Bidspirit auction | (JERUSALEM). Small Archive Pertaining to

(JERUSALEM). Small Archive Pertaining to the Yemenite Community of Kfar HaShiloach. c. 120 papers. Occasional tears, creases. Jerusalem, 1935-67. INCLUDES: * List of properties and possessions belonging to 31 residents of Kfar Hashiloach with autographs: Aaron Maliah, Yahya Kumeimei, Yahya Mansour, Nissim Haibi, Rivka Mizrahi, Yahya Nahoum, Zahara Arami, Salam Kendil, Said Nagar, Yaish Maliah, Judah Yaish, Shalem Yitzhak Madmuni, Moshe Tham, Yaish Madmuni, Salac Salem Yaud, Zahara Hazi, Yahya Keha, Yosef Tabib, Yauda Mawshar, Meir Ashram, Suleiman Yahya Ashram, Sa’ada Garshi, ‘Synagogue’, Daud Awad, Yosef Said Madmuni, Solomon Isaac Maimuni, Aaron Azari, Yosef Gaharen, Yahya Radai, Shimon Maliah, Saliman Tabib, Shlomo Madmuni Husseini. 8 pages. * List of villagers forced to abandon their property, along with additional villagers who left earlier due to governmental pressure and the security situation. Includes descriptions of property and evaluations. With stamps of Aaron Maliah. August, 1938. *   Official request for compensation for property the villagers were forced to leave behind, with valuations of property. Addressed to the District Governor of Jerusalem. In English and Hebrew with 22 villagers’ signatures on both copies, along with stamp of Mukhtar Aaron Maliah. April, 1939. * Reply of Jerusalem District Governor W.R. McGeach (signed and stamped) rejecting demands for compensation. Hebrew and English, March 1939. * Manuscript letter from Shlomo Akhalufi, as resident of the village. Regarding locating a missing promiscuous Jewish resident of Kfar HaShiloach, and the procurement of a Get for her. Addressed to Abraham Zarm. Undated. * Communique from Joseph Said Madmoni and Zalah Ya’ud to the Va’ad HaLeumi (National Zionist Council). Complaining of insecurity and poor relations with Arab neighbors despite attempts to get along, as well as economic issues. Asking for political assistance. With stamp of Mukhtar Aaron Maliach. Undated. * Memo from Va’ad HaLeumi to Va’ada HaYishuvit LeKfar Shiloach. Signed by Moshe Kehati (Nasi Adat HeTeimanim) and Sa’adia Kobashi (Director of Va’ad Adat HaTeimanim), stamp of Aaron Maliah. Detailing cause of lawsuit against Va’ad Adat HaSefardim, which, according to the Yemenites, misappropriated property in the abandoned neighborhood, wrongfully renting and selling portions. December, 1946. * Response of District Governor W.R. McGeach, signed, to Mukhtar Aaron Maliach stating without elaboration that, ‘The Dung Gate cannot at present be opened’. January, 1941. * Request for compensation for property harmed by local Arabs and to assume responsibility (via Arab Mukhtars) for protection of the properties moving forward. From Moshe Kehati (legal representative of the villagers) to Jerusalem’s District Governor. January, 1943. * Rental contract for a home in Kfar Hashiloach, leased by the Va’ad Adath HaSephardim BeYerushalayim (Jerusalem’s Sephardic Council) to Ka’id Rasha Muhamed. February, 1946. * Deed of internal sale within the Yemenite community, of a home in Kfar HaShiloach to Mukhtar Aaron Maliach. With signature of Aaron Maliah. August, 1948. * Other documents include those issued by Yitzchak ben Zvi (signed), Teddy Kollak and Moshe Dayan pertain to seeking a satisfactory resolution to the forced depopulation of Kfar HaShiloach.     Kfar HaShiloah was a Yemenite Jewish village established in the late 19th century on the south-western slope of the Mount of Olives, in today’s City of David (Silwan) neighborhood of Jerusalem. At its peak, the community numbered 160 families. The neighboring Arab settlements eventually encompassed Kfar HaShiloach, and the villagers suffered greatly during the Arab Riots of 1921 and 1929. Moreover, due to its demographically challenging location, British Mandate authorities exerted immense pressure on the villagers to abandon their homes.           As a result of the Arab Revolt of 1936-39 the British forcibly depopulated the village. Despite assurances by the District Governor that residents would be able to return once deemed safe, the Yemenites were rebuffed in all their efforts to repopulate Kfar HaShiloach.          Upon realizing that such efforts were in vain, the villagers turned their efforts to receiving compensation for their abandoned property, which had since been pillaged and vandalized by their former neighbors.     In recent times, the Jewish neighborhood has been reestablished, largely on the basis of legal ownership of the properties forcibly abandoned decades earlier.     The present lot contains documents pertaining to the community of Kfar HaShiloach, including the repercussions of their expulsion, demands for compensation and subsequent efforts to resettle the area after it fell under Israel control.