al-Nabi Rubin

The village was located on the southern bank of the Rubin River, about 1 kilometer from the Mediterranean Sea. It held great significance for Palestinians due to the presence of the shrine of the Prophet Rubin, which was the site of an annual season of celebrations with Islamic and popular festivities. According to Jewish tradition, Rubin (or Raosin) was the firstborn son of Jacob and his wife Leah (Genesis 29:32). It was not uncommon for Palestinian Muslims to venerate prophets from the Old Testament by constructing shrines for them—for example, the shrine of Prophet Moses south of Jericho, near the site believed to be his burial place. The shrine of Prophet Rubin is believed to have been built on the site of a Canaanite temple, and the seasonal celebrations likely have origins in an ancient pagan ritual.

The festival season lasted from July to September and was one of the two largest seasonal celebrations for the prophets of the Old Testament; the other was the season of Prophet Moses. People would gather at the shrine from Jaffa, Lydda, Ramla, and surrounding villages. They sang religious and popular songs, performed traditional rooster dances, held religious recitations, watched horse races and magic shows, and listened to preachers or traveling storytellers. Participants camped in tents around the site, were served refreshments by temporary cafes and restaurants, and purchased goods from stalls set up for the occasion.

The village’s inhabitants belonged to the Abu Suwayra tribe, descended from the Bedouin of Malhah who lived in Sinai. Most of the village’s lands were covered by sand dunes, making it the second-largest village area after Binnat in the district. The village lands were part of the Islamic waqf (endowments). Some houses, scattered across the site without any clear center, were built within fruit orchards.

Several shops and a cinema were constructed near the shrine. The village was supplied with water from several wells and springs. Most of its inhabitants were Muslim. In 1946, a boys’ elementary school was established in the village, attended by 56 students in the mid-1940s.

The villagers engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, and providing food to visitors during the festival season. Cereals were their main crops, followed by citrus and other fruits such as figs and grapes. In 1944–1945, approximately 68 dunams were allocated for citrus and bananas, 1,357 dunams for cereals, and 184 dunams were irrigated or used as orchards. Eucalyptus and cypress trees grew along the riverbank, covering a large area of the village lands.

At the extreme southwestern edge of the village lands stood the Rubin Lighthouse, built on the ruins of the ancient port of Binnat, known in Roman times as Amittarum Portus (Slamnitarum Portus). Recent excavations uncovered a roughly square mudbrick wall, approximately 800 meters on each side, dating back to the second millennium BCE.

Occupation and Ethnic Cleansing

Evidence suggests the village was occupied during the second phase of Operation Barak. Israeli historian Benny Morris notes that its residents were expelled on June 1, 1948, three days before the neighboring village of Binnat’s inhabitants were forced to leave their homes. These expulsions were coordinated with the practices of the Givati Brigade under the command of Shimon Avidan, as well as with the Haganah’s Plan Dalet.

The Village Today

The shrine of Prophet Rubin still stands amid shrubs and wild plants. In one corner of the site is a minaret with three arched entrances, and several smaller shrines made of large stones remain standing nearby. Close to the shrine is a standalone concrete structure consisting of a single room shaped like a box.

Israeli Settlements on Village Lands

In 1949, the Zionists established Kibbutz Palmahim on the village lands adjacent to the coast, south of the mouth of the Rubin River. In 1950, they also established the settlement of Van Sorik on the village lands, approximately 35 kilometers west of the shrine.