August 23: The Hebron Massacres

Sixty-seven Jews were killed in Hebron during two days of Arab rioting in Palestine that began on this date in 1929. The massacre in Hebron, where Jews had been living continuously for centuries (and where the Tomb of the Patriarchs is located), was precipitated by nationalistic demonstrations by rightwing Zionist youth and counter-demonstrations and then pogroms instigated by the Supreme Muslim Council. Rumors that Jews intended to attack al-Aqsa Mosque spread among the Arab population and provoked intense violence, the worst of which hit Hebron, though the Jewish population there was mostly religious and apolitical. Amid the butchery, nineteen Arab families in Hebron protected hundreds of Jews by taking them into their houses. Over the course of a week of rioting in Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed, and other towns, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs were killed, the latter mostly by British-commanded police and soldiers.

“The fundamental cause... is the Arab feeling of animosity and hostility towards the Jews consequent upon the disappointment of their political and national aspirations and fear... that by Jewish immigration and land purchases they may be deprived of their livelihood and in time pass under the political domination of the Jews.” —Sir Walter Shawn, Commission of Enquiry, 1929