A national park in the occupied West Bank has become an epicenter of conflict due to its complicated history. Canada Park was built upon the remains of several depopulated Palestinian villages on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

In 1948, more than 400 villages and 11 cities were depopulated of their Palestinian residents. Over the following decades, some of these towns were transformed into parks and tourist areas. A 1990s documentary was made about the demolition and destruction of these villages.

Recently, a human rights Professor filed a complaint against one of the park’s funders. How was this national park created?

Depopulating Villages: How the Land was Vacated

The documentary – posted by Palestine Diary – traces the history of this land and the Palestinian families who lived one it.

To build Canada Park, the documentary describes that the Israeli government authorized the demolition and destruction of Palestinian villages. The footage from the film identifies the Palestinian villages of ‘Imwas, Yahu, and Bayt Nuba as ones depopulated by Israeli forces. As the documentary indicates, thousands of Palestinian families lived in these villages and were expelled from their homes.

Yosef Hochman, an Argentinian-Israeli photographer, captured scenes from the expulsion that included images of fleeing Palestinian families carrying their possessions on their heads. Other photos show Israeli army officers “arguing with an elderly woman who refused to leave her house and bulldozers moving in to destroy the villages.” Most of the Palestinian inhabitants —men, women, children, and the elderly — became refugees in this process of fleeing their homelands.

Legacies of Displacement

Several news agencies reported on the park’s history of displacement and dispossession. Merisha Gadzo, writing for Mondoweiss, shares the story how these three villages once had more than ten thousand Palestinian inhabitants.

This expulsion follows the pattern of removals that occurred during and after 1948. It’s estimated that more than 750,000 Palestinian men, women, and children were displaced during the creation of the state of Israel.

Of these families, most are still refugees today, living in displacement camps in Palestine, other occupied territories, and neighboring countries.  Middle East scholars describe how Palestinian families who were expelled or fled due to the war were not allowed to return to their homes.

Erasing Villages, Erasing History

Historian Noga Kadman described Israeli erased Palestinian history by razing homes, buildings, and infrastructure in the villages. She states that this happened “pretty early on” during the 1948 Nakba.

The 1948 Nakba period was followed by changes to the landscape that obscured the history of displacement and violence. The ruins of destroyed villages were hidden by planting trees on them, a step in making former homes of Palestinian families into recreational parks and forests for Israelis.

Retelling History: Hiding the Violence

The process of expelling Palestinian families from their land included erasing evidence of the history. Beyond flattening the buildings and changing town names, the violent history has been largely concealed.

Kadman’s research on Israeli tourism reveals that the information given to tourists about the historical parks and lands often excludes information on the Palestinian villages destroyed in its making. Instead the tours focus on ancient and modern history, “but they skip the history of the village” that was destroyed to create the parks or public spaces.

This is also the case with Israeli schools, which avoid teaching students about the history of the 1948 Nakba and Palestinian people’s displacement.

In her book, Erased from Space and Consciousness: Israel and the Depopulated Palestinian Villages of 1948, Kadman emphasizes that Israel’s “deliberate erasure” of the Palestinian people’s history “ensures that Jewish consciousness does not relate to the Palestinian people’s suffering.” Her research shows that the “marginalization and erasure of Palestinian villages” was essential to the formation of Israeli “collective memory” that denies histories of violence.

Telling More of the Story

Eitan Bronstein, director of Zochrot – a Jewish group dedicated to “Remembering” the 1948 Nakba – has worked to elevate the Palestinian stories buried under public spaces like Canada Park.

He and his group are committed to educating Israelis, tourists, and other visitors about the park’s hidden past by placing signs “detailing the village’s name in Arabic and Hebrew” at the sites. Unfortunately, these signs are usually removed quickly, and Bronstein believes that more formal action would yield greater lasting change.

Seeking Justice: Jews Take Funders to Court

Bronstein plans to take the Jewish National Fund to court to demand they “commemorate the Palestinian villages razed” in the building of Canada Park as well as many other public spaces. Bronstein is not alone in his conviction. Three Canadian professionals, including human rights professor Bill Skidmore have filed a complaint against the Jewish National Fund.

Skidmore and colleagues are demanding that Canada’s Revenue Agency revoke the charitable status of the JNF, which is based in its jurisdiction.  They also cite the hiding of Palestinian history as a central issue stating:

“Ten thousand people were forced out of their homes and became refugees, but JNF guidebooks and brochures tell visitors to Canada Park nothing of this crime.”

Bronstein, Zochrot, Skidmore, and their colleagues are insisting on educating Israelis and visitors.

To learn more about the Israel-Palestine conflict and how you can get involved,

visit The Promised Land Museum and consider hosting an exhibit to help promote peace.