"I was born in Isdud in 1923. Close to four thousand people lived there. I was born to a family of falahim [peasants], farmers. We had lands, vineyards, orchards. Isdud was one of the large villages. Close to 60,000 dunams. The residents lived off agriculture. During World War II they worked at the British army camps. A simple life. People were not hungry. There were many orchards and vineyards.
"At age 9 we went to school. I studied in Isdud for 5 years and in Majdal for 3 years and in Gaza two years. Afterwards I started instruction as a school teacher. I was a teacher in Isdud. Until 1948, Isdud was in the Palestinian part of the partition plan. The Egyptian army came. There was a war against the British army. At the end of 1948 the Egyptian army retreated. We remained in the village and we encouraged people to stay, we wanted to live with the Jews in coexistence. In Isdud there were about four thousand residents and more than 500 remained.
"The Israeli army came and enacted a curfew. Afterwards the military rulers came to look for planes that had fallen. The following day they told us to go out to the street. We didn’t think they would take us prisoner. The young people, above age 17, were taken prisoner. The elderly and the women were expelled to Majdal.
"After a few days the Israeli military leaders opened the way from Gaza to Majdal. At the end of 1948 there was no longer an Arab majority. The Israelis expelled us. But so that no one would say we were expelled, they said that the Arab armies had called the people to leave, and that’s not correct. They expelled us. They expelled me to Majdal. I was a teacher there. There was a military governor in Gadera, Zuckerman, who tried to help. People started to leave. At night there was a curfew. We lived in a ghetto. Go out to work with guards and return with guards. People worked, made a living. After three months they decided to expel the residents. The army would come at night to scare people. They gave money, bribes to people to sell belongings and move to Gaza. Those who didn’t want to leave for Gaza, they brought to Lod. Part of my family is in Gaza.
"In the beginning of 1950 Zuckerman was no longer the governor. Others came. They decided to expel people at the beginning of 1950. They couldn’t just drive people out. Israel was recognized by the United Nations. I was one of the people who opposed the expulsion. We thought there would be peace, that people would return and we would live in our villages. They saw that it wasn’t working out that way. Israel was new, couldn’t do what we planned. They were clever about it, so the world would see that it wasn’t them who were driving people out right away. They didn’t act directly.
"They didn’t let me teach school. I wanted to stay in Majdal. I didn’t leave. We were a group who opposed the expulsion, young educated men. I didn’t collaborate. They deported me to Acre. They hadn’t started expelling people then. They couldn’t, the world saw. In the Majdal ghetto people worked. Jewish contractors arrived to take laborers to work. About three thousand people lived in the ghetto. In the middle of 1949 Jews started arriving in Majdal. The Jews lived outside of the ghetto. I worked in the harvest with Jews. People from Amal would come to the ghetto to drink coffee. In April 1950 I was deported to Acre.
"We would present ourselves to the military governor of the Western Galilee. Every few villages in the Galilee had a governor. Every morning we would present ourselves there. After a few weeks they deported me to Tarshicha. The governor drove me from Acre to Tarshicha. His name was Moshe Reiss. He said that we were spreading propaganda against the government. They deported me because I opposed the expulsion from Majdal.
"We arrived in Tarshicha. I had to appear twice a day at the police station. No house, no work, nothing, and it was forbidden to go out of the village. Come to the police, sign. I asked where the Bishara family was, I looked for someone who had been a guest at my family. When Ramle was occupied, the residents surrender