Friday, May 02, 2008
Take Along "The Return Journey"
Comment left at Comment is Free re "A Criticism too Far: Saying Israel shouldn't be able to promote itself as a tourist destination is inconsistent, unjustified and counterproductive":
On your travels take along Dr. Salman Abu Sitta's The Return Journey: A Guide to the Depopulated and Present Palestinian Towns and Villages and Holy Sites.
"In 1948 eighty-five percent of the Palestinians in the part of Palestine that became Israel were displaced, 675 towns and villages were depopulated while their lands and properties were consfiscated . . . .
"Most of these villages have long since been destroyed and removed from the map of Israel. Some have been replaced by new Jewish Israeli communities, but for the most part, village lands have been converted iinto parks or designated for agricultural use and natural reserves or used by the army. Places have been renamed with Hebrew names. In many cases, however, the foundations of homes, cisterns, terraces, cemetaries and holy sites, including mosques and churches, remain.
"This guide provides users with a tool to locate and learn about these cities, towns and villages."
From "The Concealed Geography of Palestine," in The Return Journey by Dr. Salman Abu Sitta. Stratford, London: Palestine Land Society, 2007. p. 243
For more information: http://www.plands.org/RJweb/scontents.htm
