The first migration of Jews to Khaybar dates back, by some accounts, to the time of King David,[1] others date it back to the time of Babylonian exile.[2] The Jewish settlers of Khaybar were the descendants of Shephatiah the son of Mahalalel from the tribe of Judah[2] and some settlers were descendants of the Cohanim[3]
The Jews of Khaybar pioneered the cultivation of the oasis and made their living growing date palm trees, as well as through commerce and craftsmanship, accumulating considerable wealth.[4] Some objects found by the Muslims when they entered Khaybar—a siege-engine, 20 bales of Yemenite cloth, and 500 cloaks—point out to an intense trade carried out by the Jews. In the past some scholars attempted to explain the siege-engine by suggesting that it was used for settling quarrels among the families of the community. Today most academics believe it was stored in a depôt for future sale, in the same way that swords, lances, shields, and other weaponry had been sold by the Jews to Arabs. Equally, the cloth and the cloaks may have been intended for sale, as it was unlikely that such a quantity of luxury goods were kept for the exclusive use of the Jews. However, these commercial activities led to some resentment that is similar to the economic causes that were behind persecutions in many other countries throughout history.[5]
During the reign of Caliph Umar (634–644), the Jewish community of Khaybar were transported alongside the Christian communityofNajran to the newly conquered regions of Syria and Iraq. Umar also forbade non-Muslims to reside in the Hejaz for longer than three days.[6]
Despite the expulsion of Jews from Khaybar, they continue to appear in Middle Ages documents. Benjamin of Tudela, writing in the 12th century, recorded tales of the military prowess of the Jews of Khaybar in his time, and writes they sent questions to the Babylonian geonim. The Jews of Khaybar were also referenced by several Italian travelers such as Obadiah of Bertinoro and Ludovico di Varthema of Bologna; the latter claimed to have discovered 5,000 Jews in Khaybar when he paused there to water his camels.[7] David Reubeni claimed he was born in a place referred to as Ḥabor or Khaybar and served as a general in a Jewish army there.[8][7]
The Jews of Khaybar are mentioned in several Arab traditions. The Makhamra familyofYatta, in the southern Hebron Hills, traces its ancestry to the Jews of Kheibar, and families in neighboring villages have similar traditions. Another tradition, told in the late 19th century by the fellahinofMeithalun, Samaria, mentions a Jewish king and princess who resided in the area. A tell named Khirbet Kheibar in local nomenclature is located at the village.[7]
In recent decades, the Palestinian Islamic Jihadist group Hamas has revived the story of Khaybar's Jews being defeated and expelled and utilized it as a political slogan.[7]
^ abJawad Ali, Al-Mufassal fi Tarikh al-Arab qabala al-Islam, Dar Al-Saqqi publishing house, 2001, volume 12 page 102
^Ali bin Ebrahim Al-Halabi, Ensan Al-Uyyoun Fi Sirat Al-Amin Al-Mamoon, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Elmyia publishing house, Beirut, 1427, volume 2 page 288
^Yāqut, Šihāb al-Dīn ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Ḥamawī al-Rūmī al-Baġdādī (ed. Ferdinand Wüstenfeld), Mu’jam al-Buldān, vol. IV, Leipzig 1866, p. 542 (reprint: Ṭaharān 1965, Maktabat al-Asadi); Hayyim Zeev Hirschberg, Israel Ba-‘Arav, Tel Aviv 1946, p. 343 (Hebrew).
^Veccia Vaglieri, L. "Khaybar", Encyclopaedia of Islam
