Abbas' UN speech contradicts his "refugee" history October 10, 1913 Abbas to UN: Arabs of Safed were "uprooted and thrown into exile" in 1948 Abbas on PA TV: Arabs of Safed "left" on their own, "overcome with fear" Abbas: "The [Arab] Liberation Army retreated from the city [Safed in 1948], causing the [Arab] people to begin emigrating. In Safed, just like Hebron, people were afraid that the Jews would take revenge for the [Arab] massacre [of Jews] in 1929... The people (of Safed in 194 were overcome with fear, and it caused the people to leave the city in a disorderly way." Resident of refugee camp in West Bank: "The Jordanian army... told us: 'Leave. In 2 hours we liberate it and then you will return.' We left only with our clothes... why carry anything? We're still waiting for those 2 hours to this day." http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=9836 by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas recently spoke in the UN (Sept. 26, 2013) and claimed: "I am personally one of the victims of the Nakba (i.e., "the catastrophe," Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel), among the hundreds of thousands of my people uprooted in 1948 from our beautiful world and thrown into exile." However, Palestinian Media Watch documented that earlier this year, when describing why he and other Arabs in 1948 left Abbas' town of birth, Safed, a mixed Jewish Arab town, Abbas did not say that he and other Arabs were "thrown into exile," but explained that they left on their own out of fear. He stated that in 1929, there had been a "most severe" massacre of Jews in the cities of Safed and Hebron, and that Arab residents of Safed feared the Jews would take revenge. Accordingly, Abbas explained, they left Safed on their own, "overcome with this fear," and "it caused them to begin to leave the city in a disorderly manner." The following is a longer excerpt from Abbas' interview on PA TV in which he describes why Arabs left Safed, a town in Northern Israel, in 1948: PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: "The [Arab] Liberation Army retreated from the city [Safed in 1948], causing the [Arab] people to begin emigrating. In Safed, just like Hebron, people were afraid that the Jews would take revenge for the [Arab] massacre [of Jews] in 1929. The 1929 massacre was most severe in Safed and Hebron (Note: 65 Jews were killed in Hebron, 18 in Safed). Let's mention the 3 men from these cities who were executed (by the British Court, for "brutal murders"): Ataa Al-Zir, [Muhammad] Jamjoum and Fuad Hijazi. Hijazi from Safed and the other two from Hebron. The people (of Safed in 194 were overcome with fear, and it caused the people to leave the city in a disorderly way." [Official PA TV, Jan. 1, 2013] Abbas speaks about three Arabs who were executed by the British Mandate courts in 1930: Muhammad Jamjoum, Fuad Hijazi, and Ataa Al-Zir. According to the report by the British Government to the League of Nations, these men "committed particularly brutal murders at Safed and Hebron." They were convicted of murdering Jews and attacking British soldiers in the 1929 Massacres, in which 83 Jews were murdered. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that Palestinian Arabs have acknowledged that they left Israel on their own during the war for a variety of reasons. Some have blamed local Arab leaders while others blame Arab armies or foreign Arab governments. One additional recent example is this Palestinian man's statement asserting that the Jordanian Army told them to leave their homes in Israel:
Between the talmudic period and the Crusades the history of Safed is not known. The town reappears in 1140 under the name Saphet, a "fortress of very great strength between Acre and the Sea of Galilee" built by King Fulk of Anjou. Amalric I, the king of Jerusalem, handed it over in 1168 to the Knights Templar. Twenty years later, after his victory at Ḥittin, *Saladin took Safed (December 118. His successors, the *Ayyubids, ordered the dismantling of the fortress in 1220; however, in 1240 Safed was recaptured and rebuilt by the Knights Templar. In 1266 it passed from the crusaders to the Mamluk sultan Baybars, who continued to strengthen its fortifications. In Safed, the *Mamluks established the headquarters of a "Mamlakah," a province which extended over Galilee and the Lebanon. Jewish settlement in Safed is attested by genizah documents from the first half of the 11th century. However, Benjamin of Tudela, who visited the city in 1170/71, stated that no Jews lived there. continued. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0017_0_17270.html
Fifty years later the settlement was revived under Mamluk protection; R. Zadok, head of an academy of the gaon Jacob, was its most prominent member. *Genizah documents confirm that there was a community at Safed in the 13th century; it continued to exist in the time of R. *Estori ha-Parḥi (early 14th century). In 1481 the Jewish community of Safed and of the villages in its vicinity numbered 300 families; it flourished under the protection of the Mamluk governors. Toward the end of Mamluk rule the community was greatly strengthened by an influx of refugees from Spain (1492). In 1495 the Jews of Safed were reported as trading in spices, cheese, oil, vegetables, and fruits. The Sephardi element further increased after the Ottoman conquest in 1516. In 1522 R. Moses *Basola found 300 Jewish families in Safed, composed of Sephardim, Moriscos, and Jews from the Maghreb. Later, three groups emerged among the Jews of Safed: Sephardim, Ashkenazim, and Italians. Among the prominent leaders of the community in the 16th century was R. Jacob (I) *Berab, who tried to reestablish the Sanhedrin and renew rabbinical ordination (*semikhah). Other prominent rabbis included R. Joseph *Caro, the author of the Shulḥan Arukh, and his contemporary R. Moses *Trani. The leading kabbalist R. Isaac *Luria lived in Safed and his important disciple R. Ḥayyim *Vital resided there for some time. In the 16th century Safed was the center of Jewish mysticism (see *Kabbalah). The spiritual flowering of the town was accompanied by material prosperity. The newcomers established looms, whose products competed with those of *Venice. In addition the Jews of Safed traded in the local produce of Galilee: oil, honey, silk, and spices. They also received both Jewish and gentile pilgrims in their homes. Turkish statistics of 1548 show Safed as the center of a district of 282 villages. Approximately 1,900 families of taxpayers lived in the town (716 of them Jewish), as well as 251 single taxpayers (only 56 of them Jewish). In 1563 the brothers Ashkenazi set up the first printing press in the town (see below); it was not only the first one in Ereẓ Israel but also the first in the Orient. The Jews of Safed had eight synagogues; they numbered their town among the Four Sacred Cities of the Holy Land, calling it also Beth-El. In addition to the Jewish community, Samaritans also lived there during the 16th century. With the gradual decline in the quality of Turkish rule in the 17th century, the prosperity of the Jewish community also began to drop off. The material decline did not immediately influence the spiritual level of the community. In spite of high taxes and 1,200 poor living on charity, there were 300 rabbinical scholars, 18 schools, 21 synagogues and a large yeshivah with 100 pupils, and 20 teachers at the beginning of the 17th century. The Jewish community at that time split into four congregations: Ashkenazim, Portuguese Jews, Provençal Jews, and Italians. Toward the end of the 17th century the community declined rapidly in 1695/96 only 20 Jews paid the poll tax. An epidemic decimated the community in 1747 and an earthquake in 1759 killed 2,000, among them 190 Jews. After the disaster the survivors began to leave the town; by 1764 there were only 50 Sephardi families in Safed. Toward the end of the 18th century the establishment of a more stable government in Galilee (first by the sheikh Dhāhir al Omar and then by Jazzr Pasha) led to an improvement in the position of the community. Moreover, immigration was renewed, with settlers coming from East European countries. In 1778 over 300 Ḥasidim, disciples of R. *Israel b. Eliezer Ba'al Shem Tov, settled in Safed; they were led by R. *Menahem Mendel of Vitebsk. The disciples of Elijah, the Gaon of Vilna, who were opponents of the Ḥasidim, came in 1810, led by R. *Israel b. Samuel of Shklov. Renewed warfare between the Bedouins, and epidemics in 181214, caused an exodus of Jews, mainly to Jerusalem and the villages in Galilee. [Michael Avi-Yonah] Modern Period Under the benevolent rule of *Ibrahim Pasha (183140) the town at first progressed and became Galilee's commercial center, but toward the end of his rule it suffered from the strife between Arabs and Druzes and the Arab revolt against Ibrahim Pasha. It was particularly stricken in a violent earthquake (1837) which destroyed most of its houses and reportedly caused the death of 5,000 persons, 4,000 of whom were Jews. Many of the surviving rabbinical scholars went to Hebron. The Hebrew printing press of Israel *Bak, which had been founded in 1831, was transferred after the earthquake to Kefar Jarmaq (Mount Meron) and later to *Jerusalem (see below). The Jewish community, which in 1839 had dwindled to 1,500 persons, further decreased to a mere 400 in 1845. However, the country's administration stabilized under the Turkish sultan ʿAbdul Majīd and Safed's situation improved. The former Jewish inhabitants returned and new immigrants settled, bringing the Jewish community to 2,100 persons in 1856, and to 6,620 in 1895 (comprising 4,500 Ashkenazim and 2,120 Sephardim), who then constituted the majority of a total population of 12,820. The Jewish community increased further to 8,000 persons in 1908, and to 11,000 (out of a total population of 25,000) in 1913. At the end of the 19th century Rabbi M. Taubenhaus founded a weaving shop at Safed to provide employment for Jewish workers, and opened a soup kitchen for the poor. The first Jewish kindergarten was opened on his initiative in 1906 with the support of B'nai B'rith; in 1910 it was enlarged to become a modern elementary school. The initiative for the changeover to productive work in this community influenced groups of Jews from Safed to attempt agricultural settlement at Gei Oni (later *Rosh Pinnah) and at Benei Yehudah on the Golan. Workshops, mostly for local consumption (e.g., bakeries), were opened in the Jewish quarter, but the majority of the community remained dependent on *ḥalukkah from abroad. In World War I the Safed community was cut off from its sources of support in Europe, and its Jewish population was decimated by hunger and disease. The city's Arab population, whose economy was based on trade, commerce, and auxiliary farming, was less affected. On Sept. 28, 1918, the town was occupied by the British forces under Allenby. In 1922 Safed's population of 8,760 was composed of 5,431 Muslims, 2,986 Jews, and 343 Christians. While good relations between Arabs and Jews had previously been the rule, the Arab population, instigated by the nationalists, assaulted the Jewish quarter in the 1929 riots and killed several of the inhabitants. By 1935 the number of Jews decreased to 2,475, and their percentage in the total population fell to 27%. It shrank further in the 1930s and 1940s when local educational and economic opportunities for the community's youth were limited. In Israel's *War of Independence (194, less than 2,000 of the 12,000 inhabitants were Jews, living in the narrow quarter on the northern and northwestern slope of Safed Hill. When the British evacuated the town they permitted Arab forces (estimated at 4,0004,500 men, including detachments of the Iraqi and Lebanese armies) to occupy the two large police buildings in key positions, thereby sealing off the Jewish quarter. On May 1, 1948, a *Palmaḥ force advanced from positions on Mount Canaan and *Biriyyah, occupied the Arab villages of Biriyyah and Ein Zeitun, and from there entered the Jewish quarter by hidden paths, bringing the number of its defenders from about 60 to 222. On May 1011, 1948, the defenders launched attacks on the Arab positions and captured them as well as the Meẓudah ("fortress") on top of Safed Hill. The entire Arab population and armed forces fled. Safed became a Jewish town. After 1948 mainly new immigrants from different countries settled in Safed. Its population numbered 7,900 in 1953 and 13,100 in 1970. The town's economy was based principally on branches of tourism, recreation, and industry. Some of the hotels operated mainly in the summer months. The dry mountain air in summer is noted for its curative quality for respiratory ailments. The hotels were situated both in the town proper and on Mt. Canaan (3,000 ft., 920m., above sea level). A regional hospital with 500 beds was built in 1970. Industry included metal factories (for sewing machines), textile weaving and apparel, food products (notably instant coffee), tobacco, and diamond polishing. In 2002 the population of Safed was 26,400, occupying an area of 15 sq. mi. (40 sq. km.). Residents were employed in industry, services, and commerce. The picturesque artists' quarter, where scores of painters and sculptors live permanently or seasonally, continued to constitute a tourist attraction. In addition to the individual artists' galleries there was a communal exhibit in the quarter. There were also Bible and Kabbalah museums and a flourishing ba'alei teshuvah community as well as thousands of Russian and Ethiopian immigrants. Every summer the city hosts a klezmer festival and pilgrims flock to the graves of Jewish saints on the outskirts of the city, the most famous being the grave of R. *Simeon Bar Yoḥai, where tens of thousands congregate on *Lag ba-Omer. [Efraim Orni / Shaked Gilboa (2nd ed.) Historic Buildings and Archaeological Restorations Safed still contains six old synagogues, including the famous Ari synagogue (of R. Isaac Luria) dating from the 16th century, which belongs to the Sephardi community and consists of two vaulted rooms with a courtyard. Another synagogue of Luria belongs to the Ashkenazim and was renewed after the earthquake of 1837. Other famous synagogues are named after R. Yose ha-Bannai, R. Joseph *Caro, and R. Isaac *Aboab. Muslim rule in Safed has left numerous monuments, mostly of the Mamluks. These include: the so-called Zāwiyat Banāt Hamīd (built in 1372 with additions in 1449); the Red Mosque (el-Jamiʾ el-Aḥmar; built in 127576); the Jamiʾ el-Jukandār (named after a Mamluk ruler of 130911, though the building actually is from a later date); the "Cave of the Daughters of Jacob" (Magharat Banī Yaʿqūb) and its adjoining mosque (both repaired in 1412); and the Main Mosque (Jami' as-Sūq) of 1901 and another of 1913. Excavations were started under Israeli auspices in the citadel by M. Dothan in 1950 on behalf of the Department of Antiquities. Crusader and Mamluk walls and foundations were uncovered (most of the walls visible above the surface had been dismantled by the Arabs) as were a complicated system of wells and channels underground. [Michael Avi-Yonah] Hebrew Printing In 1573 the well-known Hebrew printer Eliezer b. Isaac Ashkenazi and his son, Isaac of Prague, left Lublin for Ereẓ Israel, taking with them their printing tools, type, and decorations. After three years in *Constantinople, where they printed some books, they proceeded to Safed. There they set up as printers in partnership with Abraham b. Isaac Ashkenazi, a resident of Safed who provided the funds necessary for the enterprise. Between 1577 and 1580 they issued three books. Then Abraham left for *Yemen as an emissary of the Tiberias yeshivah, selling his books at the same time. In 1587 Eliezer printed three more books; like the first three, they were all by Safed authors. In 1832 the printer Israel Bak of Berdichev settled in Safed and issued four books up to 1834, the year the community was pillaged by Arab villagers. In 1836 printing was resumed with the publication of Pe'at ha-Shulḥan by Israel of Shklov. As a result of the earthquake of 1837 Bak went on to Jerusalem. Between 1863 and 1866 Dober b. Samuel Kara, of Skole (Galicia), printed some eight books in Safed. Ten years later Abraham Ẓevi Spiegelmann and his partners began printing, but only three works are known to have appeared up to 1885. In 1913 Barukh Barzel and his partners opened a Hebrew press called "Defus ha-Galil," with some 20 books being printed up to 1926. This press served Hebrew writers who found refuge in Safed during World War I. Later, A. Friedmann took over the press, which printed the Haganah paper Kol Ẓefat during the War of Independence. [Avraham Yaari] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/...7_0_17270.html
HBendor, Margot2, et al, That is a bit of history. (COMMENT) In the year of the discovery of the new world, The Sultan Bayezid II, faced with the joint edict of expulsion of the Jews (under The Alhambra Decree, endorsed by Rome and Papal command) by HMs King Ferdinand (of Aragon) and Queen Isabella (of Castile), sent Admiral Ahmed Kemaleddin (AKA: Kemal Reis) and his fleet to Cadiz to save, protect and extract (to the extent possible) the Jews in distress; returning them to the safety of Ottoman Empire in Turkey and the Middle East. Admiral Reis evacuated over 150,000 Jews during that operation. The sudden appearance of the Ottoman Navy in force, startled the Christian Kingdoms which stood aside. There were at least five (5) European medieval evictions (mostly inspired by Catholic Rome, as a means to extract privately held fortunes and lands under the guise of further strengthening the orthodoxy and purifying the realm of Moorish influence) during the period; first by the Christian Kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Leon, Galicia, Navarre, and Portugal; followed by expulsions from England, France and Germany. It should be noted that the technique was not used exclusively on the Jewish; having been used on the Templars earlier in the Century for the exact same purpose; initiated by Pope Clement V. Most Respectfully, R
