After the 1948 War, 880,000 acres of previously ‘Arab-owned land was taken over by the Israeli Custodian of Absentee Property’ (Najjar 1992: 27). Between 1948 and 1953, 370 new Israeli Jewish settlements were built on Palestinian land designated as ‘absentee’ property. In addition, 10,000 Palestinian businesses were taken over or destroyed and 95% of the olive groves that Israel now holds were taken from Palestinian owners (Najjar 1992: 27). Those ‘absent’ or away for personal or business reasons, or at school, were displaced during the emergence of the State of Israel. These people were not allowed to reenter the country. Confiscated land, demolished houses, a people living in their own Diaspora, has created an atmosphere of desperation and despair for the Palestinians and for many Israelis, themselves.

Between 1948 and 1999, 444 Palestinian villages were destroyed (Abu-El-Assal 1999: 162), bulldozed, removed, depopulated – absorbed into the landscape. They are remembered in Palestinian history, in folk songs and in the grieving hearts and memories of those still living. There is a pain and a brokenness of spirit that is hard for those of us who have never experienced such a magnitude of loss to comprehend. It is not just the loss of home – of house and all the personal possessions inside – it is the loss of one's heritage and one's inheritance: house and ground, heirlooms, personal little and big items, plus the loss of place – of town, with its schools, places of worship, stores – all the places where memories are made and life is lived.