Jaffa – more than just an orange

The Jaffa Orange was the principal export of Palestine in the 1890s. The history of the Jaffa orange (and the city -the Bride of the Sea- after which it has its name) reflects the recent history of Palestine.  

The orange – Palestine’s heritage

The small bitter orange, Baladi, probably arrived in Palestine in the 9th century. The  Jaffa orange – as it was commercially named – probably arrived from Hindustan or Northern Iran in the 17th century. Regardless, by the 18th century Swedish naturalist Haselquist gave the first European account of oranges in Jaffa “ . . . . a forest of orange trees of a big size . . . .” The presence of grapefruit was first recorded in 1882.

A closer look at Jaffa Town

The town and port of Jaffa, its surrounding villages, together with the land, comprised an area of around 85 000 acres. Remember, Jaffa district with a population in 1946 which was 71% Jewish was the most colonized part of Palestine. By the 1940s, adjacent Tel Aviv had grown from a small settlement to the second largest city in Palestine - all in the space of 25 years.

Jaffa town was predominantly Arab with a population of over 100 000, of whom about 28 000 were Jewish. The rest of the Sub-District had a majority Jewish population. They, however, only owned 39% of the land. Arab owners accounted for a further 47% with the remaining 14% publicly owned.

Prior to the events of 1948, of the eleven localities with more than 750 acres devoted to citrus, only two – Petah Tikva and Kefar Sava – were Jewish settlements.

This was the Jaffa and district which was about to face a combined onslaught from the regular army, the Haganah, and the Irgun. Such was the affinity between the two terrorist organizations (both perpetrated massacres during 1948), they eventually merged.

I saw a scene which I never thought to see in my life. It was the sight

of the whole population of Jaffa pouring out on to the road carrying

in their hands whatever they could pick up. . . . . as fast as their legs

could carry them. It was a case of sheer terror.

The Palestinian Catastrophe Michael Palumbo (p.87)

Documentary "JAFFA, the orange's clockwork" 

Directed by Eyal Sivan, the orange’s clockwork narrates the visual history of the famous citrus fruit originated from   Palestine and known worldwide for centuries as "Jaffa oranges". The history of the orange is the history of this land. Through photography and cinema, poetry, paintings, workers of the citruses’ industry and historians, memory and present mythologies, Palestinians and Israelis cross and combine.