By the end of 1947, there were 163 adults and 50 children living there. Islam, the quran, and the five pillars all without a flamewar. The core settlements of gush etzion before 1948 were kfar etzion, massuot yitzhak, ein tzurim and revadim. The case for israel is an ardent defense of israels rights, supported by indisputable evidence. We visited the kfar etzion museum for the second time. On may, 1948, when the village surrendered, 127 jewish inhabitants were massacred by local village irregulars, with possible involvement of the. As may 15 drew closer, the two peoples continued preparing for war. They took up arms for israel, but no one remembers the. The kibbutzim held off the attacks for ten days until kfar etzion fell. According to knohl, kfar etzions original settlers were socialists, and members of the kibbutz continue to channel their incomes to a joint account.
Yaldei kfar etzion the children of kfar etzion by amia lieblich. When former gush emunim leader and knesset member hanan porat initiated the return of the people of kfar etzion to their kibbutz, shortly after the sixday war, a few of the widows confronted him, claiming that, it is enough that the husbands died, there is. Lieutenantgeneral sir john bagot glubb, kcb, cmg, dso, obe, mc, kstj, kpm 16 april 1897 17 march 1986, known as glubb pasha, was a british soldier, scholar and author, who led and trained transjordans arab legion between 1939 and 1956 as its commanding general. The settlers of kfar etzion left after the 1936 arab uprising, and the village was destroyed by the arabs. New heritage center showcases history of gush etzion. The kfar etzion massacre refers to the massacre of kibbutz kfar etzion members and soldiers, on may, 1948, to the arab legion and arab villagers, who attacked their village, kfar etzion. Kfar etzion resources and photographs books by yael politis. Of the 129 haganah fighters and jewish kibbutzniks who died during the defence of the settlement. To enter additional comments edit the current main page and link to this page for context if needed. Buy gush etzion book online at best prices in india on. The children of those ruthlessly murdered in the kfar etzion massacre during israels war of independence had returned to the newly captured kibbutz several months earlier. Siege in the hills of hebron book by dov knohl available. The reading by david bengurion of the declaration of the state of israel lasted seventeen minutes in a ceremony held on friday may 14, 1948. The core group includes four jewish agricultural villages that were founded in 19401947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and destroyed by the arab legion before the outbreak of the 1948 arabisraeli war, in the kfar etzion massacre.
It was scheduled to avoid making the declaration on the jewish. On may, 1948, when the village surrendered, 127 jewish inhabitants were massacred by local village irregulars, with the possible involvement of the arab legion. Jewish troops in kibbutz kfar etzion was probably the biggest arab massacre of jews in. The books second part is devoted to the great drama of the kibbutzs resettlement.
It was my wife who had a strong feeling for the story. New arrivals at kfar etzion in 1946 perform the hora, a jewish traditional dance. Kfar etzion resources and photographs books by yael. Presents a passionate look at what israels accusers and detractors are saying about this wartorn country. Because of its strategic location, the bloc was heavily contested during israels war of independence in 1947 and 1948. Kfar etzion massacre, 9783639948806, please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or. Kfar etzion, west bank yossi ron, 69, never knew his parents, yehiel and tzipora rosenfeld, holocaust survivors who met and married in prestate israel when tzipora was just 16. Survivors of the holocaust set out to make new lives for themselves by working the barren and rocky land which had been ignored since the. The main event will be held at kibbutz kfar etzion, in the gush etzion area of judea, south and slightly west of. The massacre at kfar etzion, as it was called in 1948, moulded the israeli psyche, spawning the israeli settlement project.
In his diary on 14 may 1948, david bengurion, later to be first prime minister of israel, recorded the events leading to israels declaration of statehood. In the 1950s, the idf history branch appointed maj. In the 20 middle east cold snap a meter of snow fell on the kfar etzion area. Before the kidnappings, there was the massacre at kfar etzion. In this context, two facts are especially poignant. It broke out after the general assembly of the united nations adopted a resolution on 29 november 1947 recommending the adoption of the partition plan for palestine. List of killings and massacres in mandatory palestine. Kfar etzion massacre project gutenberg selfpublishing. Gush etzion, a group of four kibbutzim kfar etzion, massuot yitzhak, ein tzurim and revadim was established about 20 kilometers north of hebron on the road to. Marking 71 years since the fall and massacre of kfar. Kfar etzion massacre by arab legion or arab irregulars. The gush etzion museum portrays the history of the etzion bloc settlements and the struggle to defend them during the israeli war of independence gush etzion is south of jerusalem and includes the biblical areas of efrata and bethlehem.
The haganah denounced the massacre, but the arabs believed the haganah to be responsible and retaliated at the jewish kibbutz of kfar etzion. However, the jewish intelligence learned that, although the mandate was set to expire on may 15, the british were planning to leave on. Kfar etzion, ein tzurim, revadim, and masuot yitzchak. The 19471948 civil war in mandatory palestine was the first phase of the 1948 palestine war. There is a new movie which reenacts the events before israels war of independence. The euphoria following the sixday war had deeply impacted the country. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias. In like dreamers a paratrooper from the 1967 war dives. Siege in the hills of hebron book by dov knohl available for sale online. Several of the children of kfar etzion lost a parent during that battle of 1948. This is one of very few english novels that take place in british mandate palestine and the only one that tells the story of kfar etzion. But his personal history and the fate of his parents has not. View of the reconstructed kfar etzion courtesy of the kfar etzion archives. Firstly, the history of gush etzion of 1948, chevron massacre of 1929, safed pogroms of early 1900s, establisment of neighborhoods of meah shearim and sharei chesed in early 1900s, the trips made by rav sonnefeld and rav kook to settlers of the galile, rav aryeh levins loving relationship with irgun soldiers, construction and subsequent.
These are the hills where ruth gathered sheaves from the fields of boaz and where david watched his fathers sheep. Today kfar etzion houses a museum and archive documenting the history of gush etzion. In the kfar etzion massacre on 14 may, 157 jewish inhabitants of the village were murdered, as all but four of the inhabitants were executed by arab legion and irregular forces. While the characters are fictional, historical events are accurately portrayed. Encyclopedia of jewish and israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from antisemitism to zionism. If you would like to know more about the history of kfar etzion and the etzion bloc, the following are available online in english. Celebrating liberation in gush etzion expert opinion. Arabs and israelis met on tuesday evening at the library of the etzion bloc community of efrat to learn about the history of jewisharab relations in the region. From posted on april 14, 2017 by vic rosenthal in september of this year, israel plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of judea, samaria, jerusalem and the golan heights. A history of gush etzion and the massacre of kfar etzion online article siege in the hills of hebron book by dov knohl available for sale online between.
In the massacre of kfar etzion, the arabs murdered 127 men and women. The lonely tree, however, does not read like a history book. Her research shows that kfar etzion women, like women from the haganah and the palmach who joined them in defending gush etzion, shared the fighting with the men. Yossi was the only one who lost both parents, and at the age of one was an orphan. Together with three nearby kibbutzim established 19451947, it formed gush etzion the etzion. It is restricted to incidents in which at least three people were deliberately killed. Casualties of the convoy of 35 being brought to buri. The etzion bloc gush etzion in hebrew, which today consists of 18 communities and nearly 40,000 residents, is located between jerusalem and hebron. Massacre that marred birth of israel israel the guardian. Gush etzion project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
The kfar etzion massacre refers to a massacre of jews that took place after a two day battle in. The battle for gush etzion 1947 1948 jewish virtual library. During the months bridging the vote on the partition plan november 29, 1947 and the birth of the state of israel may 15, 1948, gush etzion came under siege. A history of gush etzion and the massacre of kfar etzion online article. From november 29, 1947, kfar etzion was under siege and cut off from jerusalem. Massacre that marred birth of israel world news the guardian. Martin gilbert, jerusalem illustrated history atlas, v. A history of gush etzion and the massacre of kfar etzion early history of gush etzion the four kibbutzim communal settlements of gush etzion are associated with several sad and glorious chapters in the history of modern israel, and with a massacre carried out by arab palestinians. Gush etzion museum history of the etzion bloc settlements. Gush etzion regional council head shlomo neeman called the defenders of kfar etzion who were killed in the 1948 massacre the cream of the crop of our sons and daughters, who fell in. A middleaged man, one of the few survivors of the massacre, ran atop the bunker where the last of kfar etzion s defenders had died and began pounding with a pickax. The death and rebirth of kfar etzion haaretz israel.
Both were killed in fighting here, on the terraced hills of this west bank kibbutz, one day before the. On may, 1948, when the village surrendered, 127 jewish inhabitants were massacred by the arab legion or local village irregulars or both. Background kfar etzion was a religious kibbutz founded in 1943, about 2 km east of the road between jerusalem and hebron. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled.
After the massacre a jewish community in hebron was reestablished only after the 1967 sixday war. A history of gush etzion and the massacre of kfar etzion, 2005. Dershowitz accuses those who attack israel of international bigotry and backs up his argument with hard facts. This is a list of killings and massacres committed in mandatory palestine. The slaughter on may, 1948, by arab militiamen from nearby villages and jordanian. The kfar etzion massacre refers to a massacre of jews that took place after a twoday battle in which jewish kibbutz residents and haganah militia defended kfar etzion from a combined force of the arab legion and local arab men on may, 1948, the day before the israeli declaration of independence. New heritage center showcases history of gush etzion the. They took up arms for israel, but no one remembers the women of the doomed gush etzion front.
Kfar etzion project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The defenders of gush etzion were the only ones who stood between the jordanians and jerusalem. The core settlements of gush etzion before 1948 were kfar etzion, massuot yitzhak, ein tzurim and revadim, built on tracts of land purchased in the early 1920s. The etzion bloc gush etzion jewish virtual library. Encyclopedia of jewish and israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and. In 1935, shmuel holtzman settled the village of kfar etzion.