You may think you’ve never heard of Lifta, but you’ve probably passed it dozens, if not hundreds of times. So look closely the next time you’re traveling on Highway 1, on your way to Jerusalem— because this tiny, pastoral village is in a fight for its life.
Photos: Yoav Dudkevitz
The view from Yoni Yochanan’s window is breathtaking. His home, perched upon a hill not far from the western entrance to Jerusalem, turns into a front-row seat when the sun starts to dip below the Jerusalem hills, turning the sky into an awe-inspiring display of mysterious purples, pinks, and blues.
Yet underneath the seemingly peaceful veneer of Lifta, the village where Yoni was born and still lives, a storm is brewing. The Israeli government wants the land for development. Lifta’s remaining residents want what they consider fair compensation for evacuating their homes. Confusing the issue is the legal status of the village’s 13 families. Are they “illegal squatters,” as the government claims, or are they victims of a system that denied their immigrant parents and grandparents their legal rights?
Lifta’s roots can be traced back to the times of the Tanach, when the village was called Neftoach. It was famous for its natural pool, which is still in use today. With time, Lifta became an Arab village. During Israel’s War of Independence, the village sprang into importance because of its strategic location: In order to break the Jordanian siege of Jewish Jerusalem, Jewish forces had to clear the road leading to Jerusalem of enemy activity, so the badly needed convoys carrying food and other supplies could reach the city’s besieged residents. As the Jewish troops advanced, the Arabs living in Lifta fled.
After the war, Israel Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion decided to settle Jews in the abandoned village, which, unlike today, was far away from any Jewish settlement. The Jewish Agency brought in new immigrants from Yemen — and left them there, without running water or electricity. There wasn’t even a grocery shop anywhere nearby.
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