PLace

al-Dawwara

Place
al-Dawwara — الدَوّارَة
District
Galilee
Subdistrict
Safad
Average Elevation
75 m
Distance from Safad
27 km
Population
Year Arab Jews Total
1931 552
1944/45 * 700 400 1100
Land Ownership (1944/45) in dunums
Year Arab Jewish Public Total
1944/45 2547 2753 170 5470
Land Use (1944/45) in dunums
Use Arab Jewish Public Total
Non-Cultivable & Built-up (Total)
Use Arab Jewish Public Total
Non-Cultivable 11 170 181
Built-up * 52 55 107
63 55 170 288 (5%)
Cultivable (Total) *
Use Arab Jewish Total
Cereal 281 603 884
Plantation and Irrigable 2135 2095 4230
Citrus and Bananas 68 68
2484 2698 5182 (95%)
Number of Houses (1931)
106

The village stood on flat terrain, overlooking a broad expanse to the north, and faced Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Shaykh) to the northeast. It was near the confluence of three rivers that flowed into Lake aI-Hula: the al-Hasbani, Banyas, and Dan rivers. A secondary road linked it to a highway that led to Safad. In 1931, the entire population was Muslim except for one Christian; no exact breakdown is available for 1945, but the population was predominantly Muslim. AI-Dawwara's older houses were clustered together, separated by narrow alleys; toward the end of the Mandate, the village expanded and newer houses were built further apart. Although most of the houses were made of mud, some were built of basalt stones. The residents worked chiefly in agriculture, growing grain, vegetables, and citrus; their crops were either watered by rainfall or irrigated from springs and rivers. In 1944/45 a total of 68 dunums was devoted to citrus and bananas and 281 dunums were allocated to cereals; 2,135 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards

Al-Dawwara is listed in an Israeli military intelligence report as one of the villages whose inhabitants fled on 25 May 1948, as a result of a 'whispering campaign' conceived by Palmach commander Yigal Allon and implemented during Operation Yiftach (see Abil al-Qamh, Safad sub-disctrict). However, the discrepancy between the date of flight cited by Morris (25 May) and the date that the whispering campaign was launched (10 May) indicates that a military attack on the village may have played a role in the evacuation.

The settlement of Kibbutz 'Amir (208287) was established in 1939, 0.5 km west of the site, and that of Sde Nechemya (208288) in 1940, northwest of the site. Both are on village land.

There are hardly any traces of the village left; only a few building stones at the edge of a fish pond remain on the site. The entire area has been converted into a fish hatchery.

t