Al-Samakiyya was a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

village in the Tiberias Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 4, 1948, under

Operation Matateh Operation Matateh (, ''Mivtza Matateh'', lit. ''Operation Broom'') was a Haganah offensive launched ten days before the end of the British Mandate in Palestine. It was a sub-section of Operation Yiftach, with the objectives of capturing the flatl ...

. It was located 11 km northeast of

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

, near the Wadi al-Wadabani. The village was located at Tel Hum, which has been identified with

Capernaum Capernaum ( ; ; ) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500 in the 1st century AD. Archaeological excavations have revealed tw ...

History

In 1838, Edward Robinson noted the

bedawin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Syr ...

(Bedouin) tribe of ''es-Semekiyeh'', who kept some buildings in

Abu Shusha Abu Shusha () was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, located 8 km southeast of Ramle. It was ethnically cleansed in May 1948. Abu Shusha was located on the slope of Tell Jezer/Tell el-Jazari, whi ...

as magazines.

British Mandate

In the

1922 census of Palestine The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...

conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the population of ''Samakiyeh'' was 193 Muslims, increasing in the 1931 census to 290; 266 Muslims and 24 Christians, in a total of 60 houses.Mills, 1932, p
85
/ref> In the 1945 statistics ''Es Samakiya'' had a population of 380; 330 Muslims and 50 Christians, with 10,526 dunams of land. Of this, 2 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 66 for plantations and irrigable land, 4,034 dunams for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
123
/ref> while a total of 6,424 dunams were classified as non-cultivable area.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
173
/ref> Al-Samakiyya had an Italian monastery, a Franciscan church, and a Greek Orthodox church.

1948 war and aftermath

On 4 May 1948,

Yigal Allon Yigal Allon (; 10 October 1918 – 29 February 1980) was an Israeli military leader and politician. He was a commander of the Palmach and a general in the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He was also a leader of the Ahdut HaA ...

launched

('Operation Broom'), in order to clear the area of its Bedouin inhabitants.Morris, 2004, pp
249
250, notes #694-698, p
302
/ref> The Bedouin site is listed by

Benny Morris Benny Morris (; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. Morris was initially associated with the ...

as "'Arab al Samakiya (Samakiya/Talhum)". Historian

Saleh Abdel Jawad Saleh Abd al-Jawad, also spelled Saleh Abdel Jawad, (, born 1952) is a Palestinian historian. He has worked as Professor of History and Political Science at Birzeit University Birzeit University () is a public university in the West Bank, Pal ...

writes that five or more villagers were killed in "indiscriminate" killings by the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

Amnun Amnun () is a workers' moshav in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel. Located on the Korazim Plateau, it belongs to the Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council and HaOved HaTzioni, a part of Hanoar Hatzioni. It is located in the Korazim region, north ...

and

Korazim Korazim () is a community settlement in northern Israel. Located on the Korazim plateau to the north of the Sea of Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village wa ...

were both established on Al-Samakiyya land in 1983. In 1992, Palestinian historian

Walid Khalidi Walid Khalidi (; born in Jerusalem on July 16, 1925) is a Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an inde ...

wrote: "The village site is covered with wild vegetation, piles of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

stones, and date palm trees. Part of the surrounding land is used as pasture, and the other part is planted with fruit and walnut trees."

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

External links

Welcome To al-Samakiyya al-Samakiyya

Zochrot Zochrot (; "Remembering"; ; "Memories") is an Israeli nonprofit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Nakba, including the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. The group was co-founded by Eitan ...

*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6
IAAWikimedia commons
from the

Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center () is a leading Palestinian arts and culture organization that aims to create a pluralistic, critical liberating culture through research, query, and participation, and that provides an open space for the communit ...

* from Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh {{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Tiberias