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The Makings of History / Secrets of the olive trees By Tom Segev The Ein Hod artists village describes itself on its Hebrew Internet site as "an ancient Israeli environment." It belongs to "a Middle Eastern culture from other times" and, according to the English-language site, visitors can "discern in the old structures the many textures and architectural forms of earlier occupants - from the Christian Crusades to the Turkish Empire." The houses of the Arabs who lived there until 1948 are not mentioned. This is an unusual case: A recently published study shows that the kibbutzim and moshavim that arose on the ruins of Arab villages do not usually omit this fact, even if the Arab residents themselves, who were expelled and fled, are almost never mentioned, as if they had never existed. Advertisement When writing her book "Beshulei haderekh uveshulei hatoda'a" (On the Road Side, on the Mind Side), published by November Books, geographer Noga Kadman began with the assumption that the Arab villages were pushed to the margins of Israeli discourse. But when she examined internal newsletters and anniversary publications put out by kibbutzim and moshavim that had been established on the remains of these villages, she discovered an attitude of possessiveness and few moral qualms: There is no shame in living in Arabs' houses, but it isn't pleasant to mention the Arabs themselves. It is as though their history and their way of life had never existed. The takeover of the abandoned villages is often described as part of the effort to make the wilderness bloom. "There was nothing there," members of Kibbutz Barkai write in one pamphlet that is quoted in the book. There was some mention here and there of the Arabs "bequeathing" their lands, their homes and even their furniture and household goods to the new settlers. "Our central clothing warehouse was adorned with a number of mahogany closets from the abandoned property," states a Kibbutz Kabri publication. "Thus, we gradually equipped ourselves with a minimum of comfort." The Arabs who came back to rescue some of their property were considered thieves, and hunting them down was a source of income, as stated in a book that Kibbutz Carmia published on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of its establishment: "They came at night to steal fruit from the orchards and go back to Gaza laden with loot ... We guarded the area of the kibbutz from them ... We would catch prisoners, bring them back to the kibbutz and the army picked them up every morning and paid us ... Inside the kibbutz there was a kind of 'jail' - a small tin shack - where they would keep the prisoners until the army took them." Kadman found evidence of pangs of conscience in the publications of only two kibbutzim, Yiron and Sasa. A Yiron bulletin from 1949 states: "The facts show that men, women, old people and babies were murdered, villages were destroyed and burned down, with no justification." One of the members of Sasa wrote: "I am thinking about the abandoned village Sa'sa that we entered this morning with pride and energy, and about the lives of the Arabs who lived here. I wandered through some of the decrepit houses. I looked at jugs that had been turned upside down, harvested grains, books, baby shoes, and I smelled the odor of destruction ... The comrades debated what to do about the mosque. The army had destroyed it and most of the comrades agreed that this was 'inevitable.'" At Kibbutz Beit Ha'emek, someone wondered about the ancient olive trees, asking himself what the trees would have related about "different people and many harvests," if they had been able to speak. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Calling it quits Beleaguered prime minister announces he will not run in Kadima party primaries. Obama's hunch Report: Obama 'gets the feeling' Israel to strike Iran if sanctions fail.

Read & React Olmert: I'll quit once new Kadima leader chosen Responses: 132 ANALYSIS / Crushed and battered, Olmert finally broke Responses: 49 Gideon Levy: Top IDF officer should be tried for mass killing, not petty ATV incident Responses: 91 Hamas' Christian convert: I've left a society that sanctifies terror Responses: 221 Abbas: I'll continue to work toward peace with any elected Israeli prime minister Responses: 49 More Headlines 20:56 Abbas: I'll work toward peace with any elected Israeli prime minister 20:12 Livni: All parties that support peace must unite under Kadima 16:36 Despite sanctions, German firm closes 100m euro deal with Iran 12:59 Hamas' Christian convert: I've left a society that sanctifies terror 21:35 Obama helps U.S. woman in custody battle with Palestinian husband 16:00 TV's dope-fest Weeds had great Jewish characters, until now 17:51 Group promoting worldwide Islamic rule marches in Gaza 12:20 ANALYSIS / Ehud Olmert failed in war and failed in peace 17:13 Kadima officials fear new leader won't be able to form gov't 19:43 Watchdog group to court: Don't let state delay payment to Holocaust survivors 19:45 Palestinian athletes overcome hurdles on their way to Olympics 17:39 Israeli envoy to Croatia condemns Nazi war criminal's funeral 13:36 Gaydamak's trial on gun-running charges to proceed as planned 19:09 British Jewish watchdog: Anti-Semitic incidents in U.K. up 9% in 2008 15:45 More and more yeshiva students choosing Torah over IDF service Previous Editions Select Day 30 jul 29 jul 28 jul 27 jul 25 jul 24 jul 23 jul 22 jul 21 jul 20 jul 18 jul 17 jul

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