Khirbat_Al-Burj

Khirbat Al-Burj, Haifa

Khirbat Al-Burj, Haifa

Place in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine

For other uses, see Burj.

Khirbat Al-Burj was a former Palestinian village, depopulated in 1948.[2] Presently, Khirbat Al-Burj (lit. "ruin of the tower") or Burj Binyamina is a ruined stone-built structure in the Sharon Plain 1 km south of Binyamina from the Ottoman period, situated at a crossroads and believed to be either a mansion connected to an estate, a fortified farmhouse, or a khan (caravanserai).[3]

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History

Byzantine period

During June 2009, archeological excavations in the courtyard of the Burj building from the Ottoman period exposed a small building that dated to the Byzantine period (5th–7th centuries CE).[3] Byzantine ceramics have been found at the structure.[4]

Crusader period

Burj Binyamina plaque

A stone with Greek inscription was found at the burj site, which has been reused in a Crusader fortress.[4][dubious – discuss]

Late Ottoman and Mandate periods

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP), which called it Burj el Kheil, described it as "A Baikeh or cattle-yard in the plain".[5]

Gottlieb Schumacher found in 1887 that the site had been settled since the PEF map was prepared, now consisting of "12 huts, moderate village".[6] A population list from about 1887 give for that place, called Burj el Kheil, about 105 inhabitants; all Muslims.[7]

On October 26, 1898, German Kaiser Wilhelm II stayed at the Burj khan (caravanserai) building during his visit to the Holy Land.[3]

Early Zionist activity

Turkish owner, Sidki Pasha, brother of Jamal Pasha, sold 4,000 dunams of the Burj farmland to ICA in 1903.[8] The serious drawback was that most of the land was an uncultivable swamp.[9] Rothschild turned the land over to Binyamina's holdings.[9] Initially a group of farmers from Zichron Ya'akov stayed at the khan during the week, due to the distance to their hometown. The group was called Burja’im.[3]

Binyamina (1922)

Subsequently, Binyamina was founded.[3] A letter from early 1920s describes establishment of Binyamina: "The 'Zichronim' [people of Zichron Ya'akov] owners of Burj farm decided to establish a moshavah in this farm, in order to settle their sons there…".[10]

Kirbar al-Burj in 1942

Burj became Binyamina in 1922.[8] In the 1931 census Khirbat Al-Burj was listed under Binyamina.[11] The ownership of the village land was determined in 1934 according to the Land Settlement Ordinances.[12]

By the time of the 1945 village survey, there were 5,291 dunums, 15 of which were owned by Arabs, 4,933 owned by Jews, and 343 were public.[13][14]

The building, after renovations, now operates as an event venue.[15]

Arab population issue

In the 1945 Index Gazetteer, Khirbat Al-Burj was listed as a "village unit" but "no population".[16] According to Frantzman, the 1:20,000 map (produced 1924-1948) shows "a large structure, akin to a khan with no indication that it was populated".[16] According to Khalidi, Khirbat Al-Burj was a Palestinian village which was depopulated by Israelis in 1948.[2] Khalidi also says the "village" was "known for its citrus crops" and situated on "rolling terrain".[16]

Agriculture

The red sandy clay loam (hamra) soils from Binyamina to Gedera, west of the coastal plain, were not cultivated till the 20th century.[17] The original economy of Binyamina was citrus-based.[18]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Palmer, 1881, p. 146
  2. [2]
    Khalidi, 1992, p. 156
  3. [3]
    Masarwa, 2011, Benyamina, Burj Benyamina
  4. [4]
    Dauphin, 1998, p. 744
  5. [5]
    Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 52
  6. [6]
    Schumacher, 1887a, p. 84
  7. [7]
    Schumacher, 1887b, p. 178
  8. [8]
    Ramat Hanadiv excavations: final report of the 1984-1998 seasons, by Yizhar Hirschfeld, Adrian J. Boas, p. 664
  9. [9]
    Avneri, 1984, p. 107
  10. [10]
    Document Regarding the Establishment of Binyamina, early 1920s
  11. [11]
    Mills, 1932, p. 88
  12. [12]
    Government of Palestine, The Palestine Gazette, Supplement 2 to Issue 475, 8 November 1934, p. 953.
  13. [13]
    Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 48
  14. [14]
    Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 14
  15. [15]
    Burge Binyamina Event Venue
  16. [16]
    "The Arab settlement of Late Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine: New Village Formation and Settlement Fixation, 1871-1948", Seth J. Frantzman, pp.71-72
  17. [17]
    The Jewish people in the first century: historical geography, political history, social, cultural and religious life and institutions. Vol. 2, by Samuel Safrai; M Stern, page 640
  18. [18]
    Jewish National Fund (1949). Jewish Villages in Israel. Jerusalem: Hamadpis Liphshitz Press. p. 24.
  19. [19]
    Survey of Palestine, map Caesarea 1:20,000, 1942. map 14-21.1942

Bibliography
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