It comes down like rain, ubiquitous drops that reshape our stony minds, references in editorials to how the Arab leaders rejected all the peace offerings or how the Arabs have attacked us forever and always. It's assumed to be correct, accurate, factual. What Jew would ever speak from ignorance or lie? Not us. We are too wonderful for that.
So here's a history plaque that sits innocently enough on Yirmiyahu Street near the Central Bus Station. The text is as follows:
Reading that you get a picture of murderous Arabs and courageous Zionist military forces. The Arabs rejected the UN's decision, yes that same UN that we as Jews condemn and ridicule and whose resolutions we ignore. But when the Arabs do it, it's a mark of their barbarism.
The Arabs attacked it says, suggesting all Arabs, and neglecting to tell us how much Zionist terrorism precipitated on Arabs preceded it. But let's take the storyline at its word. The Lechi went to battle to clear out the road to Jerusalem. Fine. We can imagine how the Jews in Jerusalem needed a clear road. But what is this line, "Romema is Jewish!" Is it a veiled confession of the ethnic cleansing that we denied for decades, even, for many of us, after the Israeli "new historians" showed it to have taken place. But here it is not condemned but glorified. How romantic. The town is now Jewish and the nasty Arabs are gone. So what really happened to Romema?
Here's the Wikipedia entry:
Romema was founded on a hill outside the historical city of Lifta in 1921. The initiator of the project was attorney Yom-Tov Hamon, an expert in Ottoman law and land-ownership issues, who arbitrated disputes among Arab landowners in the region and opened sales of the land to Jews.[1] The original building plan called for 24 houses surrounding a central square.[1] The Jewish section of the neighborhood was built with private funding. Most of the original streets were named for Hebrew newspapers of the era: HaZvi, edited by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Ariel, HaOr, Torah Mitzion, and Moriah.[1] In 1931 a water reservoir was erected here.[2]
Extant architecture shows the area's original affluence, wealth, and diversity. These include the three-story residence of Arab Haj Muhammad, who owned quarries in nearby Lifta and was a judge in the city's Muslim courts; the elegant home of Jewish hotelier and businessman Yehiel Amdurski, and the home of Rabbi Yehuda Fishman-Maimon.[1]
By 1948, the population was diverse, with Arab, Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish residents.[1] At the beginning of 1948, during the Civil war, Christian Palestinians and Muslim Arabs living in the Arab section of Romema as well as the nearby village of Lifta were forced out of their homes due to violence from Jewish paramilitary groups such as the Irgun, as well as clashes with Arab militia men. Due to the Absentee Property Law, Arab residents were not allowed to return to their homes by the Israeli government, a point of contention for Palestinians who held property there.[
End quote.
And what happened to Lifta, which the Lehi "liberated"? Wiki:
In 1945 the population of Lifta was 2,250, all Arabs, and the total land area was 8,743 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[17] 3,248 dunams were for cereals,[18] while 324 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[19]
The village had a mosque, a shrine for Shaykh Badr (a local sage), two coffee houses, a social club, and a few shops. It also had an elementary school, one for boys and one for girls. The farmers of Lifta marketed their produce in Jerusalem markets and took advantage of the city's services.[20]
View of Lifta, 2011
In 2011, plans were announced to demolish the village and build a luxury development consisting of 212 luxury housing units and a hotel.[23] Former residents brought a legal petition to preserve the village as a historic site.[24] Lifta is the last remaining Arab village that was depopulated to have not been either completely destroyed or re-inhabited.[23] By 2011, three books about the Palestinian village history had been published.[25]
End quote.
So what was this "liberation" of Lifta? The village was all Arabs. The key word being"was" as now it is a ruin. Liberation sounds like saving Jews but really it was just cleansing an all Arab city of Arabs.
It's amazing what myths we can create with a little plaque, with some lies scattered around, unless somebody dares to read between the lines.
So here's a history plaque that sits innocently enough on Yirmiyahu Street near the Central Bus Station. The text is as follows:
"As soon as the UN approved the partition plan, Arab riots erupted in Romema and Lifta. The Arabs prevented Jewish transportation from reaching Jerusalem. on 28.12.1947, a Lehi unit successfully counterattacked the rioters and declared: "Romema is Jewish". On January 23-29th and on March 5, 1948, Lehi military forces liberated Upper and Lower Lifta, lifting the Arab grip on the road leading to Jerusalem."
Reading that you get a picture of murderous Arabs and courageous Zionist military forces. The Arabs rejected the UN's decision, yes that same UN that we as Jews condemn and ridicule and whose resolutions we ignore. But when the Arabs do it, it's a mark of their barbarism.
The Arabs attacked it says, suggesting all Arabs, and neglecting to tell us how much Zionist terrorism precipitated on Arabs preceded it. But let's take the storyline at its word. The Lechi went to battle to clear out the road to Jerusalem. Fine. We can imagine how the Jews in Jerusalem needed a clear road. But what is this line, "Romema is Jewish!" Is it a veiled confession of the ethnic cleansing that we denied for decades, even, for many of us, after the Israeli "new historians" showed it to have taken place. But here it is not condemned but glorified. How romantic. The town is now Jewish and the nasty Arabs are gone. So what really happened to Romema?
Here's the Wikipedia entry:
Romema was founded on a hill outside the historical city of Lifta in 1921. The initiator of the project was attorney Yom-Tov Hamon, an expert in Ottoman law and land-ownership issues, who arbitrated disputes among Arab landowners in the region and opened sales of the land to Jews.[1] The original building plan called for 24 houses surrounding a central square.[1] The Jewish section of the neighborhood was built with private funding. Most of the original streets were named for Hebrew newspapers of the era: HaZvi, edited by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Ariel, HaOr, Torah Mitzion, and Moriah.[1] In 1931 a water reservoir was erected here.[2]
Extant architecture shows the area's original affluence, wealth, and diversity. These include the three-story residence of Arab Haj Muhammad, who owned quarries in nearby Lifta and was a judge in the city's Muslim courts; the elegant home of Jewish hotelier and businessman Yehiel Amdurski, and the home of Rabbi Yehuda Fishman-Maimon.[1]
By 1948, the population was diverse, with Arab, Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish residents.[1] At the beginning of 1948, during the Civil war, Christian Palestinians and Muslim Arabs living in the Arab section of Romema as well as the nearby village of Lifta were forced out of their homes due to violence from Jewish paramilitary groups such as the Irgun, as well as clashes with Arab militia men. Due to the Absentee Property Law, Arab residents were not allowed to return to their homes by the Israeli government, a point of contention for Palestinians who held property there.[
End quote.
And what happened to Lifta, which the Lehi "liberated"? Wiki:
In 1945 the population of Lifta was 2,250, all Arabs, and the total land area was 8,743 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[17] 3,248 dunams were for cereals,[18] while 324 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[19]
The village had a mosque, a shrine for Shaykh Badr (a local sage), two coffee houses, a social club, and a few shops. It also had an elementary school, one for boys and one for girls. The farmers of Lifta marketed their produce in Jerusalem markets and took advantage of the city's services.[20]
1948, and after
In the 1948 war, one of the goals of the Haganah was securing the western exit of the city. Towards this end, Arabs fled from villages at the entrance to Jerusalem, among them Lifta. In 1947, the Haganah shot a Lifta resident who informed Arab forces about the departure of Jewish convoys to Tel Aviv.[20] According to historian 'Arif al-'Arif, a coffeehouse in Lifta was attacked by members of the Lehi, killing six people and wounding seven others.[20][21] After the attack, most of the inhabitants fled, but the village remained largely intact. Some 55 original stone houses are still standing but the village has never been repopulated.[22]
End quote.
So what was this "liberation" of Lifta? The village was all Arabs. The key word being"was" as now it is a ruin. Liberation sounds like saving Jews but really it was just cleansing an all Arab city of Arabs.
It's amazing what myths we can create with a little plaque, with some lies scattered around, unless somebody dares to read between the lines.
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