Hebron massacre (1929)

The **Hebron massacre** refers to the mass murder of at least 67 Jews on August 24, 1929 in Hebron, British Mandate for Palestine. The massacre was committed by Arabs who believed that there was a Jewish conspiracy to take over the Temple Mount. The massacre was considered one of the worst mass murders of Jews in Mandatory Palestine.

All Hebron's Jews were evacuated by the British colonial government following the massacre. The massacre formed part of the 1929 Palestine riots, where at least 133 Jews were killed. The massacre resulted in the rise of Jewish self-defence groups, including the Haganah, due to the lack of protection of Jews by the antisemitic colonial police force.

## Background

Hebron is a religiously important city for both Jews and Muslims. Hebron's population numbered about 20,000. 700 (3.5%) of them were Jews. The Jewish immigration to Ottoman Palestine – caused by millennia of persecutions in Europe – through the late 19th and early 20th centuries was associated with a rise in tension between Jews and Arabs.

Arabs in Mandatory Palestine disliked the increasing ethnic diversity as they considered Jewish immigrants a threat to the Muslim majority. Most Jews in Mandatory Palestine supported Zionism.

Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, led the Arab opposition to further Jewish immigration. Al-Husseini ordered works to the Western Wall, during which bricks fell on those who prayed in front of the Western Wall while feces from mules stank the area. The Jews unsuccessfully requested the British colonial government to stop it.

## Massacre

The massacre began with minor attacks by Arabs on Jews on August 23, which escalated to full-scale attacks on Jews across Hebron. The Arabs shouted "Kill the Jews", broke into Jewish houses, and raped, castrated and murdered the Jews. Some Jews survived by hiding in the houses of Arab neighbors, though the level of help is unclear due to the widespread antisemitism in the region.

#### Sir John Chancellor

British High Commissioner Sir John Chancellor wrote:

#### Raymond Cafferata

Raymond Cafferata, the Assistant District Superintendent of the Palestine Police Force, wrote:

#### Jacob Joseph Slonim

Rabbi Jacob Joseph Slonim, the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Hebron, said that Cafferata made the antisemitic reply that "the Jews deserve it, you are the cause of all troubles" when he asked him to protect the Jews.

## Legacy

Historical assessments of the Hebron massacre changed over time due to the dynamics of geopolitics in relation to the Israel–Palestine conflict. Scholars hold different views on the matter. Some of them considered the Hebron massacre a pogrom, comparing it to the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel – seen by some scholars as the worst massacre of Jews since the end of the Holocaust.

## Related pages

- Kraków pogrom
- Lisbon massacre
- Odessa massacre
- Jedwabne pogrom
- Szczuczyn pogrom

## Infobox (civilian attack)

- **title**: 1929 Hebron massacre
- **image**: 1929 Hebron massacre infobox.jpg
- **image size**: 265px
- **caption**: From top-left, clockwise: A boy crying from Wound, wounds; The Holy Ark of the Sephardic Jews, Sephardi Abraham Avinu Synagogue is Looting, ransacked; A survivor reflecting in the aftermath of the massacre; Kolstein family recovering from Injury, injuries.
Bottom: Memorials to murdered rabbinical students in the Old Jewish cemetery, Hebron.
- **location**: Hebron, Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine
- **date**: Saturday, August 24, 1929
- **fatalities**: 67
- **injuries**: 58
- **perps**: Arabs
- **motive**: Rumor, False Defamation, claims that Jews planned to take over the Temple Mount