The Sons of Eilaboun facts for kids

The Sons of Eilaboun is a documentary movie made by Palestinian artist and filmmaker Hisham Zreiq. It was released in 2007. This film tells the story of a sad event that happened in the village of Eilaboun. This event involved the newly formed Israeli army during a time called Operation Hiram.

Eilaboun is a village in the northern Galilee region. It is located between Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. In this event, fourteen men from Eilaboun were killed. Twelve of these men were executed. The people of the village were also forced to leave their homes. They became refugees in Lebanon for a few months. Later, the villagers found a way to return to their homes secretly.

What the Movie is About

The movie begins with Melia Zreiq, an elderly woman from Eilaboun. She shares her hope for peace. She says, "I hope God will bring peace to this land, and let the peoples live together - a good life. I hope there will be peace."

The Story of Eilaboun

The film talks about a plan called Plan Dalet. This plan was created by David Ben-Gurion and the Haganah leaders. It was developed between late 1947 and early 1948. The movie explains how this plan was carried out.

On October 30, 1948, the Israeli army entered Eilaboun. This happened around 5 AM. The soldiers gathered all the people of Eilaboun in the village's main square. They chose seventeen young men from the crowd. Five of these men were used as human shields. A human shield is someone forced to go with soldiers to protect them from attack. The other twelve men were killed in different places.

This all happened after most of the village people were forced to leave. They had to march for five days to Lebanon. There, they became refugees. A peacekeeper from the United Nations saw what happened. He reported it, and Israel was then made to let the people return.

That same night, the Israeli army entered Eilaboun. At that time, it was a Christian village. Most villagers were hiding in the two churches. Soldiers ordered everyone to gather in the village square. As people left the Catholic Church, soldiers shot at them. An old man was killed, becoming the first victim.

The soldiers chose seventeen men. They ordered the rest of the village to walk to Maghar. Maghar is a village about five kilometers north of Eilaboun. Soon after the people left, the soldiers killed twelve of the young men. The five other men were taken to drive an army vehicle as human shields. They were later sent to a prisoner of war camp. The Israeli army took valuable items from Eilaboun but left the houses standing.

When the villagers reached Maghar, the soldiers told them to keep going to Kafr 'Inan. Near Kafr 'Inan, another man was killed. This made the total number of victims fourteen. The people from Kafr 'Inan and Eilaboun were both sent to Farradiyya. Farradiyya was a nearby village.

The Israeli soldiers gathered people from Eilaboun, Kafr 'Inan, and Farradiyya. They took all their valuable belongings. Everyone spent the night in Farradiyya. In the morning, the soldiers separated the women, children, and elderly from the men. The young men from all three villages were sent to prisoner of war camps. The women, children, and elderly were marched to Mirun. They spent three nights there without food or water.

At Mirun, the Israelis put everyone into two cattle trucks. They took them to Rmeish, which is in Lebanon. Kafr 'Inan and Farradiyya were later destroyed by the Israeli army.

About 52 villagers, mostly old people and children, were left in Eilaboun. Priests complained about the villagers being forced out. They demanded that the villagers be allowed to return. After an investigation by the United Nations and pressure from the Vatican, the villagers were able to return secretly. About six months after the sad event, most villagers came back from Lebanon. All the men were also released from the prisoner of war camps.

Awards and Festivals

The movie The Sons of Eilaboun won the Al-Awda award in 2008. It was also shown at many film festivals and events, including:

• Sixth Annual International Al-Awda Convention 2008, USA
• Boston Palestine Film Festival 2008, USA
• Remembering the Nakba: 60 Years of Dispossession
• Regards Palestiniens, Montreal, Canada
• International İzmir Short Film Festival 2008, Izmir, Turkey
• Amal The International Euro-Arab film Festival 2008, Spain
• Carthage Film Festival 2008 (Palestine: To remember section), Carthage, Tunisia
• Chicago Palestine Film Festival, 2009

See also

In Spanish: Los Hijos de Eilaboun para niños