they are unreliable or distorted accounts (Thompson 1978; Samuel and Thompson 1990). My
argument to the contrary is that these memories of a crucial period are indispensable. The
exiled villagers have preserved many and unique “scenes” that befell during the chaotic
period of 1948 without much sifting. The oral accounts commemorate certain actors and
explain their motivations. We are told how and why the Jizma¯wi¯ bus driver took revenge of
the Jews or how the Jizma¯wi¯ lawyer tried to arbitrate between the village and the Jews.
Moreover, the internal village dynamics (such as inter-class tension, male/female division of
labor or the disintegration of the usual social fabric due to the ongoing clashes) become
relevant factors in the overall picture of the war period. The lapse of time between the events
and their narration, noted Samuel Hynes, “shifts the focus inwards, to meaning and subject-
response: no longer simply what happened but what did it mean? How did it affect me?”
(Hynes 1999: 208). Hence, rather than treating memories as a suspect, they should be utilized
as templates that project issues that were, and still are, relevant for the villagers (See Wachtel
1986, following Halbwachs 1980).
In contrast to the oral narration, the army documents sketch specific facts such as the
nature, location, date and timing of each clash, and the determined attempts and means that
were used by the Israelis to capture the village. Hence, the combination of the two dissimilar
sources—army documents and oral accounts—provides a fairly coherent story, laden with
nuances, of the 1948 events.
IJZIM AND ITS LOCALITY
Ijzim was a relatively large and prosperous village located on a hill a few kilometers east of
the Haifa–Jaffa road. In 1948, the Jewish army forced its 3000 inhabitants to flee, along with
some 750,000 urban, rural and Bedouin Palestinians (Abu Lughod 1971: 161; Morris 1987:
298; Takkenberg 1997: 19). Historically, it is the hometown of the influential al-Ma¯d
i
¯ family
who ruled the Haifa Coastal region as intermediaries for the Ottomans during the first half of
the 19th century.4 The al-Ma¯d
i
¯s remained in key political positions through the 19th and 20th
centuries and owned exceptionally large plots of land. Some family members were sent abroad
for higher education (mainly to Beirut and Damascus). Prominent members of the family resided
simultaneously both in the nearby city of Haifa and in the village. Both in terms of land
ownership and in terms of population, Ijzim was the second largest village in the Haifa
district (second only to T
i
¯rat Haifa).5 In addition to the village’s historical prominence and its
particular social composition, Ijzim was chosen as a case study on account of the abundance
of documents concerning the village kept at the Israel Defense Force Archive (IDFA).
The coastal plain of Mount Carmel, stretching from Caesarea in the south to Haifa in the
north, was densely populated and was growing rapidly during the late Ottoman Rule and the
Mandate period. The British government invested in the region, carrying out projects such as
paving the coastal road at the foot of the Carmel Ridge (completed in the mid 1930s),
establishing ’Atlit’s salt industry and Haifa’s deep port, and erecting army camps, police
stations and prisons. All of those provided working opportunities for the local population.
Haifa, 25 kilometers north of Ijzim, was the district’s urban center. During the Mandate
period its population increased rapidly, from 24,640 residents in 1922 to 128,800 in 1944.6
Economic prosperity came hand in hand with close security control, especially after the
1936–9 Arab Revolt, when the British banned any possession of arms, and implemented this
policy especially within the Arab sector.
The Jewish army captured Haifa on 21–22 April 1948, following the British withdrawal
from parts of the city to concentrate in camps, which they would leave permanently a few
months later. The great majority of Haifa’s 60,000 Arab inhabitants left the city hastily
EFRAT BEN-ZE’EV
14