by Sandy Tolan
Herzl's "holy ark" and "calm demeanor" quotes come from his diary entry of June 30, 1896 (Diaries, pp. 170-71).
The prewar Zionist newspapers are housed at the Bulgarian National Library. That the Arabs "did not figure in these discussions" is corroborated by Bulgarian Jewish archivist David Koen of Sofia, who also recalled the "land without people" quote.
The closing of the Zionist newspapers is documented by Vicki Tamir (Bulgaria and Her Jews, pp. 170-72). Evidence of the regrouping of the Zionist papers can be found in documents of the Jewish "consistory" offices, located in the Bulgarian National Archives. The bulk of this material comes from folder 622-1 and includes many documents that describe an attempt to restore Jewish life, reestablish Jewish schools, and reassimilate Jews into Bulgarian society. Additional documentation comes from Boyka Vassileva's The Jews in Bidgaria.
The question of immigration to Israel comes from both Dalia and Virginia Eshkenazi.
The devastation of the Bulgarian landscape is described by Crampton in A Short History of Modern Bulgaria, pp. 128-29; Tamir in Bulgaria and Her Jews, p. 216; and Chary in The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, p. 169. Crop failures, hunger, and inflation are mentioned by Yehuda Bauer in Out of the Ashes, pp. 276-80.
Ben-Gurion's arrival in Bulgaria in December 1944 is described by Vassileva and in Ben-Gurion's diaries. The visit is also the subject of Moshe Mossek's article "The Struggle for Leading the Jews of Bulgaria," translated from the Hebrew by Boaz Hachlili. The Ben-Gurion "task of the moment" quote and the response of "aliyah!" comes from Vassileva.
Yitzhak Yitzhaki (born Isaac Isaakov) recalled in an interview his return from the work camp, his army duty after Bulgaria's liberation by the Soviet Red Army, and his emigration to Palestine.
Ben-Gurion's impressions of Bulgaria, his longer-term strategy, and the quote about the five thousand pairs of shoes come from the Mossek article and from an interview with Mossek.
Documents on trade relations can be found in the Central Zionist Archive (CZA) in Jerusalem (s31/43/1,2,3). The telegram formalizing trade relations, also from the CZA documents, was dated October 7, 1947.
Documentation of postwar funds sent to Bulgarian Jews by the JDC comes from Yehuda Bauer's Out of the Ashes, p. 179; from Vassileva's The Jews in Bulgaria; and from the CZA and Bulgarian National Archives documents listed previously.
The JDC's support for the Jewish community in Bulgaria, including local cooperatives, comes from documents found in JDC archives in Queens (e.g., 45/54 169). Relations between the JDC and the Jewish Agency are clear from the JDC archives, including in a memo from Charles Passman to M. W. Beckelman on November 10, 1948, discussing the need to "prepare the necessary bill for the Jewish agency." The JDC's ties with the Mossad are also seen in numerous JDC documents, including one letter dated December 16, 1948, from the JDC's Jerusalem archives (Box 11 C) stating, "The Mossad will refund to us all that we will spend for the food . . . for the boats leaving from Bulgaria."
Tensions between Bulgarian Jewish Communists and Zionists come from numerous sources, including JDC and CZA documents (especially folder 25/9660), postwar Bulgarian Jewish publications in the National Library in Sofia, and interviews. The aliyah as a "false Zionist fantasy" comes from the Mossek article.
The Zionists as "reactionaries" quote and accounts of the Fatherland Front and World Zionist Organization meetings come from Vassileva. The initial steps to return Jewish property came from a March 1945 law and are documented in Chary, The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, p. 178.
The punishments meted out by the new Communist-led government are documented in Tamir's Bulgaria and Her Jews, p. 223. The sparing of Peshev is explored in chapter 7 of Gabriele Nissim's The Man Who Stopped Hitler, pp. 165-89. The figure of 2,138 executions is listed in Bulgaria and Her Jews, p. 285, footnote 588, quoting official figures of the People's Court; Tamir (p. 223) believes the figure is closer to 3,000.
Dimitrov's return to Bulgaria is documented in his memoirs and in Crampton's A Short History of Modern Bulgaria, p. 153. Additional discussion of Dimitrov and Jewish property is in Chary, p. 182. His two decades in the Kremlin are mentioned by Tamir on p. 224. The strategy of the Communist leadership and its replacement of private ownership with collectives are documented in the Mossek article.
The celebrations of Sofia Jews comes from documents in the Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem (folder 25/9660).
The birth of Dalia (then Daizy), and her father's excitement, was recalled by Virginia Eshkenazi. Dalia was told by her parents that they had hoped for a child; Virginia remembered her beauty and quiet manner.
Dimitrov recorded the February 18, 1948, meeting with Stalin in his diary. Bulgaria's vice premier and interior minister were also present.
The "boundless appreciation" and "satisfaction" quotes come from letters found in the Bulgarian National Archives, folder 622-1 of the Central Consistory of the Jews in Bulgaria. That Jacques Eshkenazi, a committed Communist, would have adopted the same stance is confirmed by Dalia. The consolidation and control of the Zionist groups under the Communist umbrella is confirmed by Mossek, Vassileva, and by Chary on p. 182.
The "chain reaction" of emigration was described in several interviews with Bulgarian Jews in Israel and Bulgaria, notably Moritz Assa, a Communist who did not wish to emigrate but who saw most of his family, friends, and many of his neighbors do so. The names and professions of the immigrants are taken from a 128page list in folder 622-1 of the Jewish Consistory in the National Archives in Sofia. The "psychosis" quote is from Assa.
The early emigration of five merchant marine ships, the average of $40 per person for the passage on the ships, and the Bulgarian government's need of hard currency are all documented in JDC's Queens archives, collection 45/64, file 4201. The figure of 750 people on five ships is confirmed in a confidential memo, dated September 5, 1948, to JDC offices in New York. The use of the Bulgarian merchant marine is mentioned in a similar memo, dated August 30.
The "first big operation" is documented by Vassileva, chapter 4, pp. 110-26. She also mentions the tests of immigrants for various diseases, which were becoming a major concern in the new Jewish state. The precise number of Bulgarian Jews comes from the ship's manifest, cited earlier. The date of the departure from the Sofia rail station is confirmed in General Letter No. 1205 (JDC Jerusalem archives, Box 11C) and in an October 29, 1948, letter to the JDC offices in Paris.
The route of the train was described in detail by Moshe Melamed.
The "four steps in Israel" quote was recalled by David Koen. There are other translations of this. According to Rabbi Mailer of Temple Akiba in Culver City, California, the saying is as follows: "Anyone who walks four cubits [about six feet] in the land of Israel is certain of receiving a place in the world to come." This expression comes from the Talmud, Tractate Ketubot.
Herzl's political journey into Zionism and his actual trips to convince the imperial powers that a Jewish state was in their interest are documented in Herzl's Diaries. Additional insight into Herzl is given by Allan Janik and Stephen Toulmin in their 1973 book, Wittgenstein s Vienna. The authors portray Herzl as a member of the Viennese cultural elite who was "first, last, and always a dandy"; he insisted "that frock coats be worn at the first Zionist International conference in Basel."
Some of Herzl's initial discussions of the Zionist idea were in 1895 with Baron Maurice de Hirsch. The two men talked of Hirsch's funding of Jewish settlements in Argentina (Diaries, pp. 13-28). Zionist hostility to the Uganda idea is documented, among other places, in Avineri's The Making of Modern Zionism, p. 110. Chaim Weizmann's "fit the gem" quote comes from The Letters and Papers of Chaim Weizmann, vol. 1, series B, paper 24 and is taken from Masalha's Expulsion of the Palestinians, pp. 5-6.
The arrival of the train at the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic was remembered by Moshe Melamed. The figure of four thousand tons of crates, and their storage in the synagogue in Sofia, comes from a May, 9, 1949, confidential memo (JD
C Queens archives, 45/64/2970).
The arrival at the port of Bakar and the lights of the Pan York were recalled in interviews in Israel with Melamed, Mossek, and Sami Sela.
Description of the Pan York comes from "Pan Crescent and Pan York' (the ships also known as "the Pans') and can be found online at www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ Immigration/pans.html.
The ship's supplies are listed in a memo sent by JDC's Bulgaria director Fred Baker to the JDC offices in Paris (general letter 1102). Melamed adds this from the journey: "They brought very bad soup. We kept throwing it up. And we ate more."
The idea of a binational state and discussion of Brit Shalom is from The History of Zionism. Additional background can be found online at www.kehillasynagogue.org/KehillaMEPeace/Document_III.html. Buber's "two peoples" quote comes from a talk he gave on Dutch radio in June 1947, which is reprinted in "A Land of Two Peoples" by Buber with Paul R. Mendes-Flohr. It can be found online at www.one-state.org/ articles/earlier/buber.htm. Buber, while promoting coexistence, also made clear in the speech that he believed the Arab love of homeland was less significant than that of the Jews: It "is more passive among the Arabs. . . dimmer, simpler and more inchoate than that of the Hebrew pioneers."
The history of Mapam comes from an interview with Bulgarian Jew and former Israeli Knesset member Victor Shemtov, who was active in the party in the 1940s. Additional details on Gromyko's stance can be found in Cohen's Israel and the Arab World, pp. 202-04.
The lights of Haifa and Carmel were described in interviews. The lyrics of "Hatikva" were translated by Sarah Tuttle-Singer.
The processing of the arriving Bulgarian immigrants was described by Sela, Mossek, and Melamed, who recalled that "one hand gave me a sandwich, another sprayed DDT on my head." Additional details on the processing can be found in Tom Segev's account in 1949: The First Israelis, pp. 95-116.
Moshe's restlessness and his discovery that Jews could sign up to move to "a place called Ramla" was described to Dalia during her childhood and confirmed by Melamed, who was in the same group of immigrants in the Pardes Hannah camp.
Chapter 6
This chapter is grounded primarily in interviews, both with members of the Khairi and Taji families and with other eyewitnesses to the events of late 1948 and early 1949; written accounts from additional eyewitnesses; declassified State Department, United Nations, and Red Cross memos and telegrams from the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; and additional primary and secondary accounts in various books, brochures, and reports.
The arrival in Ramallah is described by Firdaws Taji, second cousin of Bashir, who would also become Mustafa's daughter-in-law. Additional description comes from an interview with eyewitness Abu Issam Harb; Palestinian folklorist, Dr. Sharif Kanaana; and a telegram sent from the American consul in Jerusalem on August 12, 1948, housed in the National Archives.
The telegram, with its vivid language, gives a sense of how Ramallah felt to international observers and relief workers in the late summer of 1948:
SANITATION PRACTICALLY NONEXISTANT . . . NO WATER AVAILABLE FOR BATHING OR LAUNDRY. SICK NOT ISOLATED. COMPLETE LACK OF ORGANIZATION APPARENT . . . MEDICINES LIMITED TO LITTLE MORE THAN ASPIRINS, 20 SUSPECTED CASES TYPHOID HAVE BEEN "SENT BACK TO SLEEP UNDER THE TREES" . . . NIGHTS BECOME VERY COLD MID SEPTEMBER AND RAINS START SOON AFTER . . .
Ahmad's trips and the family's location near the Quaker School were described in interviews with Bashir, Nuha, and Khanom Khairi.
Conditions in the camps are described in various documents from the National Archives in Maryland, including a September 16, 1948, declassified draft report to the UN General Assembly sent to U.S. secretary of state George Marshall on September 17 (hereinafter referred to as the September 17 report).
Refugees strapping gold to their bodies comes from interviews with refugees in the Amari camp near Ramallah and Reja'e Busailah's "The Fall of Lydda" (Arab Studies Quarterly 3, no. 2: 141). Bashir verified the refugees' hauling water and hawking sweets; Dr. Kanaana, the folklorist from Bir Zeit University, recounted the tensions between refugees and local residents and the taunts of the locals. The story of the sugar-coated nuts appears on p. 147 of "The Fall of Lydda."
The impression of men "shocked into silence" and sitting idly on burlap sacks comes from the interview with Abu Issam Harb. The harvest times for particular crops were verified by Kanaana, as was the role of women during the time. The relief supplies, their sources, and their modest aim of preventing starvation are listed in the September 17 report. The scouring of trash bins is mentioned on p. 44 of The Palestinian Refugees: 1948-1998 (An Oral History), edited by Adel H. Yahya.
Bernadotte's telegrams and the "human disaster" quote come from the September 17 report, as does the estimate of refugees who fled or were driven out. Bernadotte's "ghastly" quote comes from the Progress Report of the UN Mediator on Palestine General Assembly, Official Records, Third Supplement, No. 11 (A/648), Paris, 1948, p. 200, as cited by Hirst, p. 276. See also Bernadotte's To Jerusalem, p. 200, as cited by the official Web site of the Swedish government, http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/BasicFact sheet_4l98.aspx. The anger of the refugees in 1948 is clear from numerous interviews and is recalled by Glubb in his memoir, A Soldier with the Arabs, pp. 163-64, where he also recalls the spitting and "worse than Jews!" remark. Additional mention of these events, including the demonstrations, is in Morris's Road to Jerusalem, pp. 178-79; see also Gelber's Palestine 1948, p. 163 and pp. 172-73. The "five times their numbers," "Admittedly," and "what else could I have done?" quotes all come from Soldier with the Arabs, p. 164.
Abdullah's apparent contact with Sheikh Mustafa, including the "shall I bring them?" and "stay where you are" exchange, is part of Khairi family oral history, as described here by Samira Khairi.
Abdullah's kingdom under siege is described in many accounts of the time, including in From the Wings, the memoirs of Alec Kirkbride, pp. 47-50, which also describes the apparently imminent "bloodbath" and the king striking a refugee on his head. Glubb, in Soldier with the Arabs, pp. 164-66, describes his personal upbraiding in the wake of the loss of al-Ramla and Lydda, at a mid-July meeting of the king and his ministers in Amman. Arab Legion troops strength is listed at forty-five hundred by Glubb in A Soldier with the Arabs, p. 92, though on p. 90 he writes of "6,000 in 1948." Morris (Righteous Victims, p. 223) estimates the force at eight thousand.
British refusal to resupply the Arab Legion is documented in Gelber, Palestine 1948, p. 160, citing British cable traffic.
The "little prospect" quote comes from a July 29, 1948, air gram sent from the American embassy in Cairo to Secretary of State Marshall in Washington, from declassified material retrieved from the National Archives. The Ben-Gurion and Sharett quotes come from Meron Benvenisti's Sacred Landscapes, p. 150. Israeli confirmation of this position is corroborated in an August 1948 "Note on the Refugee Problem in Palestine," submitted by A. Katznelson, the head of Israel's delegation to the International Red Cross Conference. The "not one of them has been deported" quote comes from that note.
It should be noted that a few Israeli officials did argue for the return of Arab refugees, in varying numbers. At one point, Israel told the U.S. ambassador it was willing to receive one hundred thousand refugees out of a total of more than seven hundred thousand who had fled or were driven out, provided this would resolve the refugee problem. Neither Arab governments nor the refugees would have accepted such a proposal; in any case, the prevailing sentiment in Israel was set against return. (See Segev, 1949, pp. 28-34.)
The report citing the "Controlled American Source" is in the Cairo air gram cited previously.
The description of Arab POW conditions comes from interviews with Labib Qulana, Mohammad Taji, and Michail Fanous, all Arabs of Ramla. Additional recollections are in Fouzi el-Asmar's memoir, To Be an Arab in Israel, p. 23. Confirmation comes from minutes of the first meeting of the City-Council of Israeli Ramla, provided by Yonatan Tubali, longtime city manager of Ramla. Military re
strictions on Arabs of Israel, including martial law, are described by Segev in 1949, pp. 47-51.
That the first group of Jewish immigrants would not arrive until November 1948 is confirmed by original documents from Tubali and by Yablonka in Survivors of the Holocaust, p. 24, citing documents in the Israel Defense Forces archives. Physical description of doors ajar and belongings spilling out comes from recollections by the first Israeli immigrants to Ramla of their arrival in the town, including M. Levy and Moshe Melamed, and from an October 1948 memo from a field officer in Ben Shemen to the Israeli Custodian of Abandoned Properties (Israeli State Archives document 15a/ 49/27/12), from which the "Men of Battalion 89" quote is also taken.
The crossing of the front lines by Arab villagers back to their old lands is documented in kibbutz and state archives cited by Benny Morris in "The Harvest of 1948 and the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem," pp. 239-56 of 1948 and After. The "must be destroyed" quote from Yadin is on p. 248; "additional 1,000 dunams" is on p. 255; "Every enemy field" is on p. 248.
