Abu-Ezam


The Abu-Ezam family is a Palestinian Christian family formerly engaged in numerous businesses, most notably in the manufacturing sector prior to the 1948 Palestinian exodus in Palestine. They owned and operated several businesses in the city of Ramla in modern-day Israel.

History

During the early decades of the twentieth century in Palestine, the majority of the Arab population sustained itself primarily through agricultural and pastoral pursuits. The large socioeconomic gap between wealthier, land-owning classes and the Fellah, or laboring class, was typical of the historic Palestinian economy prior to the Nakba.
The Abu-Ezam family was entrepreneurial during the time between 1900 and 1940 when manufacturing in Palestine saw considerable growth. The number of manufacturing enterprises grew in size from around 1,240 in 1913 to 3,505 in 1927 and about 6,000 in 1936.
Industrialization of the Palestinian Economy
The Abu-Ezam family played a role in the industrialization of the Palestinian economy that took place in the mid-1930s in the coastal region of Palestine, owning approximately 1/5 the factories with over 100 workers in 1937.