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What It Was Like Being Forced to Leave Palestine 60 Years Ago

By Suzanne Manneh, New America Media. Posted January 13, 2009.


Palestinian expats tell their stories from decades ago when they were forced to flee their homeland.
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Editor's Note: The current conflict between Hamas forces and Israel has rekindled memories among many Palestinian expats of a time more than six decades ago when they were forced to flee their homeland as violence erupted there. A 78-year-old Palestinian expat, who wants to remain anonymous, shares some of those memories with New America Media reporter Suzanne Manneh.

DALY CITY, Calif. -- It's been 61 years since I've seen my homeland of Palestine. I'm one of many Palestinian elders living in exile. And sadly, one of many who may not live to see home again.

I left Jaffa, Palestine, now part of Israel, when I was 17. It was a violent time in Palestine, leading up to the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe, the expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine, and the creation of Israel.

My family and I fled on April 27, 1948. My cousin, who lived a block away from me, was severely injured from a missile attack on our neighborhood, but survived. The next day, Jewish defense forces said we had to leave or die, so we packed whatever we could, as fast as we could, and left for Jordan, hoping for a more peaceful, stable life. But an unstable Jordanian economy in the 1970's ended that dream and started another, in the United States.

When I came to the United States, I hid the fact that I was Palestinian, or even Arab. I said I was Greek. I was worried Americans would call me a terrorist and reject me. I surrendered my homeland and my identity as well. Some found out I was Palestinian and insulted me.

In the last two weeks, I've been glued to my television set, watching from my home here in California the fighting between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. And as I watch, I cry. Watching this is the closest I think I can get to home.

My last memories of home are like this. Chaos. Death. Blood. Tears. Fear. Anger. Screaming. And above all sadness, so much sadness. One minute you're enjoying a meal with your family and boom! you're uprooted.

One afternoon, at the end of January 1948, I was riding my bicycle home from my father's taxicab business. I was in downtown Jaffa and saw one of my uncles riding his bike. "Hurry on home!" he yelled, "I hear this area is next to get bombed!"

I didn't believe him, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I rode toward my house and he toward his. Seconds later, I heard a huge explosion. I saw buildings go up in smoke and fires behind me. Hundreds of people were running in the streets, screaming. I was shaking uncontrollably when I got home. I learned that my uncle had died in the explosion.

The violence escalated in the following days. My Jewish friends were shocked. They couldn't believe what was happening. There had been riots before, a little violence, but never like this.

Each day there were more attacks. Palestinians felt they had to retaliate, so it became violence against violence.

The Jewish defense forces began forcing people to leave their homes. If they didn't, they would kill everyone, they said. I remember Palestinian girls getting raped. I saw three sisters from my neighborhood jump into a well because the defense forces tried to rape them.

Many families who didn't have cars in which to escape scrambled to find a family that did. They squished into them, 12 to15 people to a car.


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» Where is hell? Posted by: Gregory Kruse
1948 must never be forgotten
Posted by: Progbiz on Jan 13, 2009 4:16 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
the story of 1948 in Palestine must be told over and over and over again...Every conversation, every negotiation, every article needs to mention Akba....it is the root of all of the violence and the arc of increasing Israeli land grab....1948 must never be forgotten.

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Yes, and Zionist Israel has been subjecting Palestinians to Apartheid ever since!
Posted by: JohnTruth2001 on Jan 13, 2009 7:45 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's time to end these Zionist atrocities now!!!

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More Revisionism??
Posted by: Will Miller on Jan 13, 2009 7:51 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Not to insult or defame the author but there are just too many non-sequiturs for his comments to ring as an accurate depiction of the events in 1948. True, too many American Troops, Jewish Soldiers, Arab Freedom Fighters, Germans, British, Japanese, Danish, etc., etc., etc., run about with their zippers open for a quick rape or two in combat but please don't tell me you came to the United States and claimed to be a Greek because you didn't want to be identified as a terrorist.
As long as gross exaggeration is held as irrefutable and extended as a justification for one's actions and a basis for working towards a solution, there shall be no solution, pity.

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» RE: More Revisionism?? Posted by: Gisele
» Ah, there is the tale Posted by: Will Miller
The Wound of Dispossession
Posted by: fanny666 on Jan 13, 2009 8:45 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Wound of Dispossession is a book on this general topic, written by a woman who was a CIA analyst for over 15 years.

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Cry me a river..
Posted by: daniel1982 on Jan 13, 2009 9:42 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Blunt, but necessary.

After World War 2, the Soviets came in and shipped the entire population of Eastern Poland westward to former German territory - whether they liked it or not. It wasn't fair but not many things in this world are fair. People got over it though. Partly because they had no choice and partly because the alternative would be to continue the cycle of violence, or resentment, 60 years in later against the current, innocent inhabitants of those lands (Russians and Ukrainians).

That's why I think these kinds of articles are so detrimental to achieving peace. Was it an injustice what happened to Palestine in 1945? Sure it was - now what? Well... get over it, move on. Do you want your great-grand children re-living it as well? Thinking themselves as victims because of something that happened a century ago?

Think about it this way, if the Zionists expelled all Palestinians in '45 or '67 to the surrounding Arab states, would that not be a better situation for everyone than what we have now? It would have been an injustice, sure, but the current generation of Palestinians would have been born and brought up in relatively stable nations..and not in ghettos. Two more generations and the decedents of the original inhabitants wouldn't care, just like the current Polish citizens don't have resentment towards Russians, Germans or Ukrainians.

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» RE: Cry me a river.. Posted by: iris89
» RE: Cry me a river.. Posted by: daniel1982
» I think you misunderstood... Posted by: daniel1982
Where are the stories about fleeing Jews?
Posted by: sharonsylvie on Jan 13, 2009 11:03 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Palestinians like to think they are the only ones who fled. But an equal number of Jews in Arab countries all ran for their lives--away from the despotic religious regimes who stole all their property and money (except for Iran, which still holds the Jews hostage). I don't hear anything about them or their plight. That's because their Jewish brethren took them in while the Palestinians have been kept in squalor in various Arab countries as well as the unassigned territories. The Gazans are not wanted by Egypt and the West Bankers are not wanted by Jordan. Let's see an article about that.

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Let The Squatters Occupation Come To And END, Let The Israelites Have Their Land
Posted by: iris89 on Jan 13, 2009 12:18 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
All should learn the facts, before making any judgments. Example, learn who Palestine really belongs to:

Whose Land Is It? A Study of The Land of Palestine

INTRODUCTION:

Land title research in many areas is a very difficult task. In Mexico, the titles to farm land are so clouded it can take years to adequately search them. In some places the granting of title to land by a legitimate granter can go back over 3,500 years. One such place is the land of Palestine where current occupancy has no relationship to whom holds title.

Even some of the most famous buildings in the land of Palestine are actually squatters on land to which others hold title. The most famous instance of this is the Temple Mount and its squatter mosque that sits on the site of the ancient temple of ancient Hebrew kingdom and belongs to the Hebrews. This mess with many occupying land as squatters for which others hold title makes for an untenable position when the rightful title holder takes back his/her land, especially so when it is centuries later.

The present situation in much of Palestine is like the battle between the squatters and the owners, titleholders of land in the old west in the United States; to wit, squatters wanting to continue to squat and land owners wanting their land back. However, some additional situations enter the picture since many of the land owners - their ancestors - were forced off the their land by the Romans and by later Caliphs. Now of course the rule of law should be applied and the squatters finally brought to their day of reckoning with reality, they have no title to the land they are on.

To read the remainder, go to,

[go to] http://jude3.proboards92.com/index.cgi?board=islam

And then to the article, "Whose Land Is It? A Study of The Land of Palestine"

Note: if you have questions PM me on the forum where the article is and I will provide further evidence.

Iris89

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» I have a question Posted by: felipe
Another view of 1948
Posted by: mortart on Jan 13, 2009 1:30 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Perhaps if the armies of Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan had not invaded the Jewish state established by the UN in 1948, seeking to destroy it, the local Arabs would not have needed to flee, as the writer claims. And if indeed the local Arabs were forced to flee, who are the 1.5 million Arabs who now live in Israel and are its citizens, enjoying the social welfare benefits and normal democratic rights denied citizens of most other Arab countries?

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esornew
Posted by: esornew on Jan 13, 2009 2:18 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Who's land is it?? Not yours, mine, or theirs. Belongs to the creator, loaned to all forms of life on earth, for the purpose of sustenance, enjoyment and maintenance.
Humans devised boundaries, nations,ownership deeds, etc.and there has been no peace since.

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» RE: esornew Posted by: daniel1982
Love of Neighbor requires Exposing Falsehoods
Posted by: iris89 on Jan 13, 2009 8:12 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Now, with respect Palestine there is a scripture all should consider, 1 Peter 3:11, “Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.” (Authorized King James Bible; AV).
But neither the Ishmaelites – Hamas, nor the Hebrews – Israelites are considering it. Strange as they are both descendants of Abraham, one by Ishmael and one by Issac.

Now, even though the Ishmaelites control over 98% of the Middle East, they are greedy for the less than 2% of the Middle East belonging to their brother tribe, the Hebrews – Israelites. This is NOT the way for the descendants of Abraham who walked with Almighty God (YHWH) to act.

Why is this? It is because neither is walking with the TRUE GOD as did Abraham, but both are being mislead by none other than Satan the Devil per 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (AV).

In fact, the Ishmaelites instead of pursuing peace in accordance with what Jesus (Yeshua) the Son of God said at Matthew 22:37-40 said, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (AV).

This is clearly shown by what one Australian Newspaper said, "Did you know that 90-95% of the conflicts in the world today are Muslims fighting non-muslims or each other? " [source - The Weekend Australian, November 26-27, 2005 AD]"

However, what the world needs is peace, not war. So clearly we can see that the Ishmaelites are in a false religion not walking with Almighty God (YHWH), the God of Abraham; nor are the Hebrews who do not recognize his son, Jesus (Yeshua), anymore than the Ishmaelites.

All need to be showing love for neighbor by exposing false beliefs that are ruining mankind by misleading him from walking with the True God of Abraham, Almighty God (YHWH).

To learn more, go to:

http://religioustruths.proboards59.com/ An Educational Referral Forum

And going down to:

DISCUSSIONS AND EXPOSURES, and to subject Exposing False Belief A Loving Act

Iris89

PS: If any want further information and/or to discuss with me, PM me on above forum!

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» RE: What is this? Posted by: ceti
Cowardice and depravity of trolls
Posted by: ceti on Jan 16, 2009 7:19 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It seems to me that the pro-Zionist Hasbara trolls pounce on any story sympathetic to Palestinians. This is a longstanding practice to ensure that American empathy is held in reserve for Israelis only, so that the Palestinian people do not exist, cannot exist, and thus any form of brutality or depravity visited upon them can be dismissed with the cleverly crafted words that murder history.

Such vile propagandizing that denies the experiences of an entire people is fit only for psychopaths who show no remorse for their butchery.

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