Before 1948, Jaffa was the largest and most prosperous Arab city in Palestine with a population of around 70,000. After the UN Partition Plan of 1947, however, Zionist forces terrified Jaffa’s civilian population into fleeing. By May of 1948 only 3,650 Palestinians remained in Jaffa. Jewish immigrants moved into the vacated Palestinian homes and the remaining Palestinians are now boxed into the old ‘Ajami neighborhood. Most of Jaffa now stands derelict, unkempt, and in ruins.
