Those People in Gaza: Where Do They Come From, And Why Are They So Mad?

The Naqba of Jaffa

For some time (and due to lack of time) I've been meaning to reconstruct a very interesting blog post by the blogger with the original moniker Lawrence of Cyberabia about the dispossession of the most important coastal Palestinian city of Jaffa, during the first march of Zionism (1948). In one post, Lawrence also thoroughly dispels (once again) the myth of 'the land without people for a people without land'.

Jam packed with facts and references about these events, it's also a treasure trove with lots and lots of beautiful photos of a lost world, destroyed by Zionism. If I had to sum up Jaffa's history under Zionism in a few sentences I'd write:

"A tale of Jewish European settlers arriving by the shipload and the indigenous Palestinians, forced out, leaving by the shipload. Different ships, different people, different destinations".

A sample of the post is offered below the page break. Now please read.

---

"We tend to believe abroad that Palestine is nowadays almost completely deserted,



Jaffa, Palestine: Palestinians gather at the Grand Serai (local government offices) in July 1908, to celebrate the al-Hurriyah Revolution (i.e. the Young Turks Revolution) against Sultan Abdul Hamid and in favor of the restoration of the constitution and the holding of Parliamentary elections. (via Walid Khalidi, Before Their Diaspora).

a noncultivated wilderness,



Jaffa, Palestine: General view of the city from the sea looking east, pre-1914. (Matson Collection, 1898-1914).

From Lawrence of Cyberia, please read on here...