Did Isabel Kershner learn some history?

"Lod’s 75,000 residents are mostly Jewish, with Arabs making up a quarter or more of the population. Previously an Arab city known as Lydda, it was conquered by Israeli forces in July 1948. Most of the Arab residents were expelled — on the personal orders of David Ben-Gurion, the leader of the new state of Israel, according to some historical accounts — and turned into refugees. At least 250 men, women and children were killed in the fighting; more died of exhaustion and dehydration on the march east in the summer heat."