Jimzu
Encyclopedia
Jimzu also known as Gimzo, (meaning "sycamore
plantation"), was a Palestinian
village, located three miles southeast of Lydda
. Under the 1947 UN Partition Plan
of British Mandate Palestine, Jimzu was to form part of the proposed Arab
state. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
, the village was depopulated in a two-day assault by Israel
i forces.
Under the 1949 armistice agreement, Jimzu's lands fell under the de facto governance of the newly created state of Israel. A year later, Moshav Gimzo
was established at the site of the former village and is now populated by 700 Israeli Jewish residents.
whose villages were seized by the Philistines
(as recorded in the ).
. When Isaac Chelo (1334) visited, he found that the Jews had a "beautiful and ancient synagogue" there.
Jimzu, along with the whole of Palestine, came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire
after it defeated the Mamluks at the Battle of Marj Dabiq
in 1516. The village was incorporated into the Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Ramla
(al-Khalīl) under the Liwa of Gaza
("District of Gaza"). In 1596, it is recorded that the village of Jimzu had a population of 154, and that it paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat
, barley
and fruits, as well as goats and beehives.
Biblical scholar Edward Robinson
passed through the village in 1838, and reported it to be "rather large", situated on an eminence, "to make quite a show at a distance". He also noted that the village had many subterranean magazines for storing grain.
In the late nineteenth century, Jimzu was described as a village built of adobe bricks and situated on the side of a low hill, surrounded by cactus hedges and olive trees.
The villagers of Jimzu, who were predominantly Muslim
, maintained a mosque
. An elementary school was established in the village in 1920, and by the mid 1940s it had 175 students.
Most villagers worked in agriculture. In 1944/45 a total of 77 dunum
s was devoted to citrus
and banana
s, while 5,577 dunums were allocated to cereals. I,605 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, of which 1,400 dunums was for olive
s.
of the Haganah
on July 10, 1948, in the first phase of Operation Dani.
According to Benny Morris
:
The following day (11 July) Yiftach informed Dani Headquarters, that its forces had conquered Jimzu and Daniyal and were "busy clearing the villages and blowing up the houses [´oskot betihur hakfarim u´fitzutz habatim]" All of Jimzu's inhabitants left as a result of the assault by Israeli forces. Its 434 homes were demolished on September 13, 1948.
The settlement of Gimzo
was established on village land in 1950. Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi
described the remains of Jimzu in 1992: "All that remains of the houses are stones, strewn over the site, and some crumbled walls. The site is overgrown with shrubs and thorny plants. Other kind of vegetation also grow on village land, including Christ´s-thorn trees, foxtail, cactuses, and some abandoned olive trees."
Sycamore
Sycamore is a name which is applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms....
plantation"), was a Palestinian
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 three miles southeast of Lydda
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
. Under the 1947 UN Partition Plan
1947 UN Partition Plan
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was created by the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine in 1947 to replace the British Mandate for Palestine with "Independent Arab and Jewish States" and a "Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem" administered by the United...
of British Mandate Palestine, Jimzu was to form part of the proposed Arab
Arab
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...
state. 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...
, the village was depopulated in a two-day assault by 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.
Under the 1949 armistice agreement, Jimzu's lands fell under the de facto governance of the newly created state of Israel. A year later, Moshav Gimzo
Gimzo
Gimzo is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located between Lod and Modi'in, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council...
was established at the site of the former village and is now populated by 700 Israeli Jewish residents.
Biblical narrative
Jimzu is identified with the ancient Gimzo, a city mentioned in the Bible as being in the plain of JudahKingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
whose villages were seized by the Philistines
Philistines
Philistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
(as recorded in the ).
Early history
The town was home to the Tannaic sage Nahum of GimzoNahum of Gimzo
Nachum of Gamzu was a Tanna of the 2nd generation . In the Talmud he is called "Ish Gam Zu" , and this name is explained as referring to Nahum's motto: on every occasion, no matter how unpleasant the circumstance, he exclaimed "gam zu le-tovah"...
. When Isaac Chelo (1334) visited, he found that the Jews had a "beautiful and ancient synagogue" there.
Jimzu, along with the whole of Palestine, came under the rule of 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...
after it defeated the Mamluks at the Battle of Marj Dabiq
Battle of Marj Dabiq
The battle of Marj Dābiq was a decisive military clash in Middle Eastern history, fought on 24 August 1516, 44 km north of Halab , Syria.- Battle preparations :...
in 1516. The village was incorporated into the Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Ramla
Ramla
Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...
(al-Khalīl) under the Liwa of Gaza
Liwa of Gaza
The Sanjak of Gaza was a sanjak of the Damascus Eyalet, Ottoman Empire. It administrative center was within the Gaza City....
("District of Gaza"). In 1596, it is recorded that the village of Jimzu had a population of 154, and that it paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
and fruits, as well as goats and beehives.
Biblical scholar Edward 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:...
passed through the village in 1838, and reported it to be "rather large", situated on an eminence, "to make quite a show at a distance". He also noted that the village had many subterranean magazines for storing grain.
In the late nineteenth century, Jimzu was described as a village built of adobe bricks and situated on the side of a low hill, surrounded by cactus hedges and olive trees.
The villagers of Jimzu, who were predominantly 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...
, maintained a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
. An elementary school was established in the village in 1920, and by the mid 1940s it had 175 students.
Most villagers worked in agriculture. In 1944/45 a total of 77 dunum
Dunum
Dunum is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
s was devoted to citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
and banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, while 5,577 dunums were allocated to cereals. I,605 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, of which 1,400 dunums was for 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...
s.
1948 war
Jizmu was occupied by the Yiftach BrigadeYiftach Brigade
The Yiftach Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade...
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 :...
on July 10, 1948, in the first phase of Operation Dani.
According to Benny Morris
Benny Morris
Benny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel...
:
"The intention, from the first, was to depopulate [Jimzu and surrounding villages]. On 10 July, Yiftah Brigade HQ informed Dani HQ: Our forces are clearing the 'Innaba-Jimzu-Daniyal area and are torching everything that can be burned.'"
The following day (11 July) Yiftach informed Dani Headquarters, that its forces had conquered Jimzu and Daniyal and were "busy clearing the villages and blowing up the houses [´oskot betihur hakfarim u´fitzutz habatim]" All of Jimzu's inhabitants left as a result of the assault by Israeli forces. Its 434 homes were demolished on September 13, 1948.
The settlement of Gimzo
Gimzo
Gimzo is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located between Lod and Modi'in, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council...
was established on village land in 1950. 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 remains of Jimzu in 1992: "All that remains of the houses are stones, strewn over the site, and some crumbled walls. The site is overgrown with shrubs and thorny plants. Other kind of vegetation also grow on village land, including Christ´s-thorn trees, foxtail, cactuses, and some abandoned olive trees."
See also
- List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
- List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict