Transfer Committee
Encyclopedia
The Transfer Committee was set up, unofficially, by non-Cabinet members of the first government of Israel
in May 1948, with the aim of overseeing the removal of Palestinian Arabs
from their towns and villages, and preventing their return. The extent to which the committee acted with the knowledge of the prime minister and the Cabinet is a matter of scholarly debate.
, the director of the Land and Afforestation Department of the Jewish National Fund
. From the 1930s onwards, Weitz had played a major role in acquiring land for the Yishuv
, the Jewish community in Palestine
.
The first, unofficial, committee was composed of Weitz; Ezra Danin
, head of the Arab section of the SHAI
, the intelligence arm of the Hagana; and Eliahu Sasson, head of the Middle East Affairs Department of the Foreign Ministry. Danin told Weitz that to prevent the return of the refugees who had already left, they must be "confronted with a fait accomplis." He proposed the destruction of Arab homes, settling Jewish immigrants in evacuated areas, and expropriating Arab property.
, then foreign minister, that the committee be made official. On May 30, Weitz met Eliezer Kaplan
, the finance minister, and reportedly received his blessing. The Transfer Committee met for its first working session that day, though it was still not authorized by David Ben-Gurion
, the prime minister, or the full Cabinet. Nevertheless, Benny Morris writes that the committee set about razing villages.
On June 5, Weitz approached Ben-Gurion with a three-page proposal that involved preventing the Arabs from returning; helping them to be absorbed into other Arab countries; destroying villages as much as possible during military operations; preventing Arabs from cultivating land; settling Jews in empty villages and towns so that no "vacuum" would be created; enacting legislation to prevent the return of the refugees; and creating propaganda aimed at non-return.
Morris writes that Weitz recorded Ben-Gurion's agreement, though according to Morris, Ben-Gurion wanted to focus first on the destruction of Arab villages, and only later on helping the residents to resettle in other Arab countries. Ben-Gurion's account of the meeting was different: he said he had agreed to the establishment of a committee to oversee the "cleaning up" (nikui) of Arab towns and villages and their settlement by Jews, but said he had nowhere explicitly referred to the destruction of villages or preventing refugees from returning. Efraim Karsh
writes that Ben-Gurion specifically told Weitz that he rejected the idea of the Transfer Committee. Karsh quotes Weitz as saying: "[Ben-Gurion] would like to convene a narrow meeting and to appoint a committee to handle the issue [the cleaning up or improvement of Arab villages]. He does not agree to the [existence] of our temporary committee."
Regardless of the committee's ambiguous status, Weitz proceeded to arrange the destruction of several villages in June 1948: al-Maghar
, near Gedera
; Fajja
, near Petah Tikva
; Biyar 'Adas
, near Magdiel
; Bayt Dajan
, east of Tel Aviv
; Miska
, near Ramat Hakovesh
; Sumeiriya, near Acre
; and Buteimat and Sabbarin
, near Haifa
. Morris writes that Weitz's agents toured the countryside to determine which villages should be destroyed and which preserved for Jewish settlement.
, and Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit
, Minister for Minority Affairs, launched a counter-campaign to stop the destruction, forcing Weitz to halt his activities, which effectively terminated the first unofficial Transfer Committee.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in May 1948, with the aim of overseeing the removal of Palestinian Arabs
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...
from their towns and villages, and preventing their return. The extent to which the committee acted with the knowledge of the prime minister and the Cabinet is a matter of scholarly debate.
Creation of the committee
The idea for the committee came from Yosef WeitzYosef 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:...
, the director of the Land and Afforestation Department of 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...
. From the 1930s onwards, Weitz had played a major role in acquiring land for the Yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
, the Jewish community in 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....
.
The first, unofficial, committee was composed of Weitz; Ezra Danin
Ezra Danin
Ezra Danin was the head of the Arab section of the SHAI, the intelligence arm of the Hagana, Israeli politician and an orange grower...
, head of the Arab section of the SHAI
SHAI
Shai , established in 1940, was the intelligence and counter-espionage arm of the Haganah and the forebear of the Military Intelligence Directorate in Mandate Palestine....
, the intelligence arm of the Hagana; and Eliahu Sasson, head of the Middle East Affairs Department of the Foreign Ministry. Danin told Weitz that to prevent the return of the refugees who had already left, they must be "confronted with a fait accomplis." He proposed the destruction of Arab homes, settling Jewish immigrants in evacuated areas, and expropriating Arab property.
Proposals to Cabinet
On May 28, Weitz proposed to Moshe SharettMoshe Sharett
Moshe Sharett on 15 October 1894, died 7 July 1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel , serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurion's two terms.-Early life:...
, then foreign minister, that the committee be made official. On May 30, Weitz met Eliezer Kaplan
Eliezer Kaplan
Eliezer Kaplan was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician, one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence and the country's first Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister.-Biography:...
, the finance minister, and reportedly received his blessing. The Transfer Committee met for its first working session that day, though it was still not authorized by David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
, the prime minister, or the full Cabinet. Nevertheless, Benny Morris writes that the committee set about razing villages.
On June 5, Weitz approached Ben-Gurion with a three-page proposal that involved preventing the Arabs from returning; helping them to be absorbed into other Arab countries; destroying villages as much as possible during military operations; preventing Arabs from cultivating land; settling Jews in empty villages and towns so that no "vacuum" would be created; enacting legislation to prevent the return of the refugees; and creating propaganda aimed at non-return.
Morris writes that Weitz recorded Ben-Gurion's agreement, though according to Morris, Ben-Gurion wanted to focus first on the destruction of Arab villages, and only later on helping the residents to resettle in other Arab countries. Ben-Gurion's account of the meeting was different: he said he had agreed to the establishment of a committee to oversee the "cleaning up" (nikui) of Arab towns and villages and their settlement by Jews, but said he had nowhere explicitly referred to the destruction of villages or preventing refugees from returning. Efraim Karsh
Efraim Karsh
Efraim Karsh is professor and head of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at King's College London, and director of the Philadelphia-based think tank, the Middle East Forum...
writes that Ben-Gurion specifically told Weitz that he rejected the idea of the Transfer Committee. Karsh quotes Weitz as saying: "[Ben-Gurion] would like to convene a narrow meeting and to appoint a committee to handle the issue [the cleaning up or improvement of Arab villages]. He does not agree to the [existence] of our temporary committee."
Destruction of villages
Al-Maghar
al-Maghar was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramla. It was depopulated by the Givati Brigade during Operation Barak on 18 May 1948. It was located 12 km southwest of Ramla, situated north of Wadi al-Maghar....
, near Gedera
Gedera
-External links:** *...
; Fajja
Fajja
Fajja is a former Palestinian Arab town located 15 kilometers northwest of Jaffa.-History:In the late 19th century, Fajja was described as a small village built of adobe bricks....
, near Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
; Biyar 'Adas
Biyar 'Adas
Biyar 'Adas is a former Palestinian Arab village located 19 km northeast of the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo. In 1945 the village had a population of 300 and a total land area of 5,492 dunums.-History:...
, near Magdiel
Magdiel
Magdiel is a Youth Aliyah boarding school in Hod Hasharon, Israel. It was established as a home and school for children who survived the Holocaust...
; Bayt Dajan
Bayt Dajan
Bayt Dajan was a Palestinian Arab village situated approximately southeast of Jaffa. It is thought to have been the site of the biblical town of Beth Dagon, mentioned in the Book of Joshua and in ancient Assyrian and Egyptian texts....
, east of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
; Miska
Miska
Miska was a Palestinian 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 Palestine....
, near Ramat Hakovesh
Ramat HaKovesh
Ramat HaKovesh is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located approximately 7 kilometers north of Kfar Sava, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Drom HaSharon Regional Council. It has a population of 614.- History :...
; Sumeiriya, near Acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
; and Buteimat and Sabbarin
Sabbarin
Sabbarin is a former Palestinian Arab village located 28 kilometers south of Haifa. According to the 1931 census of Palestine, the village had a population of 1,108 inhabitants and the village's lands spanned 25,307 dunams.-History:...
, near Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. Morris writes that Weitz's agents toured the countryside to determine which villages should be destroyed and which preserved for Jewish settlement.
Mapam objections
The political party MapamMapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
, and Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit
Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit
Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit was an Israeli politician, minister and the only signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence to have been born in the country...
, Minister for Minority Affairs, launched a counter-campaign to stop the destruction, forcing Weitz to halt his activities, which effectively terminated the first unofficial Transfer Committee.
See also
- 1948 Palestinian exodus1948 Palestinian exodusThe 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as the Nakba , occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs left, fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute...
- List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict
- Land and Property Laws in IsraelLand and Property Laws in IsraelLand and property laws in Israel provide a legal framework which governs land and property issues in Israel. At its establishment, Israel continued to apply the pre-existing Ottoman and British land law...
Further reading
- Masalha, Nur. (1992) Expulsion of the Palestinians: The Concept of "Transfer" in Zionist Political Thought, 1882-1948. Institute for Palestine Studies. ISBN 0887282423