1929

On August 23, 1929 the Arabs of the City of Chevron, or Hebron, massacred sixty seven Jewish children, women and men and wounded 60 more Jews. At that time, Israel was under British occupation. The British were most happy to supervise this pogrom and assisted the Arab killers in destroying the entire Jewish community in Chevron, burning the Torah scrolls and razing the synagogues in the most ancient of Jewish cities.

Fifty nine of the Jewish victims of this Nazi style atrocity were buried in a common grave. Twenty three of these dead Jews had been dismembered by the Arab savages. The surviving Jews fled to Jerusalem.

In 1931 some Jews returned to Chevron but in 1936 were removed from there by the British colonialists. In 1948 Chevron was handed to the Jordanian Arabs by the British. The Jordanians thereupon desecrated the Jewish cemetery and built an animal pen on the ruins of the Avraham Avinu synagogue. That synagogue was named after Abraham our Father.

No Jews lived in Chevron from 1936 until the city was captured by the Israel Defense Forces in 1967. That capture was achieved by Rabbi Goren of the Israel Defense Forces all alone. The Arabs surrendered to him before the IDF reached the city.

In 1968 a few Jews returned to Chevron to live and in 1979 more Israelis returned to Chevron. Arab killers continued to attack the few Jews who lived there, leading to military occupation of the center of the city by the IDF.

In 1971 more Jews arrived in Chevron and then built the town of Kiryat Arba which now has a population of about 7,000 people. Today there are also 500 courageous Jews living in Chevron. They have restored the Avaraham Avinu synagogue. Kiryat Arba is also the location of Meir Kahane Park, named after the rabbi who foresaw all the horrors the Arab haters are now inflicting on Israel by way of homicide bombings and senseless killings of every kind. In that park is the grave of Dr. Baruch Goldstein. A large monument to the martyr Goldstein has been erected there.

The City of Chevron was divided by the 1996 “peace” accords between Israel and the terrorists. The terrorists received 80% of the city and the Israelis 20%. As was to be expected, the terrorists have used their part of the city as a launching site for endless attacks on the Jewish citizens on the other side of the dividing line. Inside the Jewish part of the city is the cave of Machpelah, which is regarded as the world’s most ancient Jewish site as the cave and the field adjoining it were purchased by Abraham over 3,700 years ago. It is in Chevron that Abraham, Sarah, Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob and Leah are buried. Look at Bereshit (Genesis) 23:19: “And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre - the same is Hebron - in the land of Canaan.”

All the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people except Rachel are buried there. Rachel is buried near Beth Lechem (House of Bread or Granary).

The building topping the cave was built in the days of Herod about two thousand years ago. The cave was found only a few years ago under the building. That cave held artifacts which are 30 centuries old and indicate the Jewish presence there at that time. It is of great importance that these artifacts have been uncovered because these and other archeological findings give the lie to the oft repeated anti-Jewish canard that somehow “the Jews” took the land from the Arabs. The facts are exactly the opposite. It is for that reason that the Arab settlers in Israel try to prevent archeological excavations which prove over and over that there was never a time when Israel was not inhabited by Jews. The truth is that the Arab population are settlers who came to Israel lately to take advantage of Jewish work and Jewish effort and Jewish ingenuity.

In fact, we have been there since the days of Abraham and we will be there forever.

Shalom u’vracha.

Dr. Gerhard Falk is the author of numerous publications, including Stigma: How We Treat Outsiders.

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