1929 Hebron massacre: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 23:08, 17 August 2006

The Hebron massacre of 1929 was the murder by Arabs of 67 Jews in Hebron, then part of the British Mandate of Palestine.

Hebron

On August 20, Haganah leaders proposed to provide defense for 600 Jews of the Old Yishuv in Hebron, or to help them evacuate. However, the leaders of the anti-Zionist community declined these offers, insisting that they trusted the A'yan (Arab notables) to protect them.

The next Friday, 23 August, Arabs, inflamed by rumors that two Arabs had been killed by Jews, started an attack on Jews in the Old City of Jerusalem. The violence quickly spread to other parts of Palestine. (See also: '1929 Palestine riots')

The worst killings occurred in Hebron and Safed. In Hebron, Arab mobs killed 65-68 Jews, wounded 58, and raped women. The lone British policeman in the town, Raymond Cafferata, was overwhelmed, and the reinforcements he called for did not arrive for 5 hours (leading to bitter recriminations).

Cafferata later testified that:

"On hearing screams in a room I went up a sort of tunnel passage and saw an Arab in the act of cutting off a child's head with a sword. He had already hit him and was having another cut, but on seeing me he tried to aim the stroke at me, but missed; he was practically on the muzzle of my rifle. I shot him low in the groin. Behind him was a Jewish woman smothered in blood with a man I recognized as a police constable named Issa Sherif from Jaffa in mufti. He was standing over the woman with a dagger in his hand. He saw me and bolted into a room close by and tried to shut me out-shouting in Arabic, "Your Honor, I am a policeman." ... I got into the room and shot him."

Some of the Jews survived by hiding in their Arab neighbors' houses and were later evacuated to Jerusalem. One third of the killed were students of the Hebron yeshiva. After the massacre, the remaining yeshiva was also moved to Jerusalem.

On September 1, Sir John Chancellor condemned "the atrocious acts committed by bodies of ruthless and bloodthirsty evildoers... murders perpetrated upon defenseless members of the Jewish population... accompanied by acts of unspeakable savagery."

Aftermath

Altogether 195 Arabs and 34 Jews were sentenced by the courts for crimes related to the 1929 riots. Death sentences were handed down to 17 Arabs and 2 Jews, but these were later commuted to long prison terms except in the case of 3 Arabs who were hanged. Large collective fines were imposed on about 25 Arab villages or urban neighborhoods. Some financial compensation was paid to persons who lost family members or property.

A few dozen families returned to Hebron in 1931, but then was evacuated again during the Arab riots of 1936. The city wasn't not populated with Jews for 37 years until after the Six Day War.

As of 2006, hundreds of Jews live in Hebron again. However, they are considered settlers who live on occupied or disputed land. They claim to represent the Jews who were evicted from there and claim the property which was owned by Jews until 1929, when it fell into Arab hands. Skirmishes between Palestinians and settlers occur frequently, and occasionally terror attacks occur, such as the killing by a terrorist sniper of a baby girl named Shalhevet Pass.

Specific accounts of the massacre

The House of Eliezer Dan Silonim

Eliezer Dan Silonim was born in Hebron in 1900. He was the son of Rabbi Yaacov Yosef, the Rabbi of Hebron. Eliezer was a member of the city council, appointed by the government. He was also a director the Anglo-Palestine Bank. Eliezer had excellent relations with the British and the Arabs and they assured him that no riots will occur.

Baruch Katinka, a member of the Haganah tells about his encounter with Eliezer Dan before the massacre :

"Two days before the massacre, they told us about a need to go to Hebron with 10-12 people with weapons in order to defend the place. I believe we were 10 men and 2 women... We came to Hebron after midnight, and went into the house of Eliezer Dan Silonim, the head of the bank in the area and the head of the community. We woke him up and told him that we brought weapons and people. He started yelling and said that if he wanted any weapons he would request them but there's no need for them because he has an understanding with the Arabs, they need the credit, they're under his influence, and that they will not harm him. On the contrary he said, new faces in Hebron might just tease them.
During the argument, two Arab policemen went in and ordered us to go to the Police. The officer Capirte met us in pyjamas and asked us who we were and what were we doing. We said we came for a walk. The officer preached us how dare we walk around during this time and said we must go back to Jerusalem escorted by the police. Two men stayed with suitcases in Silonim's house. They had the bombs with them, but the day after they came back to Jerusalem too, because Silonim forced them to leave. The next day , the massacre occured". (Katinka, From then till now, hebrew, p. 271 and archive of the Haganah)

After the first victim was killed on Friday, 40 people assembled in Dan's house, confident that because of his influence, no harm will come to his home. On Saturday, the rioters apparently offered that he would live if he'll provide access to the rest of the assembled people who would be killed. Eliezer Dan refused and he was murdered along with wife and their 4-year-old son. Their second son, 3 year-old, was wounded and stayed alive, the only heir to the Eliezer-Dan family. Within 10 minutes, 20 people were massacred within the house. The rest were wounded and were considered dead.

Rabbi Boruch Kaplan

One person who survived the Hebron massacre was Rabbi Boruch Kaplan, at the time of the massacre a young man who was a student in the Hebron yeshiva. Rabbi Kaplan accused the Zionists of being responsible for the massacre, by provoking the Arabs.

Other Jews, primarily from the religious-zionist faction of Orthodox Judaism, strongly disagree with his claims.

References

External links

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