ISRAEL/PALESTINE
- DEIR YASSIN: THE AGONY
Apr 1948
DUR 18'42"
ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH SPEAKING TO INTERVIEWER
SHOTS OF DEIR YASSIN BUILDINGS
TITLE SCREEN
ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH SINGING
SHOTS OF DEIR YASSIN WRECKAGE AND SHRUBBERY
OLD FOOTAGE OF DEIR YASSIN AND AL-KASTAL
MAP OF PALESTINE OUTLINING THE JEWISH ATTACKS
OLD FOOTAGE OF CONFLICT
ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH SHOWING PARTS OF DEIR YASSIN WHERE
CONFLICT TOOK PLACE
SHOTS OF HOUSES IN DEIR YASSIN
ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH SITS DOWN AND CRIES
DEIR YASSIN STREETS AND BUILDINGS
PICTURES OF MUTILATED CORPSES
ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH SITS UNDER A TREE
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SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
AS LONG AS I REMAIN ALIVE, I'LL NEVER FORGET WHAT
HAPPENED IN DEIR YASSIN. IT'S AS IF I'M LOOKING AT IT NOW, JUST LIKE I'M
LOOKING AT THIS CAMERA FACING ME.
Zeinab Mohammad Ismail Attieh
born in Deir Yassin in 1924.
Between agony and reality is an eye blink.
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
HOW MUCH FRUITS OF THIS LAND WE HAVE EATEN! WE WERE IN
A FLOOD OF BLESSINGS. WHEN THEY CAME, THEY ATTACKED OUR VILLAGE'S MILLS. IN
THE FIRST TIME, WE REPELLED THEM AND SO WE DID IN THE SECOND AND THE THIRD.
IN THE FOURTH TIME, WE BLOCKED THE ROAD IN THEIR FACE, WE DUG TWO METRES DEEP
IN THE GROUND.
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
WHEN THE JEWS OCCUPIED AL-KASTAL IT PROVOKED OUR
DIGNITY, A TRUE MUSLIM CAN NEVER TOLERATE THIS. THE PROPLE OF OUR VILLAGE
RUSHED TO HELP, ABDUL QADER HUSSEINI WON THE BATTLE OF AL-KASTAL AND RAISED
THE BANNER OF VICTORY. GOD ONLY KNOWS HOW HE WAS KILLED; BY THE JEWS OR BY
TREASON. HAS HE REMAINED ALIVE, NO INCH OF PALESTINE WOULD HAVE BEEN
OCCUPIED. WE REGAINED AL-KASTAL ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON, AT DAWN BREAKING THE
NEXT DAY, THE JEWS ATTACKED US.
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
THEY BESIEGED US FROM THREE SIDES, EXCEPT FROM THE
DIRECTION OF EIN KAREM. AT THAT TIME MY BROTHER BEHELD THEM FROM THE TOP OF
OUR HOUSE. HE SHOUTED "THE JEWS ARE TAKING US". FROM THE VALLEY,
FROM THIS SIDE THE JEWS ADVANCED TO MASSACRE US. MY FATHER WAS HOLDING A RIFLE
AND WAS GUARDING THIS SIDE, MY BROTHER MAHMOUD WAS GUARDING THE OTHER SIDE.
THEY WERE BOMBARDED BY MORTAR FROM THIS SIDE, MY FATHER WAS WOUNDED IN THE
HEAD, MY BROTHER MAHMOUD WAS ALSO WOUNDED.
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
WHEN MY BROTHER MAHMOUD SHOUTED OUT "THE JEWS
ARE TAKING US", ABU AL-ABED FLED TO THE DWELLING OF HIS DAUGHTER TAMAM,
WHO IS MARRIED IN THE HOUSE OF MUSTAFA. THE JEWS FOLLOWED HIM AND BROKE INTO
THE HOUSE, THEY MASSACRED TWENTY SEVEN PEOPLE IN MUSTAFA'S HOUSE. MY
GRANDMOTHER, AMNEH, WANTED TO HIDE HERE, BUT THE JEWS SAW HER. THEY HIT HER;
THEY MURDERED HER WITH THE BOY SHE WAS CARRYING ON HER BACK. AT THAT MOMENT
SHE WAS WALKING HAND IN HAND WITH HER GRANDDAUGHTER NAZEIHA. WHEN NAZEIHA SAW
THE JEWS WERE ADVANCING IN HER DIRECTION, SHE STAINED HERSELF WITH BLOOD AND
LAY NEXT TO MY GRANDMOTHER SO THAT THEY WOULD THINK SHE WAS DEAD.
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
LIVING NEAR US WAS A FAMILY FROM THE HOUSE OF
AL-SHAREEF FROM HEBRON, THEY LIVED IN ONE HOUSE AND WE LIVED IN ANOTHER. THEY
WOKE UP, AS THEY NORMALLY DO, AT THREE O'CLOCK AND OPENED UP THEIR BAKERY.
THEY WERE ABU HUSNI AND HIS SON ABDUL RA'OUF. THE VILLAGE WAS ATTACKED JUST
WHEN THEY WERE BAKING BREAD, THE JEWS SNATCHED THE SON AND THREW HIM IN THE
BAKING OVEN. THE FATHER ATTEMPTED TO FLEE, BUT THEY HIT HIM WITH A BOM AND HE
FELL DEAD.
THIS HOUSE
BELONGS TO HILWEH ZEIDAN, IT WAS HERE WHERE HER HUSBAND, HER SON, HER SISTER'S
HUSBAND, HER SISTER'S SON ALI HASSAN AND THE SECOND WIFE OF HER SISTER'S
HUSBAND WERE KILLED, THEY ALL WERE MURDERED HERE.
WHEN THEY MURDERED HER SON, HILWEH CRIED THE CHEERS OF MARTYRDOM, THEY KILLED
HER SISTER'S SON AND SHE CRIED THE SAME CHEERS. THEN THEY KILLED HER WHEN SHE
WAS ULULATING. WHEN HILWEH ZEIDAN'S DAUGHTERS SAW THAT ALL THEIR FAMILY
MEMBERS HAD BEEN KILLED, THEY HID HERE, LET ME SHOW YOU WHERE. THE POOR WOMEN
LURKED THERE FOR FOUR DAYS IN THE DUNG, THEY WERE HOLDING THEIR BABIES WHO
WERE CRYING OUT OF HUNGER AND THIRST. WHEN A HEN LAYED AN EGG THEY FED IT RAW
TO ONE OF THE CHILDREN TO KEEP THEM ALIVE.
ONE OF THE
VILLAGE'S YOUNG MEN HAD BEEN ENGAGED JUST TWO MONTHS EARLIER, HE WAS STILL A
GROOM. HE WAS CALLED FUAD AND HIS MOTHER MAGHRIBIYEH, THEY MURDERED HIM ON
HIS MOTHER'S KNEE. NEXT TO HIM WAS SITTING HIS UNCLE MAHMOUD, WHO WAS BLIND,
THEY ALSO MURDERED HIM AS THEY MURDERED FUAD. FUAD'S MOTHER, WIFE OF SHAIKH
KHALEEL, CAME OUT WITH HER DRESS ALL STAINED WITH BLOOD. WHEN THE PEOPLE OF
THE VILLAGE SAW HER, THEY BURST INTO TEARS OUT OF SYMPATHY WITH HER PLIGHT.
MY GRANDFATHER,
HAJ JABER, WAS ILL IN BED, HE WAS ONE OF THE VILLAGE'S NOTABLES AND EVERYONE
KNEW HIM. THEY WENT TO HIM UPSTAIRS AND THREW HIM FROM THE TOP OF THE HOUSE
DOWN TO THE WATER WELL. THEY THREW MY GRANDFATHER JABER AND RAISED THE FLAG
OF VICTORY.
MY UNCLE ASA'AD
WAS ALSO ONE OF THE NOTABLES, HE OWNED A MILL. HE WAS HOLDING HIS CRUTCH
SHOUTING OUT "DON'T BE SCARED ARABS! DON'T YOU GIVE IN!". THE JEWS KILLED HIM HERE.
IN THE HOUSE OF
ZAHRAN WERE MOHA'D ZAHRAN'S GRANDDAUGHTER AND HIS GRANDSON'S WIFE WHO WAS
FROM MALHA, THEY WERE BOTH NAMED ZEINAB, BOTH WERE PREGNANT IN THE EIGHTH
MONTH. THE WIFE OF ONE OF ZAHRAN'S SON, WHO WAS CALLED HILWEH YOUSEF SAID SHE
WENT TO SEE THEM AND FOUND THAT THE PREGNANT WOMEN HAD BEEN STABBED IN THE
BELLY. SHE WENT THERE LOOKING FOR HER SON. SHE FOUND THAT HER SON AND HER
HUSBAND HAD BEEN MURDERED. HIS COUSIN, FATMEH JUMA'A ZAHRAN, WAS ALSO
MURDERED. SHE WAS FOUR YEARS TOO. THEY WERE AMONG THE TWENTY SEVEN PEOPLE WHO
WERE MURDERED WITH THEIR MOTHERS, BUT SAMIH, MY HUSBAND'S NEPHEW, WAS ONLY
WOUNDED. HE REMAINED FOUR DAYS LYING AMONG THE DEAD IN THIRST, HUNGER AND
MISERY
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
WE WERE HIDING IN THIS HOUSE, MYSELF, MY CHILDREN
AND MY BROTHER, MUSA. MUSA STAYED THE NIGHT WITH US TO CHEER US UP. THEY CAME
AND THREW A BOMB ON US, MY CHILDREN AND I WERE WOUNDED. WHEN THINGS CALMED
DOWN, THEY BROKE THE DOOR AND TOOK US OUT, THEY STARTED TO BEAT UP MY
BROTHER, MUSA, IN ORDER TO KILL HIM. I TOOK OUT MONEY AND BESEACHED HIM NOT
TO KILL MY BROTHER, WHO WAS STILL A STUDENT. HE TOOK THE MONEY AND SAID
"YOU ARE KIND HEARTED, I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I'LL DO TO YOUR BROTHER".
HE THREW HIM TO THE GROUND AND MY BROTHER FELL DOWN AS IF HE WAS PRAYING, THE
JEW POINTED THE GUN TO MY BROTHER'S HEAD AND SHOT HIM FIVE TIMES. MY
DAUGHTER, MARYAM, SAW HER UNCLE BEING MURDERED, SO SHE FLED TO MY FATHER'S
HOUSE. AS FOR ME, I WAS ABOUT TO JUMP IN THE WATER WELL TO DROWN, BUT HE HELD
ME BACK. I WISH HE HAD NOT PREVENTED ME FROM DROWNING IN ORDER NOT TO SEE
WHAT I HAD SEEN. THEN I WANTED TO FLEE TO MY AUNT'S HOUSE, HE ASKED ME
"WHERE TO?” I SAID MY AUNT'S HOUSE. I THOUGHT THAT THE SITUATION WAS
NORMAL, I WAS SHOCKED TO KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE HAD EITHER FLED OR HAD BEEN
MURDERED. THE JEW SAID "NO, YOU TAKE THIS ROAD". MY DAUGHTER,
MARYAM, WHO WAS FOUR YEARS OLD FLED THE HOUSE WHERE HER UNCLE, MUSA, HAD BEEN
MURDERED. SHE HAD BEEN WOUNDED UP AND DOWN HER LEG, HER DRESS WAS TORN UP, AND
SHE WENT UPSTAIRS TO HIDE IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE. SHE SAW MY GRANDMOTHER SARAH
AND CRIED OUT "HIDE ME, GRANDMOTHER!", BUT THEN SHE FOUND THAT THE
OLD WOMAN WAS DEAD, SO SHE WENT UP TO THE ATTIC IN THE THIRD FLOOR. SHE FOUND
MY BROTHER, MAMOUD, LYING NEXT TO THE BED, WOUNDED IN THE FACE, MY BROTHER
SHUT HIS EYES PRETENDING HE WAS DEAD WHEN HE HEARD FOOTSTEPS. WHEN MY
DAUGHTER FIRST SAW HIM SHE THOUGHT HE WAS A JEW, SHE WENT OUT ONLY TO SEE
THAT THE JEWS HAD FILLED THE PLACE. THEY WERE ON THE STAIRS AND EVERYWHERE,
SHE SAID "BETTER BE WITH ONE JEW THAN WITH HUNDREDS OF JEWS", SHE
WENT BACK TO WHERE MY BROTHER WAS, HE OPENED HIS EYES AND FOUND IT WAS HER.
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
MY BROTHER, TO MY HEAD, WAS A CROWN. THE JEWS KILLED
HIM AND BROKE ME DOWN. I WALK ALONG THIS SIDE OF THE WALL TO AVOID THE LOOKS
OF THOSE WHO REJOICE IN MY MISHAP, I WALK ALONG SIDE THE WALL IN ORDER NOT TO
MEET THEM FACE TO FACE. I WISH THE SUN HAD NEVER RISEN. HOW KIND YOU ARE, OUR
COUNTRY, MAY GOD BRING US BACK TO YOU.
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
THEN THEY TOOK US AND PUT US IN A LINE BEHIND ABDUL
MAJEED'S HOUSE. IT WAS THERE I MET MY SISTER, JAMILEH, MAY HER SOUL REST IN
PEACE. I WANTED TO TELL HER THAT MUSA WAS MURDERED, BUT I COULD NOT TALK, AS
IF MY TONGUE WAS TIED. I SAID MUSA, MUSA WAS KILLED, SHE SAID IT WAS BETTER
FOR HIM TO BE KILLED THAN TO BE MUTILATED BY THEM AS THEY DID WITH THE REST
OF THE MEN.
Deir Yassin massacre was not only necessary; but without
it the state of Israel could not have emerged - Manahem
Beglin
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
ON THE THIRD DAY THEY WENT UPSTAIRS TO MY PARENT'S
HOUSE, THEY FOUND MY FATHER HAD BEEN WOUNDED BUT WAS STILL ALIVE, THEY
FINISHED HIM OFF! THEY WANTED TO KILL EVERY MAN WHO WAS STILL ALIVE. MY
GRANDFATHER ISMAIL ATTIEH WENT CRAZY WHEN HIS SONS WERE KILLED, HE SLAMMED
THE JEW ON THE FACE. HE TOLD HIM "YOU BETRAYED US, YOU BROKE THE
COVENANT YOU HAD GIVEN TO US!". THE JEW REPLIED
"IT'S NOT US WHO IS DOING THIS TO YOU, IT'S BRITAIN THAT IS MURDERING
YOU". HE THEN KILLED MY GRANDFATHER AND THREW HIS BODY NEXT TO THOSE WHO
HAD ALREADY BEEN MURDERED.
I LOST MY FATHER,
MY BROTHER MUSA, MY BROTHER MAHMOUD, MY UNCLE RIBHI, MY GRANDFATHER HAJ
ISMAIL, MY STEP MOTHER SARAH, MY GRANDMOTHER AMNEH, AND HER GRANDSON. THOSE
MURDERED OF MAHMOUD ZAHRAN'S FAMILY INCLUDED MAHMOUD ZAHRAN AND HIS WIFE, MY
COUSIN BASMA AND HER CHILDREN, RUQAYYAHUM SAMIH AND HER CHILDREN. MY AUNT
FATMEH AND HER CHILDREN, MY TWO SONS AND MY STEPSON WERE ALSO KILLED.
This was on the 9th of April 1948, two weeks after
signing a peace treaty requested by the leaders of the nearby Jewish
settlements, and approved by the people of Deir
Yassin.
SYNC ZEINAB MOHAMMAD ISMAIL ATTIEH:
THEY MASSACRED US AND BETRAYED US. THEY MURDERED OUR
CHILDREN AND OUR MEN AND TOOK OUR LAND, IS IT POSSIBLE THEN TO RECONCILE WITH
THEM? CAN YOU PUT A SNAKE IN YOUR BREAST POCKET? IT WILL BITE YOU NO MATTER
HOW SMOOTH IT IS. THIS IS HOW THEY BEHAVE, THEY ARE THE ENEMIES OF RELIGION, AND
THEY ARE THE JEWS OF KHAYBER. YOUR FATHER'S ENEMY WILL NEVER LOVE YOU, EVEN
IF YOU WORSHIP HIM AS YOU WORSHIP GOD.
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