Summary
The term the 1948 Intelligence Service (Arab Section) report uses, glossed in its translation as [psychological warfare], for Jewish operations “intended to drive Arabs to flee”, ranked fifth among its eleven causes of the Arab migration and weighted at no more than 2% of the total national migration — while accounting for 18% of villages in the Tel-Hai district, where the report says the action was planned and carried out on a wide scale and in an organized fashion as “friendly advice” from Jews to their neighbouring Arab friends (The Emigration of the Arabs of Palestine in the Period 1/12/1947-1/6/1948, PDF p.4, 6).
Details
- In the centre and the Gilboa region, where such actions “were not planned or carried out on a wide scale”, their shares were 6% and 4% of villages respectively (PDF p.6).
- The Tel-Hai annex records whispering operations as the stated cause for Qaitiyya (19.5), Zuq al-Fawqani with mortars (21.5), Lazzaza (21.5), Manshiyya (24.5), Khisas (25.5), Saliha with warnings (25.5), Mansura (25.5), Baisamun (25.5) and Dawwara (25.5); the report notes of Zuq al-Fawqani that the “Effect of mortars strong” (PDF p.14).
- In the Central Region annex, the Arab al-Rumeilat villages leave on 15.2 by “General fear and Whispering operation by us”, and Fajja’s last residents leave on 15.5 by “Our pressure – Whispering operation” (PDF p.21, 24).
- The report’s wider psychological-warfare findings are separate from this factor: surprise, long shelling with extremely loud blasts and loudspeakers in Arabic are treated as part of the effect of hostilities, the first-ranked cause (PDF p.5, 7).
Related pages
The Emigration of the Arabs of Palestine in the Period 1/12/1947-1/6/1948, Crisis of confidence, Nakba