Salama, Jaffa - History - 1948 War

1948 War

In January and February 1948 Palmah raiders destroyed houses in Yazur and Salama. Their operational orders for Salama were:

The villagers do not express opposition to the actions of the gangs and a great many of the youth even provide active cooperation ... The aim is ... to attack the northern part of the village ... to cause deaths, to blow up houses and to burn everything possible. A qualification stated: 'Efforts should be made to avoid harming women and children.'

Morris goes on to explain, "The destruction of most of the sites was governed by the cogent military consideration that, should they be left intact, irregulars, or, come the expected invasion, Arab regular troops, would reoccupy and use them as bases for future attacks. An almost instant example of this problem was provided at Qastal in early April."

The village of Salama finally got depopulated in the weeks leading up to the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, during Haganah's offensive Mivtza Hametz (Operation Hametz) 28–30 April 1948. This operation was held against a group of villages east of Jaffa, including Salama. According to the preparatory orders, the objective was to "opening the way to Lydda". Though there was no explicit mention of the prospective treatment of the villagers, the order spoke of "cleansing the area" . The final operational order stated: "Civilian inhabitants of places conquered would be permitted to leave after they are searched for weapons." It cautioned against looting and "'undisciplined acts, robbery, or harming holy places.'" Prisoners were to be moved to headquarters.

During 28–30 April, the Haganah took Salama without a fight, the HIS attributed the non-resistance of the inhabitants to prior Arab defeats and added that "it is clear that the inhabitants have no stomach for war and ... would willingly return to their villages and accept Jewish protection."

According to an AP article of 1 May 1948,

Jewish troops moved into Salama, key Arab position in the Jaffa perimeter, without firing a shot after maneuvering the Arabs into a position where they had no choice but to withdraw. Streets and houses in Salama were deserted when the Jews arrived. The Arab troops and the 12,000 civilians there had fled down a narrow escape corridor which the Jews purposely had kept open.

When David Ben-Gurion visited Salama on 30 April he encountered "only one old blind woman". A day or two later, "hooligans" from Tel Aviv's Hatikva Quarter torched several buildings.

Settlement of the abandoned village with Jewish war refugees, and later by new immigrants, began two weeks after its conquest. On 10 December 1948, Salama and some of its agricultural land was annexed to Tel Aviv. Today the village site is part of the Kfar Shalem neighborhood of Tel Aviv.