Al-Salihiyya الصالحية Salihiya[1] | |
|---|---|
 Al-Salihiyya c. 1936. Woman weaving papyrus mat. | |
| Etymology: This name is elsewhere attached to buildings or establishments founded bySalah ad-Din (Saladin).[2] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Al-Salihiyya (click the buttons) | |
  Al-Salihiyya Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:33°10′02″N35°36′45″E / 33.16722°N 35.61250°E /33.16722; 35.61250 | |
| Palestine grid | 207/285 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Date of depopulation | May 25, 1948[1] |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 1,520[3][4] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
| Secondary cause | Whispering campaign |
Al-Salihiyya (Arabic:الصالحية) was aPalestinianArab village populated by people traditionally associated with the Ghawarna, a genericexonym denoting inhabitants of the drainage plains of the Hula Valley.[5] It was depopulated during the1948 War on May 25, 1948, by theIsraeliPalmach. It was located in theSafad Subdistrict, 25 km northeast ofSafad, at the intersection of theJordan River andWadi Tur'an.
Canoeing pioneerJohn MacGregor was taken prisoner by the villagers of Al-Salihiyya during his exploration of the region in January 1869.[6] During his second night in the village he ate with the village sheikh and 50 other men. The meal consisted of"kusskoosoo" which MacGregor described as "a kind of small bean porridge uncommonly good to eat" and was eaten with saucers ofbuffalo cream. It was served on a communal wooden plate with wooden spoons for the cream. "They all behaved with excellent propriety and good breeding, but without constraint."[7]
In 1881, during the lateOttoman period, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described the village as "amud village, containing about ninetyMoslems; situated on plain of arable land, with march and river near."[8]
At the time of theBritish Mandate for Palestine, the village had a population of 1281, all Muslim except 2 Christians. They occupied a total of 257 houses, according to the1931 census of Palestine.[9]
A visitor to the village in 1936 noted that the inhabitants, along with those in otherHuleh villages, had a "pronounced negroid element" and suggested they may have originated fromSudan or from slaves purchased inMecca and resold atMa'an. Their dialect was close toEgyptian Arabic. The village's main industry was harvesting thepapyrus groves of Lake Huleh and the manufacture of papyrus matting. The mats were either fine work for interior use or coarser work for building construction. The reed huts were made weatherproof in winter by adding further layers. A roof might end up eight or nine mats thick with the walls made up of four or five layers. They kept chickens, geese andbuffaloes. The arable land was made difficult to plough by an invasive low growing grass similar tocouch grass, calledInjeel orNajeel. Somewheat,Indian corn andmillet (dura) was being grown. The villagers also caught fish, of which there was an abundance, withdrag nets as well ascast nets. They also acted as guides during the duck shooting season. The writer expressed fear for their future. "The whole area has been taken over by Jewish colonists who intend in the near future to drain it and convert it into useful arable land."[10]
In the1945 statistics the population was 1,520, all Muslims,[4] owning 4,528dunams, while Jews owned 789 dunams, and 290 was publicly owned, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of this, 23 dunams were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 4,230 for cereals,[11] while 94 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[12]The village had amosque and an elementary school for boys.[13]
According to Israeli sources, the village had traditionally been ‘friendly’ towards theYishuv.[14] In late May, 1948, theHaganah reported an argument in Salihiya between youngsters and village elders. The youngsters thought it best ‘to approach the Jews and hand over their arms and stay’. The elders, however, feared that if an Arab army nonetheless reached their area, they would be deemed traitors, ‘and the village would be destroyed.[15] According to Haganah sources: ‘They wanted negotiations [with us]. We did not show up. [They became] afraid.’[14] The village was depopulated on May 25, 1948,[1] by the Palmach's First Battalion[citation needed] duringOperation Yiftach.[13]
Walid Khalidi described the village remains in 1992: "The village has been obliterated; no trace of it remains. Residents of the settlement ofKefar Blum cultivate the surrounding land."[13]
