Lubya
Encyclopedia
Lubya was a Palestinian Arab town located ten kilometers west of Tiberias that was captured and destroyed by Israel
during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. Nearby villages included Nimrin
to the north, Hittin
to the northwest, and al-Shajara
to the south; Each of those villages were also depopulated.
Lubya had a total land area of 39,629 dunam
s, of which 83% was Arab-owned and the remainder being public property. Most of its cultivable land was planted with cereals while only 1,500 dunams were planted with olive groves. The village's built-up area was 210 dunams.
s and was a rest stop for Saladin
's Ayyubid army prior to the Battle of Hattin
. It's also the birthplace of a prominent 15th century Muslim
scholar Abu Bakr al-Lubyani, who taught Islamic religious sciences in Damascus
.
Lubya belonged to the nahiya ("district") of Tiberias in 1596, a few decades after the Ottoman Empire
won control over the region from the Mamluk
s. The village was required to pay taxes on its goats, beehives and its olive press. Its population was recorded as 182 Muslim families and 32 Muslim batchelors. The Ottoman governor of Damascus, Suleiman Pasha
died in the village while on his way to confront the rebellious de facto Arab ruler of the Galilee
Dhaher al-Omar.
Lubya is near the site of Khan Lubya which is filled with the ruins of a pool, cisterns and large building stones. This site was probably a caravansary during medieval times.
In the early 19th century, a British
traveler, James Silk Buckingham
described Lubya as a very large village on top of a high hill. Johann Ludwig Burckhardt
, a Swiss traveler to Palestine
, referred to the village as "Louby" and noted that wild artichoke
s covered the village plain. The American scholar Robinson
, who passed through the village in 1838, noted that it had suffered greatly from the Galilee earthquake of 1837
, with 143 villagers reported dead. Later that century, the village was described as being built of stone, on top of a limestone
hill. Its population, estimated to be between 400 and 700, cultivated olive
and fig
trees.
An elementary school was established in 1895 and remained in use throughout the rule of the British Mandate of Palestine from 1923-1947. During this period, Lubya was the second largest village in the Tiberias District.
Lubya was being defended by local militia volunteers. Village forces constantly skirmished with Israel
i forces; the first Israeli raid on the village occurred on January 20, 1948, coordinated with one on nearby Tur'an
, leaving one Lubya resident dead. On February 24, local militiamen and Arab Liberation Army
(ALA) members ambushed a Jewish convoy on the village's outskirts, causing several casualties, including one militiaman. The attack signaled that the Israelis were unable to keep the roads open and that foreign volunteers (the ALA) were taking over the offensive in the eastern Galilee
.
In early March, Israeli forces attempted to create a route between Tiberias and the village of Shajara, which required attacking Lubya. During the attack militiamen repulsed the Israelis, killing seven and losing six of their own.
After Tiberias was occupied by Israel, Lubya turned to the ALA in nearby Nazareth
for military support and guidance. The ALA responded by attacking the Jewish town of Sejera on June 10 at the time when a truce was being brokered between Lubya's militiamen and Israeli forces. After the truce expired on July 16, Israel launched Operation Dekel
, capturing Nazareth at the start.
After news of Nazareth's fall, the majority of non-combatant village residents fled north towards Lebanon
or to nearby Arab towns. The ALA also withdrew, leaving the local militia to confront incoming forces. When a single Israeli armored unit appeared outside the village, the militia retreated and left the village. The few remaining residents reported that Israeli forces subsequently shelled Lubya, demolished a few houses and commandeered many others. The village was finally demolished in the 1960s.
was built on Lubya's remains. There are also two parks on the village lands: the Lavi Pine Forest and the South African Park. They are used as picnic grounds for local residents, including former residents of Lubya who are internally displaced persons
living in various existing Arab towns in Israel.
.
It was estimated that there was 16,741 Palestinian refugees descending from Lubya in 1998.
After 1948, the majority of refugees lived at the Wavel refugee camp
in Lebanon and other places in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. A few hundred remained in Israel as present absentees, living first in Kafr Kana. After the departure of the PLO from Lebanon in 1983 and the Sabra and Shatila massacre
s, many Lubya refugees immigrated from Lebanon to Europe. By 2003 about 2000 of them lived in Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. Nearby villages included Nimrin
Nimrin
Nimrin was a Palestinian Arab town of 320 that was captured and depopulated by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.-History:Nimrin stood on the site of Kfar Nimra when Palestine was ruled by the Roman Empire...
to the north, Hittin
Hittin
Hittin was a Palestinian village, located approximately west of Tiberias. The site of the Battle of Hattin in 1187, in which Saladin conquered most of interior Palestine from the Crusaders, Hittin is a nationalist symbol for Arabs and Palestinians...
to the northwest, and al-Shajara
Al-Shajara
al-Shajara is a former Palestinian Arab village depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was located 14 kilometers west of Tiberias on the main highway to Nazareth near the villages of Lubya and Hittin....
to the south; Each of those villages were also depopulated.
Lubya had a total land area of 39,629 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s, of which 83% was Arab-owned and the remainder being public property. Most of its cultivable land was planted with cereals while only 1,500 dunams were planted with olive groves. The village's built-up area was 210 dunams.
History
The village was known as Lubia by the CrusaderCrusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
s and was a rest stop for Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
's Ayyubid army prior to the Battle of Hattin
Battle of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....
. It's also the birthplace of a prominent 15th century Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
scholar Abu Bakr al-Lubyani, who taught Islamic religious sciences in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
.
Lubya belonged to the nahiya ("district") of Tiberias in 1596, a few decades after the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
won control over the region from the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s. The village was required to pay taxes on its goats, beehives and its olive press. Its population was recorded as 182 Muslim families and 32 Muslim batchelors. The Ottoman governor of Damascus, Suleiman Pasha
Suleiman Pasha (disambiguation)
Suleiman Pasha may refer to one of the following persons.*Suleyman Pasha , son of Orhan I.*Hadım Suleyman Pasha - Ottoman general; see also Battle of Vaslui*Suleiman pasha in the 16th century....
died in the village while on his way to confront the rebellious de facto Arab ruler of the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
Dhaher al-Omar.
Lubya is near the site of Khan Lubya which is filled with the ruins of a pool, cisterns and large building stones. This site was probably a caravansary during medieval times.
In the early 19th century, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
traveler, James Silk Buckingham
James Silk Buckingham
James Silk Buckingham was an English author, journalist and traveller.He was born at Flushing near Falmouth, the son of a farmer, and had a limited education. His youth was spent at sea, and in 1797 he was captured by the French and held as a prisoner of war at Corunna...
described Lubya as a very large village on top of a high hill. Johann Ludwig Burckhardt
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was a Swiss traveller and orientalist. He wrote his letters in French and signed Louis...
, a Swiss traveler to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, referred to the village as "Louby" and noted that wild artichoke
Artichoke
-Plants:* Globe artichoke, a partially edible perennial thistle originating in southern Europe around the Mediterranean* Jerusalem artichoke, a species of sunflower with an edible tuber...
s covered the village plain. The American scholar Robinson
Edward Robinson (scholar)
Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar, known as the “Father of Biblical Geography.” He has been referred to as the “founder of modern Palestinology.” -Biography:...
, who passed through the village in 1838, noted that it had suffered greatly from the Galilee earthquake of 1837
Galilee earthquake of 1837
The Galilee earthquake of 1837, often called the Safed earthquake, was a devastating earthquake that shook the Galilee on January 1, 1837.-Impact:...
, with 143 villagers reported dead. Later that century, the village was described as being built of stone, on top of a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
hill. Its population, estimated to be between 400 and 700, cultivated olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
and fig
Common fig
The Common fig is a deciduous tree growing to heights of up to 6 m in the genus Ficus from the family Moraceae known as Common fig tree. It is a temperate species native to the Middle East.-Description:...
trees.
An elementary school was established in 1895 and remained in use throughout the rule of the British Mandate of Palestine from 1923-1947. During this period, Lubya was the second largest village in the Tiberias District.
Capture by Israel
At the onset of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
Lubya was being defended by local militia volunteers. Village forces constantly skirmished with Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i forces; the first Israeli raid on the village occurred on January 20, 1948, coordinated with one on nearby Tur'an
Tur'an
Tur'an is an Israeli-Arab local council in the North District of Israel. It is located on Mount Tur'an near the main road from Haifa to Tiberias, and about north of Nazareth...
, leaving one Lubya resident dead. On February 24, local militiamen and Arab Liberation Army
Arab Liberation Army
The Arab Liberation Army , also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji...
(ALA) members ambushed a Jewish convoy on the village's outskirts, causing several casualties, including one militiaman. The attack signaled that the Israelis were unable to keep the roads open and that foreign volunteers (the ALA) were taking over the offensive in the eastern Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
.
In early March, Israeli forces attempted to create a route between Tiberias and the village of Shajara, which required attacking Lubya. During the attack militiamen repulsed the Israelis, killing seven and losing six of their own.
After Tiberias was occupied by Israel, Lubya turned to the ALA in nearby Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
for military support and guidance. The ALA responded by attacking the Jewish town of Sejera on June 10 at the time when a truce was being brokered between Lubya's militiamen and Israeli forces. After the truce expired on July 16, Israel launched Operation Dekel
Operation Dekel
Operation Dekel , was the largest offensive in the north of Israel after the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was carried out by the 7th Armoured Brigade, a battalion from the Carmeli Brigade along with some elements from the Golani Brigade between 8–18 July. Its objective was to...
, capturing Nazareth at the start.
After news of Nazareth's fall, the majority of non-combatant village residents fled north towards Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
or to nearby Arab towns. The ALA also withdrew, leaving the local militia to confront incoming forces. When a single Israeli armored unit appeared outside the village, the militia retreated and left the village. The few remaining residents reported that Israeli forces subsequently shelled Lubya, demolished a few houses and commandeered many others. The village was finally demolished in the 1960s.
Present-day
The Israeli town of LaviLavi
Lavi is a kibbutz in the Lower Galilee area of Israel. It is a member of the Religious Kibbutz Movement.Located 310 meters above sea level and 10 minutes from Tiberias, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lower Galilee Regional Council.-History:...
was built on Lubya's remains. There are also two parks on the village lands: the Lavi Pine Forest and the South African Park. They are used as picnic grounds for local residents, including former residents of Lubya who are internally displaced persons
Internally displaced Palestinians
A present absentee is a Palestinian who fled or was expelled from his home in Palestine by Jewish or Israeli forces, before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, but who remained within the area that became the state of Israel. Present absentees are also referred to as internally displaced...
living in various existing Arab towns in Israel.
Demographics
The village's population rose and dropped dramatically throughout its history; In 1596, Lubya had a population of 1,177 dropping to about 400-700 in the beginning of the 19th century. In the British Mandate census in 1922, the population rose to 1,705 Muslims, 4 Christians and 3 Druses.At the 1931 census, Lubya had a population of 1849 Muslims and 1 Christian. According to the Palestine Government's village statistics, Lubya had a population of 2,350 in 1945. The village's residents predominantly adhered to IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
It was estimated that there was 16,741 Palestinian refugees descending from Lubya in 1998.
After 1948, the majority of refugees lived at the Wavel refugee camp
Wavel
Wavel is a Palestinian refugee camp near the city of Baalbeck in Lebanon. It was originally French army barracks, but in 1948 refugees from the Palestine war found shelter there. In 1952, UNRWA took over responsibility for providing services in the camp....
in Lebanon and other places in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. A few hundred remained in Israel as present absentees, living first in Kafr Kana. After the departure of the PLO from Lebanon in 1983 and the Sabra and Shatila massacre
Sabra and Shatila massacre
The Sabra and Shatila massacre took place in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon between September 16 and September 18, 1982, during the Lebanese civil war. Palestinian and Lebanese civilians were massacred in the camps by Christian Lebanese Phalangists while the camp...
s, many Lubya refugees immigrated from Lebanon to Europe. By 2003 about 2000 of them lived in Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
External links
- Welcome to Lubya
- Lubya, at Khalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural Center is an organization established in 1996. It is located at 4 Raja Street, Ramallah in the West Bank. The traditional manor that houses the centre was the former family home of Khalil Salem Salah, the mayor of Ramallah between 1947/1951, is now owned by the Palestinian...
- Lubyeh photos from Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh
- Lubya, by Rami Nashashibi (1996), Center for Research and Documentation of Palestinian Society.