Nimrin was a

Palestinian Arab Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

town of 320 that was captured and depopulated by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

History

Nimrin stood on the site of Kfar Nimra when Palestine was ruled by the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

.Khalidi, 1992, p.535 Its inhabitants were

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

s when

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

and Saint James visited the town in 30 CE.

Ottoman era

Nimrin was incorporated into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in the early sixteenth century CE, and by the 1596 tax records the village was under the administration of the ''

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

'' ("subdistrict") of

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

, part of

Safad Sanjak Safed Sanjak ( ar, سنجق صفد; tr, Safed Sancağı) was a ''sanjak'' (district) of Damascus Eyalet ( Ottoman province of Damascus) in 1517–1660, after which it became part of the Sidon Eyalet (Ottoman province of Sidon). The sanjak was ce ...

. It had a population of 20 households, an estimated 110 persons, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on agricultural products, such as on wheat barley, wheat, olives, beehives, and goats; a total of 3,920 akçe. 1/3 of the revenue went to a

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...

. A map from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 by

Pierre Jacotin Pierre Jacotin (1765–1827) was the director of the survey for the '' Carte de l'Égypte (Description de l'Égypte)'', the first triangulation-based map of Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The maps were surveyed in 1799-1800 during the campaign in E ...

showed the place, named as ''Nemen''. In the nineteenth century, Nimrin grew to become a stone-built village of 250 Muslim people. It was described as being built on the slope of a hill, surrounded by arable land.Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p
361
Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 535 The Ottomans founded an elementary school in the village. A population list from about 1887 showed Nimrin to have about 300 inhabitants; all Muslims.Schumacher, 1888, p
185
/ref>

British Mandate era

In 1922, Nimrin became a part of the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

and in the 1922 census of Palestine, ''Nemrin'' had a population of 273; all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Tiberias, p
39
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 316, still all Muslims, in a total of 71 houses.Mills, 1932, p
84
/ref> The main economic sectors were farming and livestock, with grain being the most important crop, followed by vegetables. The Ottoman school was closed down during this period. In the 1945 statistics the population consisted of 320 Muslims, and the total land area was 12,019 dunams. Of this, Arabs used 7,905 dunams for cereals, 335 for plantations and irrigable land,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
123
/ref> while 64 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) area.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
173
/ref>

1948 war, and aftermath

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Nimrin fell into

i hands on July 17, 1948, after nearby

Lubya Lubya ( ar, لوبيا "bean"), sometimes referred to as Lubia, was a Palestinian Arab town located ten kilometers west of Tiberias that was captured and destroyed by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War where its residents were forcefully ev ...

was captured at the end of

Operation Dekel Operation Dekel ( he, מבצע דקל , Mivtza Dekel, Operation Palm Tree), was the largest offensive by Israeli forces in the north of Palestine after the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was carried out by the 7th Armoured Briga ...

. Its entire population of 320 (1945) fled for unclear reasons. According to

Walid Khalidi Walid Khalidi ( ar, وليد خالدي, born 1925 in Jerusalem) is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, establish ...

, "the site and a major part of the lands are surrounded by a fence."

References

Bibliography

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External links

Welcome to NimrinNimrin

Zochrot Zochrot ( he, זוכרות; "Remembering"; ar, ذاكرات; "Memories") is an Israeli nonprofit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Palestinian ''Nakba'' ("Catastrophe"), including the 1948 Pa ...

*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6
IAAWikimedia commons

from the

Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center () is a leading Palestinian arts and culture organization that aims to create a pluralistic, critical liberating culture through research, query, and participation, and that provides an open space for the community ...

Nimrin photos
from Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh {{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Tiberias