Simsim (village)
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| Simsim | |
| Arabic | سمسم |
| Name Meaning | Sesame |
| Also Spelled | Semsem |
| District | Baysan |
| Population | 855 (1931) |
| Jurisdiction | 16,797 dunams |
| Date of depopulation | 13 May 1948 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Explusion by Jewish forces |
| Current localities | Gevar'am, Or ha-Ner |
Simsim (known to the Crusaders as Semsem) was a Palestinian village, located fifteen kilometers northeast of Gaza. It was depopulated just prior to the outbreak of 1948 Arab-Israeli war.[1] A 13 May 1948 assault on the village by the pre-state Israeli forces of the Negev Brigade, as part of Operation Barak, resulted in a massacre against the village inhabitants and their forced expulsion.[1]
Simsim contained two archaeological sites known locally as al-Ras and Sha'fat al-Mughur (the latter of which contained a Roman cemetery).[1]
In A Handbook for Travellers in Syria and Palestine (1858), Josias Leslie Porter describes the village as standing "amidst a little grove of trees, about a 1/4 mile north of the road."[2] Karl Baedeker and his travelling companions writing in 1894 are more specific, noting that the village is located in an olive grove and that tobacco and sesame are the principal crops grown there.[3]
Today, the Jewish localities of Gevar'am and Or ha-Ner lie upon Simsim's former lands.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Baedeker, Karl, Albert Socin and Immanuel Benzinger (1894). Palestine and Syria: Handbook for Travellers. Harvard University.
- Porter, Josais Leslie (1858). A Handbook for Travellers in Syria and Palestine. Harvard University.
