Riots in Safed 1929

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Burial of Jewish victims in Safed in 1929
Market in Safed after Arab riots in 1929

The rioting in Safed during the riots in Palestine in 1929 culminated in the massacre of 18 to 20 Jewish residents of Safed on August 29, 1929.

history

When the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed Amin al-Husseini informed his followers in 1929 that Jews were taking possession of the Al-Aqsa Mosque , anti-Jewish riots broke out across Palestine. Only recently, in the Hebron massacre on August 23, 1929, 67 Jews were killed.

Between 18 and 20 Jews were killed and 80 wounded in Safed. The main Jewish street was looted and the houses set on fire. Representatives of the commission of inquiry visited the city on November 1, 1929.

David Hacohen, resident of Safed, described the bloodbath from his own experience and the reports of witnesses in his diary. The police did not fire a shot during the entire pogrom.

“We went outside on Saturday morning ... I couldn't believe my eyes ... I met some of the city's elders who fell on my neck and wept bitterly. We went down the alleys and stairs to the old town. In the houses I saw mutilated and burned bodies of the victims of the massacre and the burned body of a woman who was tied to the bars of a window. As I went from house to house, I counted ten bodies that had not yet been recovered. I saw the destruction and the traces of fire. In my worst fantasies, I could not have imagined what I would find in Safed when 'quiet' entered.
The local Jews gave me a detailed description of how the tragedy had started. The pogrom began on Thursday afternoon August 29 and was carried out by Arabs from Safed and the nearby villages armed with weapons and kerosene cans. As they progressed on the Sephardic Jewish Road of Kfar Meron and Ein Zeitim, they ransacked the houses and set them on fire, encouraging each other to continue the killing. They slaughtered Aphriat, the schoolteacher, with his wife and mother and cut the lawyer Toledano to pieces with their knives. In the orphanages they hit the heads of the children and cut off their hands. I saw the victims myself. Yitshak Mammon, a Safed local who lived with an Arab family, was murdered with indescribable brutality. People stabbed repeatedly until the body became a bloody sieve, after which it was trampled to death. During the whole pogrom, not a single shot was heard from the police. "

The wife of the Scottish missionary Semple , who worked in Safed, quoted his experiences:

“On Saturday, August 24th, there was a demonstration by Muslims on the street at the mission site. They drummed and smashed the windows of the Jewish houses on the way…. On the afternoon of the 29th ... a member of the Church came running to tell us that all Jews would be killed. A few minutes later we heard the shouts of joy from the women from the Muslim Quarter and saw men running past with axes and clubs, cheered on by the women…. We heard rifle and machine gun salvos all around us…. Wild Arabs had come unexpectedly from the valley to the Jewish quarter and immediately began the systematic slaughter of the Jews. Some escaped with wounds, but 22 were killed right in the city…. The inhumanity of the attack was beyond imagination. Women were stabbed in the chest, babies were cut in the hands and feet, old people were killed and robbed. "

Safed's Jewish quarter had already been looted in 1834.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Reign of Terror in Safed. In: Glasgow Herald. September 14, 1929 ( news.google.com ).
  2. ↑ Tarpat 1929 Arab riots in Safed . Zissil. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  3. ^ Neil Kaplan: Early Arab-Zionist Negotiation Attempts, 1913-1931. 1983.
  4. ^ Arab Attack At Safed. In: The Times. August 31, 1929; P. 10, edition 45296, col D.
  5. ^ The Safed Disorders. In: The Times September 2, 1929, p. 12, issue 45297.
  6. ↑ Palestine Inquiry Commissioners To Visit Safed. In: The Times. November 2, 1929, p. 11, edition 45350, col E.
  7. ^ David Hacohen: Time to Tell. To Israeli Life, 1898-1984 . Associated University Presses, 1985, ISBN 0-8453-4789-6 , pp. 37-38 ( books.google.co.uk ). "We set out on Saturday morning ... I couldn't believe my eyes ... I met some of the town's Jewish elders, who fell on my neck weeping bitterly. We went down alleys and steps to the old town. Inside the houses I saw the mutilated and burned bodies of the victims of the massacre, and the burned body of a woman tied to the grille of a window. Going from house to house, I counted ten bodies that had not yet been collected. I saw the destruction and the signs of fire. Even in my grimmest thoughts I had not imagined that this was how I would find Safed where 'calm' prevailed.
    The local Jews gave me a detailed description of how the tragedy had started. The pogrom began on the afternoon of Thursday, August 29, and was carried out by Arabs from Safed and from the nearby villages, armed with weapons and tins of kerosene. Advancing on the street of the Sefardi Jews from Kfar Meron and Ein Zeitim, they looted and set fire to houses, urging each other on to continue with the killing. They slaughtered the schoolteacher, Aphriat, together with his wife and mother, and cut the lawyer, Toledano, to pieces with their knives. Bursting into the orphanages, they smashed the children's heads and cut off their hands. I myself saw the victims. Yitshak Mammon, a native of Safed who lived with an Arab family, was murdered with indescribable brutality: he was stabbed again and again, until his body became a bloody sieve, and then he was trampled to death. Throughout the whole pogrom the police did not fire a single shot. "
  8. ^ Reign of Terror in Safed. In: Glasgow Herald. September 14, 1929 ( news.google.com ). "On Saturday August 24, there was a demonstration of Muslims along the road past the mission property. They came beating drums and breaking the windows of Jewish houses en route…. On the afternoon of Thursday the 29th… one of our church members came running to tell us that 'all the Jews were being killed.' A few minutes later we heard women shrieking their 'jubilant refrain' from the Muslim quarter and saw men running with axes and bludgeons in their hands, urged on by women… we heard rifle and machine gun fire all around us ... Wild Arabs had come up from the valley unexpectedly into the Jewish quarter and began at once a systematic slaughter of the Jews. Some escaped with injury only but 22 were killed outright in the town…. The inhumanity of the attack was beyond conception. Women were gashed in the chest, babies were cut on the hands and feet, old people were killed and plundered. "
  9. ^ Nathan Schur: Twenty centuries of Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land . Dvir Publishing House, 1992, p. 128: "In Galilee the Jewish community of Safed was, for a month, subjected to a wild orgy of looting by its Muslim neighbors"