. They are all living in Nazareth with their families.
The Bride is Already Married
But at the time of the Nakba it was very difficult. In 1948, Teta’s four brothers were studying in universities in Lebanon. After graduating, they tried to come back home to Nazareth but every time they tried to cross the borders, they would be detained and sent back to Lebanon. After many attempts, three of them were successful.
The fourth brother (Mom’s uncle the doctor), again tried to cross the borders back to Palestine but he was caught and thrown in jail. He started to argue with a prison guard and was slapped by a soldier. The brother grabbed the soldier’s hand and said, “How dare you slap me? I am a doctor.” The soldier said, “If you are a doctor, come with me. There is a woman who is sick, and I want you see her.” He did and nursed the woman back to health. After that he was allowed to return home.
My grandfather’s brother got married in May 1948 and left for Lebanon for his honeymoon. Soon the borders between Lebanon and Palestine were closed and he was never allowed back to his home in Haifa. Both brothers did not see one another for almost 10 years.
There are so many more stories from the Nakba.
I read an article once about a time in the late 1930s when some rabbis were sent to Palestine to check the land for a future homeland for Jews. The rabbis toured the country, loved it but said: “This land is beautiful like a bride. Unfortunately, she is married.”