Samakh: The Rise and Fall of a Palestinian Arab Town on the Shores of the Sea of Galilee

Abstract

This article deals with the story of the rise and fall of Samakh. This town, which was founded by Algerian migrants at the end of the nineteenth century, quickly became one of the most prosperous towns in the Jordan valley. Its strategic location at the meeting point where the borders of Palestine, Jordan and Syria intersect, and its proximity to the water sources of Lake Tiberias and two rivers, gave it all the advantages of a transit town with its crossroads and train connections. The number of its inhabitants rose by the score up to about 4,000 towards the end of the Mandate period. The upsurge in growth and expansion of Samakh which continued until the war of 1948 constitutes a testimony for the processes of transformation and development that Galilee had enjoyed in those days. At the same time, the bitter end and destruction which that war brought upon the town testifies to the catastrophe suffered by the Arab population in this region.