Edouard Negib Berouti’s advocacy on behalf of Jaffa’s refugees
As the Nakba was unfolding in Palestine, Edouard Negib Berouti—Barrister-at-Law and member of the Jaffa District Inhabitants Committee (an organization representing the interests of Jaffa’s residents during the period surrounding the Nakba)—actively fought to protect the city’s population amid escalating violence by Zionist militias. He and other members of the committee appealed to the Jaffa-Lydda District Commissioner—who I believe was a British official appointed by the Mandate authorities—to officially declare Jaffa a neutral, non-military town. It seems their goal was to place the city under the protection of international law, shielding it from bombardment and occupation.
Below are the original letters sent to the District Commissioner just days before the end of the British Mandate for Palestine on May 15, 1948.
Jaffa fell to Zionist militias on May 14, 1948. By that point, the city had been emptied of the vast majority of its inhabitants, who had fled for their lives. Nevertheless, from exile, Edouard Berouti continued to relentlessly fight for the right of Jaffa’s refugees to return to their homes in Palestine. Below is a letter he sent to the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine on May 9, 1949.
Edouard Berouti’s letter, sent to the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, on May 9th, 1949, page 1.
Edouard Berouti’s letter, sent to the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, on May 9th, 1949, page 2.
Edouard Berouti’s letter, sent to the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, on May 9th, 1949, page 3.
Attachment accompanying the letter sent to the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, on May 9th, 1949. This document was originally referred to in the letter sent to the District commissioner by the Jaffa Emergency Committee on May 9th, 1948 (See letter dated May 9th, 1948, above on this page).
A few days later, on May 13, 1949, Edouard Berouti—together with other members of the Jaffa District Committee—met with representatives of the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine to continue pressing the case on behalf of Jaffa’s refugees. Below is the official summary record of that meeting.
Summary record of the meeting held on May 13, 1949, between the Jaffa District Committee and the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, page 1.
Summary record of the meeting held on May 13, 1949, between the Jaffa District Committee and the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, page 2.
Then, on May 17, 1949, as a follow-up to a question raised during the May 13 meeting regarding estimates of refugee blocked accounts, Edouard Berouti sent another letter to the UN Conciliation Commission with his response.
Letter sent by Edouard Berouti on May 17, 1949, providing an estimate amount of the refugees blocked assets at the Jaffa branches of Barclays Bank and the Ottoman Bank.
The letter above states that approximately £1,850,000 were blocked between the Jaffa branches of Barclays Bank and the Ottoman Bank. As noted in the letter, this was an underestimate, as the figure does not account for “monies deposited in other branches nor other investments.” A rough calculation, adjusted for inflation since 1949, suggests that this amount would be equivalent to about £55 million today—approximately USD 71 million. I am unsure whether these assets were ever unblocked, or whether their fate mirrored that of Palestinian lands and homes: stolen and never returned to their rightful owners.
As for Edouard Berouti, he passed away from illness in April 1951 at the age of 37. Despite his effort, He never accomplished his mission of securing the right of return for Jaffa’s inhabitants and the recovery of their lost properties.