Al-Birwa

Al-Birwa (Arabic: البروة, also spelled al-Birweh) was a Palestinian Arab village, located 10.5 kilometers (6.5 mi) east of Acre (Akka). In 1945, it had a population of 1,460, of whom the majority were Muslims and a significant minority, Christians. Its total land area consisted of 13,542 dunams (13.5 square kilometers). The village was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The settlement at Al-Birwa was started in the Roman era, and reached a peak in the Byzantine era. In the mid-11th century CE Al-Birwa was mentioned by the Persian geographer Nasir Khusraw and it was known to the Crusaders as "Broet". The village came under Mamluk rule in the late 13th century, and in the early 16th century, it was conquered by the Ottomans, who ruled it for four centuries. Travelers' reports from the late 19th century documented that al-Birwa had a mosque, a church and an elementary school for boys (a girls' school was built in 1942). During British Mandate rule in Palestine, al-Birwa was home to local power brokers, who mediated disputes in neighboring villages. Al-Birwa became a center of rebel operations during the 1936–1939 revolt against British rule. By the 1940s, many of the village's agrarian inhabitants lost their lands due to debt, and shifted to labor jobs in nearby cities, such as Haifa. However, the majority of the residents—men and women—continued to engage in farming, selling their olives, grains and other crops in the markets of Acre. Al-Birwa was captured by the Israelis in early June 1948, after which its local militia recaptured the village. Al-Birwa was then permanently occupied by the Israelis in late June. Afterward, its inhabitants, including future Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, fled to nearby villages or Lebanon. The Jewish communities of Yas'ur and Ahihud were established on al-Birwa's lands in 1949 and 1950,...