By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
During the War of Independence in 1948, some 500 Palestinian villages in the young State of Israel were destroyed. Many residents fled their homes out of fear of the Israel Defense Forces and other Jewish elements active in the area; others were actively expelled from their villages. Today, only a few of these destroyed villages are publicly mentioned in connection with their original locations.
New communities have been built on some sites; the ruins of others have been covered over by parks and nature reserves.
The Zochrot (Remembering) organization, which supports promoting the Palestinians' right of return to the destroyed communities, has for several years been trying to heighten awareness of this issue, and last week celebrated a breakthrough: Senior Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemeth L'Israel (JNF) officials notified the organization that in parks
that have a sign explaining the history of the area, the Palestinian villages that were once located there would also be mentioned.
Thus some 31 villages whose ruins are now located within the confines of parks where there are signs, will be saved from the brink of oblivion. Among the villages to be mentioned: Amuka, in the Biriya Forest; Reihaniyeh in the Ramat Menashe Park; Jimzu in the Ben Shemen Forest; Saraa in the Tzora Forest; and Ajur in Park Britain. They will be added to 12 other villages that are already mentioned on JNF signs.
Zochrot staff describe the JNF decision as "a revolutionary and interesting change." The organization's director, Eitan Bronstein, told Haaretz: "I think that today there is more openness to the subject and it is starting to be less threatening. The sky will not fall if we tell people that we kicked out Arabs and destroyed villages."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=950689
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
