Al-Sawalima السوالمة | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Etymology: es Sûâlimîyeh, the ruin of the Sâlem family[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-Sawalima (click the buttons) | |
  Al-Sawalima Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°06′59″N34°50′51″E / 32.11639°N 34.84750°E /32.11639; 34.84750 | |
| Palestine grid | 134/170 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jaffa |
| Date of depopulation | March 30, 1948[4] |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 800[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
| Secondary cause | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Current Localities | Neve Sharett |
Al-Sawalima was aPalestinianArab village in theJaffa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on March 30, 1948. It was located 11 km northeast ofJaffa, situated 2 km north of theal-'Awja River.
In 1051 AH/1641/2, the Bedouin tribe of al-Sawālima from aroundJaffa attacked the villages ofSubṭāra,Bayt Dajan,al-Sāfiriya,Jindās,Lydda andYāzūr belonging toWaqf Haseki Sultan.[5]
In 1882 thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine noted atKhurbet es Sualimiyeh: “Traces of ruins only.“[6]
In the1922 census of Palestine conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Sawalmeh had a population of 70Muslims,[7] increasing in the1931 census whenEs-Sawalmeh had 429 Muslim inhabitants.[8]
In the1945 statistics, the village had a population of 800 Muslims,[2] while the total land area was 5,942dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[3] Of the land area, a total of 894 were used for growingcitrus andbanana, 191 were for plantations and irrigable land, 4,566 for cereals,[9] while 291 dunams were classified as non-cultivable areas.[10]
Al-Sawalima had an elementary school for boys founded in 1946, with 31 students.[11]
Benny Morris gives "Fear of being caught up in the fighting" and "Influence of nearby town's fall" as reasons for why the village became depopulated on March 30, 1948.[4]
In 1992 the village site was described: "Cactuses grow on the village site. No identifiable traces of the former dwellings (tents or adobe houses) remain. Only the remnants of the one-room school are discernable. A highway runs past the north side of the site."[12]
