In the forties of last century, the Jallad/Gelat family took a memorial family picture on the stairs of their luxurious house built in Talbiyah neighborhood in western Jerusalem.
They didn’t know that this picture would become a proof to remind us of the expulsion of an entire neighborhood.
The Businessman Elias Jallad/Gelat built his house in a unique style that differentiates it from the rest of the neighborhood houses. He combined the Mamluk style with the Armenian mosaic that adorns the building from all sides. Today the house remains one of the most beautiful buildings in the looted neighborhood.
As for the family's name and the difference in its spelling above, it is due to the story of how they came to Palestine.
They immigrated to Palestine in the twelfth century from a town in Southern France called “La Gelat”. The name of the town was associated with the family name (Gelat), but after integrating with this land and its people, some of the family members used the name “Jallad” which is more familiar to the Arabic language.
The Jalad family lived in Jerusalem and Jaffa in particular, in Al-Ajami neighborhood and Aractingi hill, they were famous for producing citrus fruits and exporting oranges to Arab and European countries. After the Nakba in 1948, the family was forced to leave Palestine and headed to Lebanon, where most of its members currently reside. As for their houses the occupation took control by taking advantage of “The Absentees' Property Law” and have become residences for Israeli families.