Miska
Encyclopedia
Miska was a Palestinian
village, located fifteen kilometers southwest of Tulkarem, depopulated in 1948.
.
According to the Arab geographer Yaqut
, writing in the 1220s, Miska was known for its fruit, especially the misk (musk) apple variety which was said to have been transferred to Egypt by the Fatimid
vizier al-Hasan al-Yazuri (Yazur
), who died in 1058.
The French commander Kleber
and his troops passed by the village on their way to Napoleons siege of Acre in 1799
.
In the late nineteenth century, Miska was described as a small village whose population was estimated at 300. Olive trees were planted to the north and south, and fig and palm trees were scattered throughout the village.
inhabitants were expelled on the order of the Haganah
, the primary Jewish force prior to the outbreak of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. The village, with the exception of a boy's elementary school and a mosque, was destroyed on the orders of Yosef Weitz
, a Jewish National Fund
official.
On 16 June 1948, Ben-Gurion, almost certainly based on a progress report from Joseph Weitz, noted Miska as one of the Palestinian villages that they had destroyed.
Sde Warburg
was established in 1938 on land that traditionally belonged to the village. Mishmeret
was established in 1946, to the northwest of the village site, on village land. Ramat ha-Kovesh, founded 1932, is about 1 km due west of the village site, though not on village land.
The Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi
described the village in 1992: "The site is covered with citrus groves; cactuses grow along the perimeter of these groves. The two-room school still stands and is used as housing for the watchmen who guard the orchards. The mosque serves as a storehouse for bales of hay and agricultural tools. The large cement fragments of a demolished enclosure built around the village well are visible. Most of the surrounding land has been planted by Israelis with citrus trees."
The school buildings were destroyed by order of the Israel Land Administration
in 2006 following commemoration activities at the site organised by Palestinian Citizens of Israel
and Israeli NGO Zochrot
.
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 fifteen kilometers southwest of Tulkarem, depopulated in 1948.
History
Miska was founded by descendants of the Arabian tribe of Miskain in the 7th century Islamic conquest of PalestineBattle of Yarmouk
The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the armies of the East Roman-Byzantine Empire. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River, along what is today the border...
.
According to the Arab geographer Yaqut
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...
, writing in the 1220s, Miska was known for its fruit, especially the misk (musk) apple variety which was said to have been transferred to Egypt by the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
vizier al-Hasan al-Yazuri (Yazur
Yazur
Yazur was an Arab town located east of Jaffa. Mentioned in 7th century BCE Assyrian texts, the village was a site of contestation between Muslims and Crusaders in the 12th century....
), who died in 1058.
The French commander Kleber
Jean Baptiste Kléber
Jean Baptiste Kléber was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. His military career started in Habsburg service, but his plebeian ancestry hindered his opportunities...
and his troops passed by the village on their way to Napoleons siege of Acre in 1799
Siege of Acre (1799)
The Siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman-defended, walled city of Acre and was the turning point of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria.-Background:...
.
In the late nineteenth century, Miska was described as a small village whose population was estimated at 300. Olive trees were planted to the north and south, and fig and palm trees were scattered throughout the village.
1948, and after
On 15 April 1948, Miska's ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
inhabitants were expelled on the order of the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
, the primary Jewish force prior to the outbreak of 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...
. The village, with the exception of a boy's elementary school and a mosque, was destroyed on the orders of Yosef Weitz
Yosef Weitz
Yosef Weitz was the director of the Land and Afforestation Department of the Jewish National Fund. From the 1930s, Weitz played a major role in acquiring land for the Yishuv, the pre-state Jewish community in Palestine.-Biography:...
, a 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...
official.
On 16 June 1948, Ben-Gurion, almost certainly based on a progress report from Joseph Weitz, noted Miska as one of the Palestinian villages that they had destroyed.
Sde Warburg
Sde Warburg
Sde Warburg is a moshav shitufi in the Center District of Israel, established in 1938 as a Tower and stockade by immigrants from Germany. Part of the Drom HaSharon Regional Council, the moshav is located to the north of Kfar Sava....
was established in 1938 on land that traditionally belonged to the village. Mishmeret
Mishmeret
Mishmeret is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain near Netanya and the HaSharon Junction and covering 3,800 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lev HaSharon Regional Council. In 2009 it had a population of 972....
was established in 1946, to the northwest of the village site, on village land. Ramat ha-Kovesh, founded 1932, is about 1 km due west of the village site, though not on village land.
The Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...
described the village in 1992: "The site is covered with citrus groves; cactuses grow along the perimeter of these groves. The two-room school still stands and is used as housing for the watchmen who guard the orchards. The mosque serves as a storehouse for bales of hay and agricultural tools. The large cement fragments of a demolished enclosure built around the village well are visible. Most of the surrounding land has been planted by Israelis with citrus trees."
The school buildings were destroyed by order of the Israel Land Administration
Israel Land Administration
The Israel Land Administration is part of the government of Israel and is responsible for managing the 93% of the land in Israel which is in the public domain. These lands are either property of the state, belong to the Jewish National Fund which controls 13% of the land, or belong to the Israel...
in 2006 following commemoration activities at the site organised by Palestinian Citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
and Israeli NGO Zochrot
Zochrot
Zochrot 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...
.
External links
- Welcome to Miska
- Miska from the 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...
- Miska by Rami Nashashibi (1996), Center for Research and Documentation of Palestinian Society.
- Remembering Miske on Land Day, 2002, by Eitan Reich and Adi Kemmelgren
- Nakba Day in Miske, 2002
- Nakba Day in Miske, 2003, by Ido Tzvieli
- Commemorating Nakba Day, 2005 in Miske
- Evening with Sami Michael in Miske, July 20, 2005.
- Living signs in the destroyed village of Miske, by Yosefa Mekaitun,
- De-Fencing Miske
- Reply from the ILA, 2006
- Destruction of the Miske village schoolhouse, destroyed July 2006
- Miske Schoolhouse Commemoration, 2006
- Nakba Day in Miske, April 24, 2007