For millennia jews have been praying to return to jerusalem in one hundred forty eight it seemed that prime is one answer but was a cause for celebration. Jerusalem was always his home done under a june born in palestine jews and arabs alike were known as palestinians until nine hundred forty eight as a boy is some an arab played with his jewish neighbors but in one nine hundred forty eight only the jews were rejoicing finally a state of their own a jewish homeland for example for esther aizen who had survived the after its death camp. Design a stream was coming true for pioneers like seen on belmont born in berlin he fled the nazis when he was young now the arab palestinians were refugees but whos to blame for their fate sardo sulaiman has waited for all those decades to return. People. A small country. We start with. His family has lived. Came and went. When israel was founded he was just ten years old. We were barefoot we had no money for shoes. We pushed crates a vegetable is on a cart. It appears that. Later he had his own truck as an independent Freight Forwarder hes constantly on the move supplying supermarkets and Large Companies throughout israel. This is where he worked as a child build market in aka his hometown in the northwest of the country traditionally many of the vendors here are arabs and many of their customers are jews. The bloody middle east conflict with its horrifying images seems far away from here that surprising since in the past africa was the scene of so many walls greeks arabs crusaders and napoleon they all wanted to conquer the city. The british arrived in one thousand seven hundred from one nine hundred twenty on they governed palestine and offered both arabs and jews the prospect of their own state in the distant future. Abu azzam grew up in the old town of aka close to the market. His family looked into rooms in this house. His father ali owned a livelihood by hiring out donkeys. His mother an official cat for the nine children. Schools were too expensive so the siblings spent most of their time outdoors. Here they got to know the children of the neighborhood with him they explored the world. And when we were kids we always used to play together the jewish and arab children and we buy candy read up everywhere in the stores in the alleyways. We called them jewish charities. There were sons of our country have it now ive been. Its three kilometers from africa to ain how many fronts its whats known as a kibbutz type of israeli community. Older brother mohamed worked here. And i will look for the spiritual. He was very happy there he worked there. He got his salary there. He made a lot of money working at the slaughter house with the cars look it is a mess left. Brother encountered people with new ideas and a vision of a socialist Jewish Community solidarity and peace with the neighbors. Because boats to alice which is from poland who had fled anti semitism and their own town land. They bought the swamp land for the new beginning from the british. Jewish settlers everywhere were draining swamps and making the desert bloom israel still takes pride in that today. She nodded and i arrived during the time that apple is sons brother mohamed worked here before he came a complete snake a member of the converts his name was seen on belmont. We could start the history of israel with hand his life was saved by palestine. The city kid from berlin became a strong field worker and loved it he quickly found friends including arab ones. They had the might be a good shot had a god but back then i worked with a flock of sheep and when we went out with the hood wed meet lots of arabs i learned arabic from them mostly from them we became very good friends for. A year earlier he was still the shining boy from collins jewish quarter his parents had fled there from persecution in poland to no avail and nine hundred thirty eight the berlin business was destroyed. To save their son from the nazis they sent him to palestine on the last transport of jewish children in one thousand nine hundred thirty nine he was fourteen years old. He had no idea then that he would never see his parents again for him the trip was a great adventure. Resorted the log is in harbor from shift missing the land from the ship it was like a dream and in. It was the dream. During the nazi period two hundred thousand European Jews fled to palestine it was their only hope almost all other borders were close to them by nine hundred thirty nine palestines Jewish Population had tripled. Shimon first went to tel aviv it was a modern city that reminded him of the land. Founded in one thousand and nine it was a piece of europe in the middle east administered by the british. Both jews and arabs were officially stateless both soldier islam as the holy site. For the jews it was the historic eternal home arabs were now the majority in palestine but the jews proverbial longing for zion remained. Three centuries before danny and tells family had joined the small jewish presence in jerusalem he grew up in a metal cosmopolitan household speaking hebrew french the dinner and arabic. Way many young arabs have come to the jewish part of the city because of the cafes the dance clubs and the cinemas. But. In one thousand twenty six dannys parents estancia one jell founded a small bakery with twenty five workers jews and arabs danny built the business up to become one of israels largest bakeries to hand it was not just a factory but a home with jews and arabs working side by side. The history of israel is also the story of danny on trial he lived out his parents training they believed in a peaceful middle east without hatred and without borders. But even as a child danny learned that this togetherness shouldnt be taken for granted. Arab extremists attacked the jewish quarter of hebron and nine hundred twenty nine killing sixty seven people including his uncles entire family. Danny was just ten years old. A shawn that was a disaster. And utterly inhuman or that people were slaughtered and burned. As. Many accounts play in the grand mufti of jerusalem i mean a hussaini the british had appointed him the supreme muslim cleric a representative of the arab population he was to ensure noor in order that hebron was only the beginning the more genes sought refuge in palestine the more threatened saini salta arab interest in one thousand thirty six he founded and headed the influential Arab Higher Committee from then on the riots became part of everyday life especially in jerusalem. Of its head. After the arab revolt broke out arabs and jews separated. You cant be in love with each other when youre a war. Jews should be arming themselves since before nine hundred twenty the illegal underground militia had and now was a trained combat troop tolerated by the British Administration dannie the bakers son was seventeen years old and practically a veteran he joined the haka now at fourteen back when it was still banned and the british were the enemy. Just seven years later and nine hundred thirty nine down and tell became a british soldier. World war two had begun and like danny fifty thousand jews volunteered to join the british army the common foe was now adult hitler. Danny was welcomed by the british he was fluent in arabic and worked as an interpreter for the military is first deployment was in north africa where the german troops had already arrived. The followers of the grand mufti sided with hitler the enemy of the jews. Hitler received the arab leader in one nine hundred forty one. If youre not impeding the future a welcomes the grand mufti of jerusalem one of the most influential arab nationalists the grand mufti is the religious head of the arabs in palestine and their chief judge and financial of fishel the british persecutor him for his nationalist stance and put a price of twenty five thousand pounds on his head a risky route via italy brought him to germany you get one thing but you die do you not touch up. In the same year nine hundred forty one she won by nine then sixteen years old join the british army thats it and is there for it was a matter of revenge we wanted to show that jews can defend themselves to show that we can also fight and we thought we could give up. Many g. s felt like shimon simony that the british set up a special formation of the jewish brigade with five thousand soldiers. She was. Unit fought in europe and italy belgium and holland. Then the war ended and he won search for his parents began. But all he found in berlin was a menorah that his parents had left behind for him. It was then that he realized that his family had saved his life by sending him to palestine they themselves had vanished for him europe was a jewish graveyard. Imad survivors of the camps it may seem as if it is more dead than alive. Into the liberated Bergen Belsen concentration camps the british set up a displaced persons camp a d. P. Camp for those left homeless. It was a new start for esther eyes and. The sixteen year old from poland was the only one of her family to survive on for its. Now she was slowly relearning what it meant to live without fear. Today she uses the dreadful experiences of her youth and her art. To understand the history of israel we also have to listen to people like esther eyes and their memories the longing for a jewish home the hope for the future. Ate it see it out there you only caught i was young and had enough strength to fight for my life i mean the heart i knew sorry i told myself im the last of my family the only survivor of a. I thought that it was my job to continue but i had no choice it was pure survival instinct. There was no other way i had to go on living. But when. Estan in europe would never be her home again. She could only stay. And over in the jewish country. But the waiting list for palestine was long. Three hundred thousand jews in germany demanded to be allowed to travel to palestine there were protests in the d. P. Camps. And in television jews took to the streets calling for unrestricted integration for the survivors of the nazi genocide. But the british had restricted entry since one thousand nine hundred nine and now that the common enemy hitler was defeated the jews were yesterdays allies. It became a matter of safeguarding the future political interests for which the british needed the arab states they reversed their promise to build a home for the jews in palestine a shock for the jewish people a violent response came from the underground zionist militant movement. In july nine hundred forty six it bombed the King David Hotel in jerusalem the british administrative headquarters. Ninety one people were killed. The british response was severe detained a Group Members were held in the old prison where they were reportedly tortured and some were executed. The more moderate had another group rejected terrorism it wanted to take action as in conspicuously as possible and try to smuggle in jews from europe but many of the attempts failed in july nine hundred forty seven the british captured the ship that would go down in history as the exodus nineteen thirty seven. Four and a half thousand would be jewish immigrants were sent back to the country of the perpetrators germany. As the eyes and was supposed to be one of the passengers by chance she remained at the Bergen Belsen d. P. Camp where she met the love of her life. For esther. Love was the miracle that made them believe in the future again together in israel. They all the time he asked me to marry him shortly afterwards we married in Bergen Belsen exactly one day before the u. N. Voted on the partition of palestine in november forty seven. And. Now. Argentina. And you know i mean and. Im sparing no. Yeah. You know. Im. In now its very. Yeah. Yeah it was hard you know im sorry the vote took three minutes and it changed the world. Community for probably. Want to stop but by thirty people i dont think. You know i think. The dream of many jews had come true and they would receive part of palestine this was where the state would come into the jubilation in tel aviv and not only that it had to hold up quite are you all nice we danced the hora young and old everyone ran to the main square Bergen Belsen its impossible to describe. Them and it was a strange time we were all still in mourning for the ones we had lost our world had collapsed on the band little bit down only then this day there was euphoria and great joy that there was still a future for us yes yes and that we had not suffered in vain. Differently but i know were going to show another idea of it i mean we didnt have a radio at home but my brother who worked at the kibbutz told us about a division alitalia i said im not out out of most arabs were against it only a few liked it and we were among them. We thought we could now govern ourselves instead of being ruled by the british. Man that division meant the jews would rule one part we another and in the end we could live together and live there in asia. But the partition plan made a patchwork of palestine unfavorable for both sides the arabs rejected the plan the jews accepted it after the holocaust they wanted their own state unconditionally. The arab countries were incensed to them all of palestine was arab. They wanted to prevent a jewish state by all means over two hundred years but killed in two months of violence. And the nazi collaborator grand mufti had to mean a hussaini back to the escalating violence supported by iraqi and syrian militants. Oddly in war. All those many of the palestinian arabs especially from the middle and upper class the not like the Senior Leadership it was extremist it was fanatical it was stupid. They didnt want to fight under hussein the leaders and hussein the gunman. The mufti eliminated those who opposed his policy of violence. In the winter of one hundred forty seven arab militias besieged the jewish part of jerusalems old city the population was cut off from the outside world. The situation seemed hopeless those trapped in the city were supplied with food that was smuggled in but they were cold and hungry nonetheless. They enjoy the bakery also made deliveries not only of bread. We smuggle guns and some of our sacks of bread. I had a british friend who turned a blind eye. It was important for us to provide the population with bread but we also took the opportunity to help them out a little with guns in. The north slope of. The jewish defenses were proving ineffective money arab attacks intensify and. The problem was that by april april and early me one thousand nine hundred forty eight the jewish side it wasnt winning the war at by the beginning of april and it knew that the arab states intended to send their armies into palestine to help the palestinians to defeat the jews there the jews knew this the arab states continuously said were going to invade. So they had to basically clear the rear areas before the arab states invaded before the armies of the arab states invaded because they knew that if they have to fight along the front lines against arab states and in the rear their arab militias shooting them from the back they were not going to win the war. Four hundred arab villages were destroyed or depopulated by the jews and thats why. Lifter had to resign the abandoned houses are a reminder of the face of the Palestinian People. Little is left of the arab village staying at. The site is now an Industrial Area on the outskirts of jerusalem the entail bakery is located here. And National Debt is seeing. Movie. I didnt like what happened in derry a scene. So. It was a great shock to me. And to many other jews. Thats not the right way. Only the cemetery recalls day youre seeing hardly recognizable amid the rubble. Day a scene is a symbol of the nakba the disaster of the exodus that took place after jewish militias invaded their village on the eighth of april one thousand forty eight. Had been met. Appear at the three then an hour before the battle began my people and i stood guard where that house is standing. And i know youre much. There at about half past two in the morning i went home to make tea for my people. He shared a show with cash each one of us at home making tea. But i didnt realize that the jewish fighters had surrounded the whole village. And were attacking it does he did it better. Then twenty year old bond trying to defend his village against the invading fighters from the extremist underground elgood militia they claim that iraq iraqi leaders were in india you see. Soon i do not want and his companions were fighting a bloody battle against teams. Of. Their lemonade. In my family. The akhil family had twenty eight members. They were all slaughtered outside the house like sheep animal him by the ducks. Once mother was detained in her house a few days later she was freed and followed her son to a nearby village to which hed been able to flee. He was never able to return to his family home. The jewish leader to have again gorean was appalled he publicly apologized for the actions thats intensifying a conflict with a rightwing extremist in his own ranks derriere seen as a symbol of jewish finance but the name also marks the start of a propaganda war hell be added has had. The claims made at the time for example that women were raped were untrue. Everything that was written about the victims was untrue. Day yes ceilings last ninety three martyrs here. In. The witnesses spoke of ninety three dead not two hundred but few wanted to know the truth it was not until nine hundred ninety eight that a palestinian journalist who was involved at the time revealed in a b. B. C. Documentary why and how the figures were manipulated. For eric t. Even up the law i asked the Palestinian Leader dr levy how we should report the story in the us seem he said we have to hang it as high as we can to outline e bay and if it had that feeling wrote a press release claiming that in there you have seen children were killed pregnant women were raped and all kinds of other atrocities were committed. The propaganda worked three days later the arabs attacked a jewish convoy the victims were doctors nurses and students seventy seven were killed. But the jews also profited from the rumors and exaggerations about the violence committed in day yes seen. The voluntary mass exodus of the arabs was convenient. And that myself or similar the areas in the vicinity where my brother heard about their yaseen. He decided we had to run with. My brothers or just got married and had children. They were afraid of dying afraid it would be their turn next. The family fled to see it on a coastal town in southern lebanon not far from where they had left their father telling him to go out the house. In the evening the refugees were crammed into a mosque temporarily as they believed. Saddam suliman had also