Zuhdiyah from Deir Yassin
Zuhdiyah lives in the Old City of Jerusalem. She is shown here in a fancy dress typical of the Jerusalem area. She was 16 years old when she had to flee her village on April 10th at 2:00 AM with her family. Her family lived on the west side of town when they heard about the soldiers coming from the east side and killing everyone including the women and children. Deir Yassin is noted for the massacre that took place and killed over 90 people. It has become a byword for atrocities committed during 1948 and the exodus of Palestinians. The area was rich in limestone quarries making it a center for stone crushing and trucking. In 1945, the population was 610 people. In the summer of 1949, several hundred Jewish immigrants settled near Deir Yassin in the settlement of “Giv’at Sha’ul”. Today many of the village houses have been incorporated into an Israeli hospital for the mentally ill. The other houses have been turned into warehouses. Zuhdiyah’s dress is typical of the Jerusalem area with its bright orange couch stitching on gold threaded Syrian silk. Price: $35