Bayt Jibrin

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Ruins of the former Palestinian village of Bayt Jibrin, inside the green line of Hebron

Bayt Jibrin (Arabic: بيت جبرين‎, also: Beit Jibrin) was a Palestinian village that was captured by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and depopulated.

1 Culture
2 1948
3 Bibliography
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Culture

A womans jillayeh (wedding dress), from Beit Jibrin, about 1900, is in the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) collection at Santa Fe, USA. It is of handwoven indigo linen and has very long, pointed wing-sleeves. The qabbeh (=chest-piece) is embroidered with several patterns: the qelayed pattern, a pattern with inverted, smaller chevrons; the so-called maya ("water") motif, el-ferraneh ("the bakers wife") pattern, and the saru ("cypress") motif. The side panels of the dress are completely covered with embroidery. The motifs include: mushut ("combs"), qubur ("graves"), fanajin qahweh ("coffee cups"), and rukbeh ("knee"). There are some shajarat el-hub ("trees of love") embroidered on to the red and orange silk on the front of the skirt. The embroidery is silk cross stitch, mainly in red, with some orange yellow, pink, and purple. (Stillman, p.58-59, illustrated)

MOIFA also has a shambar (large veil) from the late nineteenth century from Beit Jibrin. This veil would be used with a jillayeh as above, for weddings and festivals. It consists of 3 sections of handwoven black silk (each the width of the loom) embroidered and joined together lengthwise with Cretan stitch. There is a heavy red silk fringe which was made separately and added to the embroidered end. (Stillman, p.66, illustrated) (illustrated plate 15, facing p.33)

[edit] 1948

"In the 1948 war, the village was attacked by Zionist military units and bombed by Israeli aircraft. By that time, Beit Jibreen already hosted many refugees from neighboring villages. The fighting and bombing frightened the people. they escaped the fighting and sought shelter in the surrounding hills. The family of the child found protection in a cave 5 km east of the village. They had left everything in their home, hoping to return after a few days when the attack would be over. The Israelis, however, did not allow them to return. several men of Beit Jibreen were killed when they tried to go back. The father of the child, then 24 years old, and his uncle returned to the village together so as to bring weat, food, clothing and other necessary items. But the Israeli units had mined the village paths, and the two men stepped on mine just in front of their house. the mine exploded, walls of their house collapsed, and the two men died. The child was eight months old when his father was killed and he became an orphan. At that time, his family lost the hope to return home. They joined a refugee camp located 8 km south of Hebron. This child is me and this is my story" Palestinian Refugees - A Personal story ( Afif Ghatashe , al-Fawwar Camp, West Bank) from Badil.