The Palestinian Catastrophe: The 1948 Expulsion of a People From Their Homeland

by Michael Palumbo

For decades there has been a continuing effort by Israelis to cover up their expulsion of the 750,000 refugees who fled their homes during the 1948 war.

Using newly discovered material from archives in the United States, Europe and Israel as well as the documented testimony of the Jewish veterans, Michael Palumbo reveals how the Zionists carried out Ben-Gurion's plan to "expel the Arabs and take their place".

Using reports from American, French, Belgian and Swedish observers who witnessed the gunpoint expulsions of innocent Arab civilians, Palumbo documents the numerous massacres reported by UN personnel as well as Israeli veterans. The Zionist myth that the slaughter of two hundred and fifty Arab civilians at Deir Yassin was only an isolated incident is so conclusively destroyed that there can no longer be any doubt that the expulsion of the Palestinians was the inevitable result of Zionist policy.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1989

Reviews

[Arthur Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Pioneering Investigation

Michael Palumbo's The Palestinian Catastrophe: The 1948 Expulsion of a People From Their Homeland is an excellent, ahead of its time (first edition published in 1987) book investigating and increasing our understanding of the monstrous crime foundational to the planting of the Zionist entity in Palestine: the premeditated ethnic cleansing of 750,000-1,000,000 Palestinian Arabs.

The author draws all the correct conclusions from the ample evidence that:

1.) Dispossession of the majority population against their will was inherent in Zionist aims from the very beginning. The only difference between "extremists" like Vladimir Jabotinsky and Israel Zangwill versus the mainstream Labor Zionist leadership represented by figures like David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann was simply that the former was more honest in publicly professing their aims while the latter preferred plotting in secret.

2.) Coercive terroristic violence was necessary to achieve this. An internal conflict among Zionists was whether or not they could persuade the British into doing it for them so the future Jewish state would be shielded from the extraordinary hatred such "compulsory transfer" measures would provoke by shifting the blame elsewhere. This was merely a debate over means, not ends; up to the present day, the entire spectrum of Jewish political opinion from left to right unanimously considers the ethnic cleansing of Palestine as just and moral, in complete contradiction to any self-serving exculpations you may have heard about "two Jews, three opinions."

3.) Military intervention from the surrounding Arab states following the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948 didn't trigger the mass exodus but rather was in response to it. (The ethnic cleansing campaign began as soon as the race war sparked by the UNSCOP resolution suggesting the partition of Palestine was passed on November 29, 1947). The neighboring Arab nations, aware of their unpreparedness, reluctantly intervened only after the influx of Palestinian refugees inflamed popular demand from their constituencies to do something to save Palestine.

4.) Contrary to hoary Zionist canards about a 5-on-1 David vs. Goliath struggle, it was actually the Jews who enjoyed numerical, material, and tactical superiority. The Arabs didn't expect they'd have to actually fight for Palestine until the UNSCOP resolution because their position was so self-evidently just, whereas the Jews had been comfortably preparing for war and clandestinely importing huge caches of weapons from around the world ever since the 1936-1939 Arab Rebellion against British Mandate rule made it clear to the Zionists that the Palestinians would not sell out their ancestral homeland for 30 pieces of silver. Heavy-handed British measures (including gun control) with assistance from tacitly tolerated Jewish murder squads to repress the aforementioned rebellion also decimated the number of fighting age Arab males, which left the Palestinians woefully vulnerable during the climactic events from the end of 1947 through 1949. The Jewish side also flagrantly violated the United Nations arms embargo and was notably being armed and replenished with modern weapons and munitions by the Soviet Union via Communist Czechoslovakia.

5.) Continued Israeli intransigence stemming from the extreme chauvinism of all the original Zionist ideologues and indeed inherent in the Zionist program itself makes any peace impossible. Any rare and faint Israeli overtures towards a resolution have and always have been insincere displays for public relations purposes to the Western media. David Ben-Gurion in particular resisted any even token attempts at mediation because the surrounding Arab states being overwhelmed by the humanitarian problem of the Palestinian refugee flood and the failure to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank would be congenial for the Zionist aim of eventual expansion into all of Western Palestine (the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River) — and even beyond (Greater Israel).

And so forth.

It proceeds at a breakneck pace, and thus isn't as minutely detailed as other narrower-in-scope treatments over the years that followed, built on, and surpassed this one. Subsequent scholars, working with more declassified documents and greater access to archives, have shed further light on these events, e.g. the outbreak of disease such as typhoid and cholera in Acre and elsewhere being caused by the Jews contaminating water wells as part of a purposeful campaign of (illegal according to international laws governing the conduct of warfare) biological terrorism eagerly approved by Ben-Gurion himself (Operation Cast Thy Bread).

However, as an overview and jumping off point for further study, this book is well worth a read.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unbiased and well-written book about the ethnic cleansing that occurred against the Palestinians. Highly recommend, as the harsh truth that was witnessed in 1948 was attempted to be concealed by the perpetrators of the massacre

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

so important

كتاب مهم كتير قرأته بالعربية تحت عنوان : كيف طرد الفلسطينيون من ديارهم عام 1948.... حاول الكاتب أن يكون منصفا و يتحرى البحث عن أسباب هجرة ما يقارب 750 الف فلسطيني خلال النكبة ... و ذلك بالاستناد على تقارير الامم المتحدة التي اختفت كثيرا من الوقت بالاضافة الى مذكرات بعض الارهابيين من الزعماء الاسرائيليين أنفسهم .... يتناول الكاتب كل مدينة على حدى بالشرح و الخلاصة هي أن أهم أسباب اللجوء الفلسطيني هي : المجازر بما فيها من الدبح بالسكاكين و الحرق دون التفريق بين كبير و صغير ... امرأة او رجل بالاضافة الى جرائم اغتصاب لكثير من النساء قبل قتلهن ... قصف المدن بالمدافع .... الاستيلاء على الاراضي و المنازل بطرق غير شرعية كزيادة الضرائب على الفلاحين و أخذ الارض من المتخلفين عن الدفع ...الجيش العربي الغير معد بخطة للحرب ... الاعلام الارهابي الذي توعد بمجازر مشابهة بالمناطق التي لا يزال أهلها قاطنيين فيها ...

[Dana Badran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book rich in documentation of facts that lead to 1948 when Palestinians were expelled from their land. For anyone wondering why the Palestinian Israeli conflict never saw a peaceful resolution the answers are in this book. Ironically I read this book during the Holocaust on Gaza and it’s to no surprise that the UN has always been a weak body with little influence on the imperialists. Been so and is still so … unfortunately.

[Manar · Rating 4 out of 5]

من أفضل الكتب التى تكلمت عن ما حدث فى فلسطين فى العام48 من تهجير و مجازر و ترهيب و ضعف العرب او خذلاناهم (المستمر)..الكتاب ثقيل على النفس جدا ..
الكتاب قيم جدا خصوصا انه مكتوب بالاساس باللغة الإنجليزية ولذلك فهو غير معروف بسبب محاولات التعتيم ضده ..انصحوا اى شخص أجنبى ان يقرأه ليدرك ماذا حدث للفلسطينيون بعيدا عن البروباجندا الاسرائيلية

[أسامة نور الدين · Rating 5 out of 5]

نكبة فلسطين: كيف طرد الفلسطينيون من ديارهم عام 1948
ميخائيل بالومبو
دار الحمراء للطباعة والنشر، الطبعة الأولى، 1990
بحثا عن كيف بدأت المأساة الفلسطينية بحثت عن مصدر محايد فقدرًا سقط في يدي هذا الكتاب، لو كان المؤلف عربيا فربما يتهم بالانحياز لبني جلدته، لكن المؤلف هنا أمريكي ولا يذكر فقرة إلا ولها مصدر من سجلات الأمم المتحدة أو السجلات الأمريكية والبريطانية فضلا عن شهادات الفلسطينيين وبعض الإسرائيليين.
يتحدث الكتاب عن نكبة فلسطين في أواخر أربعينات القرن الماضي وكيف تعمد كيان الاحتلال الذي كان لا يزال يتشكل أن يحاول بكل استطاعته أن يجتث أصحاب الأرض الأصليين بكل الوسائل الغير مشروعة من قتل واغتصاب وحروب نفسية.
يتكون الكتاب من اثني عشر فصلا
تتناول المقدمة ملاحظات مراقبي هيئة الأمم المتحدة عن التهجير القسري العنيف للفلسطينيين، واحتلالهم للنقب، ومجزرة قرية الدوايمة.
يتحدث الفصل الأول أرض بلا شعب: عن محاولات الصهاينة مع بريطانيا لتهجير الفلسطينيين، وعن أن إنشاء الدولة اليهودية لم يكن مخططا له بصورة كاملة أن يكون في فلسطين في البداية ثم انتقوها مداعبة لمشاعر اليهود الدينية، وكيف تم وعد بلفور الملعون كتبادل مصلحة بين الصهاينة وبريطانيا، ويتطرق لنظرة الصهاينة الدونية للعرب وكيف أنهم كائنات منحطة، والاضطرابات التي بدأت تستعر بين العرب واليهود، تزايد الهجرة اليهودية واستجلاب عشرات الآلاف من اليهود في محاولة لترجيح كفة اليهود العددية وإحلالهم محل العرب، ثم إنشاء منظمة الهاجاناه الإرهابية وقيامها بالإغارة على القرى الفلسطينية، ثم إنشاء عصابة شترن وإرجون وإرهابهم ضد الفلسطينيين بل والبريطانيين في بعض المواقف، ثم قرار تقسيم فلسطين بين العرب واليهود وضغط أمريكا الهائل لدعم إنشاء دولتهم ولم يكن لدى الصهاينة مشكلة في إنشاء دولة صغيرة حيث أنه بمجرد إنشائها فسيتوسعون بواسطة الغزو واعترافات بن جورون الصريحة وآخرين بأنهم سيطردون العرب ويأخذوا مكانهم.
الفصل الثاني: الخطة دالت: عن هزيمة القوات العربية على يد القوات الصهيونية الأكثر عددا وعدة، توسيع مساحة الدولة الصهيونية وطرد الفلسطينيين بالعنف من ديارهم مع تفجيرها ثم احاطةالقرى بالألغام لضمان عدم عودتهم.

الفصل الثالث: مجزرة دير ياسين: عن النية المبيتة لعصابتي الأرجون وشتيرن للقيام بمجزرة في دير ياسين وإبادة السكان لخلق حالة من الذعر في كافة أنحاء فلسطين وينقل عن شهود عيان كيف تم القتل الجماعي وذبح الأطفال أمام أمهاتهم واغتصاب النسوة وقطع أصابع النساء لنهب حليهم ثم أخذ بعض الأسرى للطواف بهم في المستعمرات ثم قتلهم.
الفصل الرابع مأساة حيفا: إدراك الصهاينة مبكرا للحرب النفسية وإنشاؤهم إذاعة ناطقة باللغة العربية لتخويف الفلسطينيين وحثهم على ترك ديارهم والهرب حتى لا يصيبهم ما أصاب أهل دير ياسين وباقي القرى، وقصف الهاون والقنابل لثلاثة أيام على حيفا، وتدنيس كنائسها حتى أجبروا سكانها على الفرار للنجاة بحياتهم.
الفصل الخامس سقوط يافا: استخدام الصهاينة الشاحنات المفخخة والحرب النفسية باستخدام اذاعاتهم الناطقة بالعربية والقصف المدفعي للأحياء ءالسكنية مما أجبر العائلات الفلسطينية على النزوح من يافا وما تلاه من النهب المنظم للمدينة من قبل الصهاينة.
الفصل السادس: مدينة السلام : القدس: استمرار الفظائع الصهيونية لإجلاء أكبر قدر ممكن من العرب عن القدس والمقارنةة بين معاملة الصهاينة والجنود العرب مع الأسرى.
الفصل السابع، الطريق إلى صفد: استمرار الزحف السرطاني على القرى الفلسطينية والفتك بمسلميها ومسيحييها تحت مسمى عملية ماتاته أي المكنسة.
الفصل الثامن، مسيرة الموت من اللد
الفصل التاسع: الهدنة المضطربة
الفصل العاشر: عملية حيرام
الفصل الحادي عشر: السلام الممكن؟
الفصل الثاني عشر: أمة سليبة

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing style is more polemic than scholarly, but the content is devastating. Palumbo documents a horrifying catalogue of atrocities committed by the Yishuv and then Israel against the Palestinians in 1947 and 1948. This book is not for the faint of heart.

One day, Nakba denial will not be allowed in polite society because of trailblazing work like this.

[Bardofbyte · Rating 1 out of 5]

Palubmo's book is not a history but rather an antiIsrael polemic. Palumbo cherry picks his facts, scrupulously inserting any half truth that puts the Zionist movement in the worst light possible and totally omitting Palestinian and Arab atrocities. For example he omits the fact that all almost all Jews in Arab countries were driven out penniless. Approximately 850,000 were expelled and 600,000 settled in Israel, not because they were Zionists but because of Arab antisemitc persecution.The 600,000 were first settled in Israeli refugee camps, but unlike the so-called Palestinians refugees in Lebanon they were not confined to these camps but were quickly integrated into Israeli society. The irony is that Arab antiSemitism populated Israel almost as much as Nazi antisemitism. Palumbo tries to explain why there were over three hundred thousand Arab still remaining in Israel after it won its independence by quoting a speech by Golda Meir in which she stated that Israel needed laborers. What Palumbo conveniently omits is that remaining Arabs were given FULL ISRAELI CITIZENSHIP, unlike the Palestinian refugees in the Arab countries who were denied citizenship in their host countries. With the exception of Jordan the refugees were confined to camps and were stateless. In Jordan most were made Jordanian citizens because that's what they were, Jordanians. On page 19 Palumbo mention Amin Husseini. Palumbo quotes Yassir Arafat naming Husseini as the political and spiritual of Pa lestinian nationalism, which reveals that there wasn't such a movement before Husseini invented it. Strangely, there is only one other mention of Husseini in the book. You would think that such a central figure, and he most certainly was, would be extensively covered, but he isn't.
This omission reveals Palumbo's dishonesty. Husseini was the Grand Mufti
of Jerusalem from 1922 to 1936. He was a racist and antiSemite. He organized
the April 1929 riots which drove the Jews out of Gaza and Hebron killing dozens.
The British did nothing, so much Palumbo's claim of British professionalism
In 1936 the Mufti led a riot not only against the Jews but also the British.
He fled Jerusalem. During WW2 this founder of Palestinian nationalism
found refuge in Nazi Germany. In 1943 this champion of Palestinian nationalist cause, by the request of Heinrich Himmler, organized the Hanzer Moslem battalion of the Waffen SS. They murdered hundreds of thousands in Bosnia and Hungary. Nowhere does Palumbo mention this in his diatribe against the Jewish State. Certainly if he researched the facts he should have been aware of it. Almost everychapter is full of distortions, half truths and out-and-out lies. It's beyond the scope of this review to rebut them all so I picked some, but not all, of the most egregious to discuss. What are Palumbo's real motives in writing this book?