Jubb Yusuf جُب يوسف | |
|---|---|
Village | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Jubb Yusuf (click the buttons) | |
  Jubb Yusuf Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°55′09″N35°32′13″E / 32.91917°N 35.53694°E /32.91917; 35.53694 | |
| Palestine grid | 200/258 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Area | |
• Total | 11,325dunams (11.325 km2; 4.373 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 170[1] |
Jubb Yusuf (Arabic:جُب يوسف), also called 'Arab al-Suyyad, was aPalestinian village depopulated in the1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Situated in rocky terrain northwest ofLake Tiberias, the village was associated with a nearby well,Jubb Yussef (Joseph's Well), which was the site of akhan or caravan stopping place for centuries. The ruins are adjacent to the Israeli kibbutz ofAmi'ad.
In 1440, at the time whenMamluks sultanJaqmaq built a chain of khans in the country, it seems that Jubb Yussef was viewed as a holy place, where there may have been a small village near by, but no khan had been built there yet. Three decades later, in 1470, the Belgian travellerAnselm Adornes visited Jubb Yussef with his son Jan. Their travel report mentions "a beautiful inn which was built not long ago, a stone's throw away from the city".[2][clarification needed]
Following the Ottoman victory over the Mamluks at theBattle of Marj Dabiq in northern Syria in 1516, the army of Ottoman SultanSelim I crossed into theGalilee and encamped at Jubb Yusuf before proceeding to conquerMamluk Egypt.[3] In the Ottoman tax registers of 1596, Jubb Yusuf is listed as a village in thenahiya ("subdistrict") of Jira, part ofSafad Sanjak, with a population of 72. It paid taxes on crops such as wheat, barley, and fruit, and on goats and beehives.[4][5] In the early 18th century the scholar and SufiAbd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi mentioned the khan, the domed well which still exists, and a nearby mosque.
A map fromNapoleon's invasion of 1799 byPierre Jacotin showed the place, named asPuits de Joseph.[6] The Swiss travellerJohann Ludwig Burckhardt observed during his visit around 1816 that the khan was falling into ruin.[7] The mosque was dismantled around the beginning of the 19th century and the stones used to build a sheep fence close to the khan. The village by that time appears to have had few inhabitants, possibly because the well was no longer usable after theGalilee earthquake of 1837,[8] leaving only one small, seasonal source of water nearby. An 1877 survey of the Galilee carried out by thePalestine Exploration Fund stated:[9]
"… Our next camp was at Khan Jubb Yusuf, where we arrived on the 4th of April. The Khan is a large building falling into ruins on the main road to Damascus. There was no village near, the country being occupied byBedawin of the Semakiyeh andZenghariyeh tribes."
At the time of the1931 census, Jubb Yusuf had 17 occupied houses and a population of 93 Muslims.[10]
In 1946, when KibbutzAmi'ad was established a few hundred meters north of the khan, the village was still inhabited by Bedouin families. According to an original member of the kibbutz, the pond still provided water part of the year, "and the Bedouins, whose tents were spread across the valley of Jubb Yussef, used it to water their flocks."[11]
However, other described the village of Jubb Yusuf as small, with closely packed houses made of mud,basalt stones, andlimestone. There were a large number of springs in the vicinity, and that had attracted the Bedouin of the 'Arab al-Suyyad tribe. They had settled the village, worked the land, and made up the majority of its (allMuslim) population. Their main crops were grain, vegetables, fruits, and olives. In 1944/45 they planted 2,477dunums incereals.[5][12][13]
Due to the nomadic nature of the villagers the area under their jurisdiction was vast; 11,325 dunums.[1][5][13]
Already in a report of 22 April 1948,Yigal Allon had recommended "an attempt to clear out the beduin encamped between theJordan and Jubb Yusuf and theSea of Galilee".[citation needed] On 4 May, Allon launched the Operation Broom (Operation Matateh).[14] According toKhalidi, the residents of the village were probably expelled at that date.[13]
Jubb Yusuf is mentioned as a location by the Arab Army of Liberation (ALA) commanderFawzi al-Qawuqji in his account of the war of 1948,[15] and byPalmach commanderYigal Allon. In his report to theHaganah General Staff on 22 April, according to Israeli historianBenny Morris, Yigal Allon recommended "an attempt to clear out the beduins encamped between the Jordan [River], and Jubb Yusuf and the Sea of Galilee".
The Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi described the remains of the village in 1992: "All that remains of the village are the thorn-covered khan and domed tomb of Shaykh 'Abdallah. Fig and carob trees grow on the site. The village land is cultivated by the settlement of'Ammi'ad. Near the site are structures belonging to thewater project that diverts water from theJordan for use in Israel, including thewater pumping station atal-Tabigha (6 km to the south), which draws water from Lake Tiberias".[13]
