Between eighteen and twenty Jews were killed, eighty were wounded, and some two hundred Jewish homes were burned down in Safed on this date in 1929 when Arabs in Palestine were incited by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem to attack Jewish communities. “Advancing on the street of the Sefardi Jews from Kfar Meron and Ein Zeitim,” wrote David Hacohen, a resident of Safed who would later become a member of the Israeli Knesset, the Arabs “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 . . . Bursting into the orphanages, they smashed the children’s heads . . . . Throughout the whole pogrom the police did not fire a single shot.” Jews had lived in the town since about 1000 BCE.
“Riots had been taking place for the past seven days, seven whole days since the Hebron massacre. Incitement to violence in the Safed mosques and provocative stone throwing and threats in the streets had been daily occurrences. The warship and troops had already arrived by then. The looting, destruction, burning, and killing had begun already on Thursday evening and continued all that night and all the next day. Why, then, had the government put out its falsely reassuring announcement?” —David Hacohen
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Christian antisemitism I can “understand” “killing God, not accepting the divinity of Jesus, accepting the divinity,but being Satanic( what is allowed when fighting Satan? everything,including the killing of the infants of Satan). What brought elements of the Arab community to this level of barbarism ?
Good question, Mort.
The Qur’an says: “O followers of the Book [Jews]! Why do you disbelieve the communications of Allah while you witness them? O followers of the Book! Why do you confound the truth with falsehood when you know?” (Surah III: 70-71).
Islam teaches that Allah offered the Qur’an to the Jews, who hid the information.
The events 1929 are not a good enough reason to mis-treat Palestinians or Palestinian Israelis…. and I strive not to.
The events of 1929 ARE a good enough reason to not TRUST them…. and I don’t
The Qu’ran also says:
“O People [those assembled before Muhammed], we created you male and female
and have made you nations and tribes
that you may recognize each other.
He who has more integrity
has indeed greater honor with God.” (Surah al-Hujurat 49:13)
Islam ‘teaches’ that all people are to be treated with respect. Insofar as one wants to argue these two surahs are contradictory, Islam is no different from Judaism or Christianity in that regard.
There has always been anti-Semitism in the Arab world. Jews had lived in it as ‘dhimmis’ – second-class citizens forced to wear distinctive markings. Until the 20th century, the degree of anti-Semitism may have been less than in Christian Europe because the Jews were not accused of murdering Mohammed. Be thankful for small favors!
The Mufti decided to play catchup with Europe. His father had visted Germany as a member of the Turkish army (which fought on the side of Germany in WW I) and came to admire the Nazi Party, The son apparently learned that the best way to acquire ruling power was to scapegoat Jews. The ‘Arab Revolt’ of 1936-9 was actually a successful attempt by the Mufti to eliminate moderate Palestinians who wished to peacefully and respectfully coexist with Jews.