Historian Reconstructs Lost Lydda Neighborhoods From Pre-1948 Records
Historian Toufiq Da'adla has undertaken the challenging task of reconstructing the historical layout of Lydda's old city, which was largely destroyed and its residents forcibly expelled in 1948. Da'adla, a Lydda native and an expert in archaeology and art history, presented a reconstructed map of three ancient neighborhoods that formed the heart of the city before its destruction. This effort aims to reclaim the Palestinian identity and memory of the city, which, like other Palestinian towns, faced systematic erasure of its urban fabric and historical sites.
Da'adla's research, presented at a seminar on "Urban Erasure," highlights the deliberate demolition of historic Palestinian cities, citing Tiberias and Jaffa as other examples where old quarters were almost entirely razed. He notes that in Lydda, the old city was cordoned off with barbed wire after the expulsion of its estimated 70,000 residents, including those displaced from Jaffa. The demolitions continued into the early 1960s, long after the initial expulsion on July 12-13, 1948, which occurred during Ramadan and led to immense suffering, documented by survivors and artists like Ismail Shammout.
The reconstruction process is fraught with difficulty, as much of the physical evidence was destroyed. Da'adla relies on a variety of sources, including surviving Ottoman court records from the Lydda Sharia court dating back to 1872, which were miraculously preserved in Jerusalem. He also utilizes records from the Jaffa Court of Appeal, aerial photographs, and oral histories from refugees. These documents have allowed him to identify and map three neighborhoods: "Haret Al-Hammam," centered around an old bathhouse, "Haret Al-Khan," near the city's caravanserai, and a third neighborhood associated with the shrine of Saad and Saeed and notable families.
Da'adla acknowledges that his research currently focuses on the areas inhabited by wealthier residents, as their homes and properties are more likely to be documented in official records. He expresses a desire to uncover the stories of marginalized communities whose histories are less represented in the surviving archives. The destruction of Lydda's historical core is seen as part of a broader strategy to erase Palestinian identity, memory, and narrative, a struggle that continues in the present day.
Da'adla's personal connection to Lydda stems from his family's work on the railway before 1948, which allowed some residents to remain. He recounts how individuals essential to the railway's operation were permitted to stay, while others were expelled. His research is part of a larger effort to counter the narrative imposed by Israeli historians who control access to official archives, emphasizing the importance of oral testimonies and the resilience of Palestinian memory in the face of systematic erasure.
