Simsim, Gaza
| Simsim | |
 Simsim
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| Arabic | سمسم |
| Name Meaning | "Sesame" |
| Also Spelled | Sumsum, Semsem |
| Sub-district | Gaza |
| Coordinates | 31°34′02.05″N 34°36′25.94″E / 31.5672361°N 34.6072056°ECoordinates: 31°34′02.05″N 34°36′25.94″E / 31.5672361°N 34.6072056°E |
| Population | 855 (1931) |
| Area | 16,797 dunums |
| Date of depopulation | 12 May 1948[1] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Expulsion by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Gevar'am, Or HaNer |
Simsim (Arabic: سمسم), (known to the Crusaders as Semsem) was a Palestinian village, located 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) northeast of Gaza. It was depopulated just prior to the outbreak of 1948 Arab-Israeli war.[2] On 12 May 1948, pre-state Israeli forces expelled the villagers, along with those of the neighboring village of Najd.[3]
Simsim contained two archaeological sites known locally as ar-Ras and Sha'fat al-Mughur (the latter of which contained a Roman cemetery).[2]
In A Handbook for Travellers in Syria and Palestine (1858), Josias Leslie Porter describes the village as standing "amidst a little grove of trees, about a 1/4 mile north of the road."[4] Karl Baedeker and his travelling companions writing in 1894 are more specific, noting that the village is located in an olive grove and that tobacco and sesame are the principal crops grown there.[5]
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[edit] History
In 1596, Simsim was part of the Ottoman Empire, nahiya (subdistrict) of Gaza under the liwa' (district) of Gaza, and it had a population of 110. It paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat, barley and fruit trees, as well as on goats and beehives.[6]
In the late nineteenth century, Simsim was surrounded by gardens. It had a well, a pool, and an olive grove that was planted to the north.[7]
[edit] 1948 war, and after
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War the villagers of Simsim, together with the surrounding villages, were driven out by soldiers from the Negev Brigade on 12-13 May 1948 as part of Operation Barak. In Simsim the occupying troops found only a handful of old people. They blew up five houses and warned that if the village's weapons were not handed over the following day, they would blow up the rest.[8] But the inhabitants repeatedly returned to the village, either to resettle or to cultivate crops. At the end of May, a Negev Brigade unit, with orders to expel "the Arabs from Sumsum and Burayr and burn their granaries and fields", swept through the villages, encountering resistance in Sumsum, and killed "5" (or, according to another report, "20") and blew up granaries and a well.[9] The Israeli troops returned to Simsim yet again, on 9 or 10 June 1948, again burning houses and skirmishing with Arabs.[10]
The present Jewish locality of Gevar'am was established in 1942 on land traditionally belonging to the village. Or HaNer lie less than one km south of the village site, on land formerly belonging to Najd, Gaza.[11]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Morris, 2004, p. xix, village #316. Also gives cause of depopulation.
- ^ a b "Welcome to Simsim". Palestine Remembered. http://www.palestineremembered.com/Gaza/Simsim/index.html. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ Morris, 2004, p. 258
- ^ Porter, 1858, p. 262.
- ^ Baedeker et al., 1894, p. 154.
- ^ Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter and Kamal Abdulfattah (1977), Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. p. 147. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 136
- ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, III:260. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p.136
- ^ ´Ephraim´to Sarig, ´Summary for 14.5.48´, IDFA 922\75\\1220; and HGS\Operations Logbook, entry for 14 May 1948, IDFA 922\75\\1176. Cited in Morris, 2004, p. 258
- ^ ´Yisrael´, "Report of the Search through Burayr and Sumsum´, 2 Jun. 1948. IDFA 2090\50\\10; unsigned, "Daily Report for 31.5.48", IDFA 922\75\\1220; and HGS Logbook, entry for 1 June 1948, IDFA 922\75\\1176. Cited in Morris, 2004, p. 258
- ^ Unsigned, "Daily Summary -11.6.48", IDFA 922\75\\1220. Cited in Morris, 2004, p. 258
- ^ Khalidi, 1992, p. 136
[edit] Bibliography
- Baedeker, Karl, Albert Socin and Immanuel Benzinger (1894). Palestine and Syria: Handbook for Travellers. Harvard University.
- Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener (1881): The Survey of Western Palestine: memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology. London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. vol 3
- Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center, http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html
- Khalidi, Walid (1992), All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, ISBN 0-88728-224-5
- Morris, Benny (2004), The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-00967-7, 9780521009676
- Porter, Josais Leslie (1858). A Handbook for Travellers in Syria and Palestine. Harvard University.
[edit] External links
- Welcome To Simsim
- Simsim from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
- Tour to Simsim Yoav Bachar, 28.3.09, Zochrot
