Suhmata

Separated from the neighboring village of Tarshiha by a deep gorge, the ruins of a Byzantine era church lay within Suhmata's village lands.Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. [https://archive.org/stream/laterbiblicalre01smitgoog#page/n125/mode/1up 76]Pringle, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC&pg=PA118 118] Underground water reservoir and a burial cave that apparently dates to the Roman period have been found at the village site.Lerer, 2008, [http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?search=&id=983&mag_id=114 Zuri’el] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222091131/http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?search=&id=983&mag_id=114 |date=2012-02-22 }}Lerer, 2009, [http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?search=&id=1125&mag_id=115 Suhmata] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222091915/http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?search=&id=1125&mag_id=115 |date=2012-02-22 }} Suhmata had a Christian population at least until the Persian invasion of Palestine (A.D. 614–627)Makhul, Naji 1977, (Acre and its villages since Ancient Times. In Arabic.) p.134, quoted in Khalidi, p.29 and presumably many people remained Christian for some time after that.Khalidi, 1992, p.29 What was earlier termed a Crusader-era castle constructed in the village, which was rebuilt by Zahir al-Umar in the latter half of the 18th century, turned out to be the Byzantine church. Excavations in 1932 revealed an inscription in the church's mosaic floor that dates to 555 CE.N. Makhouly and Avi-Yonah, 1933: "The Byzantine Church at Suhmata." The Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine 3 (2) pp. [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.56293/2015.56293.Quarterly-Of-The-Department-Of-Antiquities-In-Palestine-Vol3#page/n150/mode/1up 92]-105, quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 29Dauphin, 1998, p. 636

The Crusaders referred to the village as Samueth or Samahete. In 1179, Baldwin IV confirmed the sale from Viscountess Petronella of Acre of houses, vineyards and gardens in Samueth, the village of Suphie, and some houses in Castellum Regis to Count Jocelyn III, uncle of Baldwin IV, for 4,500 bezants.Strehlke, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/tabulaeordinist00stregoog#page/n27/mode/1up 11]-12, No. 11; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n162/mode/1up 156], No. 587; cited in Ellenblum, 2003, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=riHMZiH_Te4C&pg=PA45 45], note #10. However, Ronnie Ellenblum writes that it is unlikely that there was actual Frankish settlement in Suhmata at this time.Ellenblum, 2003, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=riHMZiH_Te4C&pg=PA45 45], note #10.

in the 1548/9 Ottoman tax records, it. was noted that Suhm-wata (grid-number 178/267) paid a tax on 4 olive oil presses.Rhode, 1979, p. [https://www.academia.edu/2026845/The_Administration_and_Population_of_the_Sancak_of_Safed_in_the_Sixteenth_Century 144] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010135324/http://www.academia.edu/2026845/The_Administration_and_Population_of_the_Sancak_of_Safed_in_the_Sixteenth_Century |date=2016-10-10 }}

In the Ottoman era, in 1838, Suhmata was found to be a village with a mixed population of Christians and Muslims, located in the el-Jebel district, west of Safad.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol.3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft/page/133/mode/1up?view=theater 133]

In 1875, Victor Guérin visited Suhmata, and noted that "the village [is] divided into two distinct quarters, occupies two hills near each other, between which is a great pond (birke), partly cut in the rock and partly built. One of these hills is crowned by the remains of a fortress flanked by towers and built with simple rubble; it contained several subterranean magazines, a mosque, and various chambers. The foundation is attributed to Dhaher el Amer. It is now three parts demolished, and on the place where it stood grow vines and tobacco."Guérin, 1880, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr00gugoog#page/n90/mode/2up 74-75], as translated in Conder and Kitchener,

1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/192/mode/1up 192]

In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as "a village, built of stone, containing about 400 Moslems, situated on [a] ridge and [the] slope of [a] hill, surrounded by figs, olives and arable land; there are several cisterns and a spring near.Conder & Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/149/mode/1up p.149]

An elementary school for boys was founded in the village in 1886. A population list from about 1887 showed Sahmata to have about 1,500 inhabitants; 1,400 Muslims and 100 Christians.Schumacher, 1888, p. [https://archive.org/stream/quarterlystateme19pale#page/n216/mode/1up 191]

During the Mandatory Palestine, an agricultural school was established. The schools, a mosque, a church, two rain-fed irrigation pools, existed up until 1948.

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Submata had a population of 632; 589 Muslims and 43 Melkite Christians,Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Acre, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n38/mode/1up 36]Barron, 1923, Table XVI, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n52/mode/1up 50] increasing in the 1931 census to 796; 752 Muslims and 44 Christians, in a total of 175 houses.Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 108]

Over 70 percent of the village land was rocky and uncultivated, covered with oak and wild pears. The agricultural land was planted with wheat, barley, maize, tobacco, and vegetables. Suhmata's tobacco had a reputation for quality.

In the 1945 statistics, Suhmata had a population of 1,130; 1060 Muslims and 70 Christians, with a total of 17,056 dunams of land. Of this, a total of 3,290 dunums was allocated to cereals; 1,901 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Acre/Page-081.jpg 81] while 135 dunams were built-up (urban) area.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Acre/Page-131.jpg 131]

File:Suhmata 1949.jpg

During Operation Hiram, on 28 October 1948, the village was bombed from the air.{{cite journal | first = Mustafa | last = Abbasi | title = The battle for the Galilee: Maronites and the Palestinian village of Jish during the 1948 war | journal = Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies | volume = 15 | issue = 2 | year = 2016 | pages = 249–273}} On 30 October, the First Battalion of Israel's Golani Brigade assaulted the village, resulting in its depopulation.{{Cite web|title=Welcome to Suhmata|publisher=Palestine Remembered|access-date=2007-12-12|url= http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Suhmata/index.html}} The village was left in ruins.Mansour, 2004, p. 220.

A naming committee established by the Jewish National Fund, which operated from 1948 to 1951 until its incorporation into a Governmental Naming Committee set up by Israel, renamed Suhmata "Hosen", meaning "Strength." Meron Benvenisti writes that the committee chose this symbolic new name after determining that there was no known Jewish historical connection to the village of Suhmata.Benvenisti, 2000, pp. [https://archive.org/details/sacredlandscapeb00benvrich/page/34 34]-35

In 1992 the village site was described: "The site is covered with debris and broken walls from fallen stone houses, all of which are scattered among the olive trees that grow there. A castle and a wall that were probably built by the Crusaders still stand. The castle is on an elevated spot on the eastern side of the site, and the wall encloses the western quarter. The surrounding lands are partly forested and partly used as pasture."

Suhmata's former inhabitants founded a village committee in 1993 which organizes volunteer efforts. The village committee also conducted a survey of the displaced population from Suhmata and their distribution inside Israel.Masalha and Said, 2005, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xYWNCX-eYRcC&pg=PA98 98] The village was also the focus of the 1996 play Sahmatah by Hanna Eady and Ed Mast.[http://www.ameu.org/summary1.asp?iid=67 Americans for Middle East Understanding] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060213045420/http://www.ameu.org/summary1.asp?iid=67 |date=2006-02-13 }} February - March 1999

• Depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel
• List of villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict

{{reflist|25em}}

{{refbegin}}

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• {{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp01conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|volume=1}}
• {{cite book | last = Dauphin | first = C. | author-link = Claudine Dauphin | title = La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FC1mAAAAMAAJ | volume = III : Catalogue | series = BAR International Series 726 | year = 1998 | publisher = Archeopress | location = Oxford | language = fr | isbn = 0-860549-05-4 }}
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• {{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945|url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics|year=1945}}
• {{cite book

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|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongogr00gugoog|volume=3: Galilee, pt. 2|year=1880|publisher=L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}}

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|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center}}

• {{cite book|title=All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_By7AAAAIAAJ|first=W.|last=Khalidi|author-link=Walid Khalidi|year=1992|location=Washington D.C.|publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies|isbn=0-88728-224-5}}
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|last=Lerer|first=Yoav|date=2008-12-18|url=http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?search=&id=983&mag_id=114|title=Zuri'el|journal=Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel|number=120|access-date=2009-04-26|archive-date=2012-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222091131/http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?search=&id=983&mag_id=114|url-status=dead}}

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|last=Lerer|first=Yoav|date=2009-06-21|url=http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?search=&id=1125&mag_id=115|title=Suhmata, Survey Final Report|journal=Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel|number=121|access-date=2009-09-29|archive-date=2012-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222091915/http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?search=&id=1125&mag_id=115|

url-status=dead}}

• {{cite book

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• {{cite book | editor = Mills, E. | title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas | url = https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932 }}
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• {{cite book

|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer

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• {{cite book

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• {{cite book|last=Röhricht|first=R.|author-link=Reinhold Röhricht|title=(RRH) Regesta regni Hierosolymitani (MXCVII-MCCXCI)|url=https://archive.org/details/regestaregnihie00rhgoog|year=1893|publisher=Libraria Academica Wageriana|location=Berlin|language=la}}
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{{Refend}}

• [http://www.suhmata.com/aboutsuhmataen.php Abnaa' Suhmata], "Sons of Suhmata", the website of the village committee established in 1993.
• [http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Suhmata/index.html Welcome to Suhmata] at Palestineremembered
• [http://www.zochrot.org/en/village/49348 Suhmata], Zochrot
• Survey of Western Palestine, Map 3: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8366 IAA], [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.03.jpg Wikimedia commons]
• [http://www.zochrot.org/index.php?id=386 Suhmata is here], 29/10/2005, Zochrot.
• [http://www.zochrot.org/index.php?id=383 Hazneh Sama’an (Umm Afif), Suhmata], testimony, 2005, Zochrot.
• [http://www.alnakba.org/villages/acre/suhmata.htm Suhmata] at Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713080736/http://www.jalili48.com/pub/xENShowGallery.aspx?Sub=What_Remained_of_the_destroyed&Sub2=Suhmata Suhmata photos]}}, Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh
• http://www.yairgil.com/051029-zochrot/index.htm (29/10/2005)
• http://jacobk9.tripod.com/id37.html (29/10/2005)

{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:District of Acre

Category:Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Category:1948 disestablishments in Israel