Suhmata
Encyclopedia
Suhmata was a Palestinian
village, located 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) northeast of Acre
. It was depopulated by the Golani Brigade
during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
.
era church lay within Suhamata's village lands. Underground water reservoir and a burial cave that apparently dates to the Roman period
have been found at the village site. Suhmata had a Christian population at least until the Persian invasion of Palestine (A.D. 614-627) and presumably many people remained Christian for some time after that. Excavations in 1932 revealed an inscription in the church's mosaic
floor that dates to 555 CE. The Crusaders
referred to the village as Samueth or Samahete. Suhamata, the village of Suphie, and some houses in Castellum Regis
were purchased by Baldwin IV from Petronilla
, the vicecomitissa of Acre, for 4,500 bezant
s. However, Ronnie Ellenblum writes that it is unlikely that there was actual Frankish settlement in Suhmata. A Crusader-era castle constructed in the village was rebuilt by Dhaher el-Omar in the latter half of the 18th century.
In the late nineteenth century, Suhmata was a village built of stone and situated on a ridge and the slope of a hill. The village residents, numbering about 400, tended fig and olive trees.
In the late Ottoman
era, an elementary school for boys was founded in the village (1886), and during the British Mandate in Palestine, an agricultural school was established. These schools, a mosque, a church, two rain-fed irrigation pools, and some 288 houses made up the built-up portion of the village just prior to the outbreak of the 1948 war.
Over 70 percent of the village land was rocky and uncultivated, covered with oak and wild pears. The agricultural land was planted with wheat, barley, maize, tobacco, and vegetables. Suhmata's tobacco had a reputation for quality. In 1944/45 a total of 3,290 dunums was allocated to cereals; 1,901 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
, on 30 October 1948, the First Battalion
of Israel
's Golani Brigade
assaulted the village, resulting in the exodus of its villagers. The village was left in ruins.
A naming committee established by the Jewish National Fund
, which operated from 1948 to 1951 until its incorporation into a Governmental Naming Committee set up by Israel, renamed Suhmata, "Hosen
", meaning "Strength." Meron Benvenisti
writes that the committee chose this symbolic new name after determining that there was no known Jewish historical connection to the village of Suhmata.
The refugees
of Suhmata, including those internally displaced
and all descendants are estimated to number some 8,050 people today Suhmata's former inhabitants founded a village committee in 1993 which organizes volunteer efforts. The village committee also conducted a survey of the displaced population from Suhmata and their distribution inside Israel. The village was also the focus of the 1996 play Sahmatah by Hanna Eady
and Ed Mast.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
village, located 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) northeast of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
. It was depopulated by the Golani Brigade
Golani Brigade
The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. Its symbol is a green tree on a yellow background, and its soldiers wear a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the...
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...
.
History
Separated from the neighbouring village of Tarshiha by a deep gorge, the ruins of a ByzantineByzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
era church lay within Suhamata's village lands. Underground water reservoir and a burial cave that apparently dates to the Roman period
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
have been found at the village site. Suhmata had a Christian population at least until the Persian invasion of Palestine (A.D. 614-627) and presumably many people remained Christian for some time after that. Excavations in 1932 revealed an inscription in the church's mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
floor that dates to 555 CE. The Crusaders
Crusades
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...
referred to the village as Samueth or Samahete. Suhamata, the village of Suphie, and some houses in Castellum Regis
Mi'ilya
-Bibliography:*Abu-‘Uqsa, Hanaa : Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 117.*Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener : . London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. vol 1, London,...
were purchased by Baldwin IV from Petronilla
Petronilla
Petronilla may refer to:*Saint Petronilla*Petronilla of Aquitaine*Petronilla of Aragon*Petronilla de Meath*Petronilla daughter of Hugh, son of Charlemagne, and mother of Ingelger of Anjou...
, the vicecomitissa of Acre, for 4,500 bezant
Bezant
Bezant is a medieval term for a gold coin from the Byzantine Empire, which term is derived from the Greek name Βυζάντιον for the relatively minor city which in the 4th c. became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, renamed Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great...
s. However, Ronnie Ellenblum writes that it is unlikely that there was actual Frankish settlement in Suhmata. A Crusader-era castle constructed in the village was rebuilt by Dhaher el-Omar in the latter half of the 18th century.
In the late nineteenth century, Suhmata was a village built of stone and situated on a ridge and the slope of a hill. The village residents, numbering about 400, tended fig and olive trees.
In the late Ottoman
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...
era, an elementary school for boys was founded in the village (1886), and during the British Mandate in Palestine, an agricultural school was established. These schools, a mosque, a church, two rain-fed irrigation pools, and some 288 houses made up the built-up portion of the village just prior to the outbreak of the 1948 war.
Over 70 percent of the village land was rocky and uncultivated, covered with oak and wild pears. The agricultural land was planted with wheat, barley, maize, tobacco, and vegetables. Suhmata's tobacco had a reputation for quality. In 1944/45 a total of 3,290 dunums was allocated to cereals; 1,901 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
1948 war and aftermath
During Operation HiramOperation Hiram
Operation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was led by General Moshe Carmel, and aimed at capturing the upper Galilee region from the Arab Liberation Army forces led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and a Syrian battalion...
, on 30 October 1948, the First Battalion
First Battalion
First Battalion is an arcade tank combat game developed by Zootfly.- Campaigns :There are three campaigns The German, The Russian and The American campaign. In all these campaigns a user is given command of a WW 2 tank . The user is given a task that involves tank fighting, taking out artillery...
of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's Golani Brigade
Golani Brigade
The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. Its symbol is a green tree on a yellow background, and its soldiers wear a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the...
assaulted the village, resulting in the exodus of its villagers. The village was left in ruins.
A naming committee established by the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
, which operated from 1948 to 1951 until its incorporation into a Governmental Naming Committee set up by Israel, renamed Suhmata, "Hosen
Hosen
Hosen is a moshav in northern Israel. Located near Ma'alot-Tarshiha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 724....
", meaning "Strength." Meron Benvenisti
Meron Benvenisti
Meron Benvenisti is an Israeli political scientist who was Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem under Teddy Kollek from 1971 to 1978, during which he administered East Jerusalem and served as Jerusalem's Chief Planning Officer. He is a medieval scholar and published books and maps on the Crusader period in...
writes that the committee chose this symbolic new name after determining that there was no known Jewish historical connection to the village of Suhmata.
The refugees
Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...
of Suhmata, including those internally displaced
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...
and all descendants are estimated to number some 8,050 people today Suhmata's former inhabitants founded a village committee in 1993 which organizes volunteer efforts. The village committee also conducted a survey of the displaced population from Suhmata and their distribution inside Israel. The village was also the focus of the 1996 play Sahmatah by Hanna Eady
Hanna Eady
Hanna Eady is a Palestinian-American actor and playwright best known for co-writing Suhmata, a play about the destruction of the Palestinian Arab village of Suhmata, near Acre in what is now northern Israel....
and Ed Mast.
See also
- List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
- List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict
External links
- Abnaa' Suhmata, "Sons of Suhmata", the website of the village committee established in 1993.
- Welcome to Suhmata at Palestineremembered
- Suhmata is here, 29/10/2005, ZochrotZochrotZochrot is an Israeli-Jewish non-profit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Palestinian Nakba , the 1948 Palestinian exodus. The group's director is Eitan Bronstein...
. - Hazneh Sama’an (Umm Afif), Suhmata, testimony, 2005, ZochrotZochrotZochrot is an Israeli-Jewish non-profit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Palestinian Nakba , the 1948 Palestinian exodus. The group's director is Eitan Bronstein...
. - Suhmata 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...
- Suhmata photos, Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh
- http://www.yairgil.com/051029-zochrot/index.htm (29/10/2005)
- http://jacobk9.tripod.com/id37.html (29/10/2005)