Al-Mas'udiyya (also known as Summayl), was a Palestinian Arab village in the Jaffa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on December 25, 1947. It was located 5 km northeast of Jaffa, situated 1.5 km south of the al-'Awja River. The village used to be known as Summayl.

Al-Mas'udiyya
المسعوديّة/صميل
Summayl
Remains of Al-Mas'udiyya, in 2005.
Remains of Al-Mas'udiyya, in 2005.
Etymology: Summeil, personal name, from "hard", or "withered"[1]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Al-Mas'udiyya (click the buttons)
Al-Mas'udiyya is located in Mandatory Palestine
Al-Mas'udiyya
Al-Mas'udiyya
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 32°05′07″N 34°46′54″E / 32.08528°N 34.78167°E / 32.08528; 34.78167
Palestine grid129/165
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictJaffa
Date of depopulationDecember 25, 1947[4]
Population
 (1945)
 • Total
850[2][3]
Cause(s) of depopulationFear of being caught up in the fighting
Current Localitiespart of Tel Aviv[5]

History

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The village shown within the Jaffa municipality (thick red line) on a 1930 Survey of Palestine map; click image to view full map

In 1799, it was noted as an unnamed village on the map that Pierre Jacotin compiled that year.[6]

An Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that Samwil had 23 houses and a population of 62, though the population count included men, only. It was noted as a Bedouin camp, 4,5 km north of Jaffa centre, and 1 km from the sea.[7][8]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Summeil as an ordinary adobe village,[9] which had a large well, and a cave.[10]

British Mandate era

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In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Mas'udiyeh had a population of 443; 437 Muslims and 6 Christians,[11] (where the Christians all belonged to the Templar community),[12] increasing in the 1931 census to 658; 654 Muslim and 4 Christians, in a total of 127 houses.[13]

On 20 December 1942, Al-Mas'udiyya was annexed into Tel Aviv as part of a municipal border expansion.[14]

In the 1945 statistics, the village had a population of 850; 830 Muslims and 20 Christians.[2][3]

Al-Mas'udiyya had an elementary school founded in 1931, and in 1945 it had 31 students.[5]

1948, aftermath

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In 1992, the village site was described: "The area is part of Tel Aviv. All that remains of the village is one deserted house that belonged to Muhammad Baydas. Cactuses, castor-oil (ricinus) plants, and palm and cypress trees further mark the site. Nearby is the al-Mas'udiyya (or Summayl) bridge – an arched, steel structure."[5]

References

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  1. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 219
  2. ^ a b Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 27
  3. ^ a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 52
  4. ^ Morris, 2004, p. xviii, village #205. Also gives cause of depopulation.
  5. ^ a b c Khalidi, 1992, p. 249
  6. ^ Karmon, 1960, p. 161 Archived 2017-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Socin, 1879, p. 160
  8. ^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 137 also noted 23 houses
  9. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 254
  10. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 275
  11. ^ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jaffa, p. 20
  12. ^ Barron, 1923, Table XIV, p. 46
  13. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 14
  14. ^ "⁨תליאביב גדלה־ ב6300 דונם ⁩ | ⁨הארץ⁩ | 28 דצמבר 1942 | אוסף העיתונות | הספרייה הלאומית".

Bibliography

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