al-Sarafand الصرفند Sarepta Yudee | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: from a personal name[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Al-Sarafand (click the buttons) | |
  al-Sarafand Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°38′48″N34°56′08″E / 32.64667°N 34.93556°E /32.64667; 34.93556 | |
| Palestine grid | 144/228 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Haifa |
| Date of depopulation | 16 July 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,409dunams (5.409 km2; 2.088 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 290[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Secondary cause | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Current Localities | Tzrufa[5] |
Al-Sarafand (Arabic:الصرفند) was aPalestinian Arab village near theMediterranean shore south ofHaifa. In Ottoman tax records, it is shown that the village had a population of 61 inhabitants in 1596. According to a land and population survey bySami Hadawi, al-Sarafand's population was 290 in 1945, entirely Arab.[3]
Sarafand orSarafend (Ṣarafand / صرفند) is anArabic rendition of thePhoenicianplace-name *Ṣrpt.[6] Al-Sarafand was known to theCrusaders asSarepta Yudee.[7]
Pottery remains from the late Roman era andByzantine era have been found here.[8]
Ayyubid forces captured al-Sarafand from theCrusaders in 1187-1188.[9] The village appears in thewaqf of the tomb (turba) andmadrasa of amirQurqamaz in Egypt.[10]
In 1517 the village of 'Sarafanda' was incorporated into theOttoman Empire with the rest of Palestine. During the16th and17th centuries, it belonged to theTurabay Emirate (1517-1683), which encompassed also theJezreel Valley,Haifa,Jenin,Beit She'an Valley, northernJabal Nablus,Bilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe, and the northern part of theSharon plain.[11][12]
FromOttoman records it is known that in 1596 Sarafand was a village in thenahiya ("subdistrict") of Shafa, (liwa' ("district") ofLajjun), with a population of 11Muslim households, an estimated 61 persons. Villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% to the authorities for the crops that they cultivated, which includedwheat,barley, summer crops such as corn, beans, melons, and vegetables, and raisinggoats; a total of 8,500akçe.[7][13]
In1799, it appeared as the villageSarfend on the map thatPierre Jacotin compiled that year.[14]In 1859 the village of Sarafand was described as being situated on a ridge between a plain and the beach. Consul Rogers estimated that 150 people lived in it and cultivated 16faddans.[15][16] Four years later,Victor Guérin stated that the population size was not exceeding 300.[17]
According to thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine, who visited in 1873; "North of this village there is a system of rock- cut tombs, sixteen in all. Eight have each threeloculi underarcosolia, and in three cases the rolling stones which closed the doors lie beside them. One of these stones was 3 feet diameter, and 1 foot thick, weighing probably about 6 cwt. Five of the tombs are singleloculi, open in front, cut in the face of the cliff under arcosolia; two of the tombs have only twoloculi each, and one is blocked up. This group presents the best examples found by the Survey party of the rolling stone arrangement for a tomb door."[18]
A population list from about 1887 showed that Sarafand had about 270 inhabitants; allMuslims.[19]
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Sarafand had a population of 204; allMuslims,[20] decreasing in the1931 census to 188; still all Muslim, in a total of 38 houses.[21]
The village economy depended on agriculture, animal husbandry and salt making.[22]
In the1945 statistics, the village had a population of 290 Muslims,[2] and the village's lands spanned 5,409dunams.[3] The population was entirely Muslim.[23] A total of 3,244 dunums of land was allocated tocereals; 22 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[24] while 6 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[25]
During the1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, the inhabitants were ethnically cleansed in several stages. Most fled in early May towardsal-Tira and when al-Tira was depopulated they left forJenin. Some returned and remained in al-Sarafand untilIsraeli forces — composed of theCarmeli andAlexandroni Brigades — assaulted the village on July 16, 1948. At the time,Arab Liberation Army volunteers and local militia were defending al-Sarafand.[26] Most of the inhabitants fled to the southeast line ofWadi Ara, where theIraqi Army was stationed. Later, they crossed theJordan River, and since then the majority of al-Sarafand’s refugees have been living inJordan. Only one former resident of al-Sarafand remained inIsrael. The village houses were not immediately demolished by the Israelis and remained empty for many years. When they were eventually destroyed, the mosque was the only building spared.[7]
Petersen inspected the village mosque and adjacent vaults in 1994, and described the mosque as "a tall rectangular box-like building standing on a terrace near the top of the ridge on which it was built. The mosque is entered through a doorway in the middle of the north wall. The interior is divided into two long cross-vaulted bays resting on six large piers. There are four windows in west wall facing the sea. Themihrab is placed in the centre of the south wall and can be seen on the exterior as a rectangular projection. To the west of the mihrab are the remains of aminbar (now destroyed). The lower sections of the wall are approximately 1 m. thick, whilst the upper part of the south and north walls are considerably thinner (0.3 m.). Although the present building does not appear to be very old (late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries) it does appear to in incorporate an earlier structure which is visible in the exterior walls. To the south of the mosque is a rectangular area of ruins (approximately 30m x 40m) containing several barrel-vaulted chambers. Three of these are still accessible; one on the north side nearest the mosque, and two on the south side next to the quarry cliff. Each vault is about 7m long; one is 2.52m wide and the other is 3.52m wide. More intensive investigation could reveal a basic plan of this structure."[27]
In 1999, the 'Aqsa Society for the Preservation of Islamic Holy Sites decided to restore al-Sarafand’smosque. In May 2000, while restoration was on the verge of completion, the mosque was destroyed overnight by a bulldozer. The perpetrator was never identified. The activists covered the ruins by a large tent and maintained a vigil at the site. Removal of the tent was negotiated with the Israeli authorities. It was agreed that the site would be fenced to protect it, but that did not happen and the activists built a more permanent structure. The latter was demolished by the police in March 2002, but the ruined mosque continues to be used for Friday prayers.[7] According to theOr Commission report, Israeli authorities did not grant a license for rebuilding the mosque after the demolition; a decision that contributed to the souring of relations between local Muslim residents and the authorities. The Or Commission report also claims that activities byIslamic organizations such as the aforementioned society may be using religious pretenses to further political aims. The commission describes such actions as a factor in 'inflaming' the Muslim population in Israel against the authorities, and cites the Sarafand mosque episode, with Muslims' attempts to restore the mosque andJewish attempts to stop them, as an example of the 'shifting of dynamics' of the relationship between Muslims and the Israeli authorities.
The Israeli new historian Ilan Pappe has a different story of the events. He writes:"The mosque was a hundred years old when the Israeli government gave the go-ahead to have it bull-dozed on 25 july 2000 ignoring a petition addressed to the then prime minister Ehud Barak, beseeching him not to authorise this official act of vandalism."[28]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help){{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)
