The Tiberias massacre took place on 2 October 1938, during the 1936–39 Arab revolt in

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...

, then located in the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

and today is located in the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. After infiltrating the Jewish Kiryat Shmuel neighbourhood,

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

rioters killed 19

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in Tiberias, 11 of whom were children. During the massacre, 70 armed Arabs set fire to Jewish homes and the local

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

. In one house a mother and her five children were killed. The old

beadle A beadle, sometimes spelled bedel, is an official of a church or synagogue who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial duties on the ...

in the synagogue was stabbed to death, and another family of 4 was killed. At the time of the attack there were only 15 Jewish guards in the neighborhood of over 2,000 people. The coast of the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

remained unguarded, for it was the least expected direction for an attack. Two Jewish guards were killed in the attack. The historian Shai Lachman has attributed the massacre to

Abu Ibrahim al-Kabir Khalil Muhammad Issa, better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Ibrahim al-Kabir, was a Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab commander during the 1936-39 Arab revolt in Palestine. Life Abu Ibrahim worked as a labourer in Haifa during the 1920s.Sw ...

. A representative of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mandate reported that: "It was systematically organized and savagely executed. Of the nineteen Jews killed, including women and children, all save four were stabbed to death. That night and the following day the troops engaged the raiding gangs".British mandate report
United Nations After the massacre, the

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

proposed a joint retaliatory operation with

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

to deter such events, but the latter group did not agree. Tiberian Arabs murdered the Jewish mayor, Zaki Alhadif, on 27 October 1938. The Haganah sent a party, led by

Yosef Avidar Yosef Aluf Avidar (7 May 1906 – 13 September 1995) was an Israeli statesman, Haganah commander, author and ambassador to Argentina and the Soviet Union. Early life Avidar was born on 7 May 1906 as Yosef Rochel in Kremenets in the Russian Emp ...

, a

leader who later became a general (

Aluf ''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion or "First\leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew; ) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral. ...

) in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, to investigate the failed defense of the city.M. Gilbert, ''Israel: A History'' (1998), p. 85

References

1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Mass murder in 1938 1938 murders in Asia 1938 riots 1938 in Mandatory Palestine Massacres in 1938 Massacres in Mandatory Palestine Terrorism in Mandatory Palestine Terrorist incidents in the 1930s Anti-Jewish pogroms by Muslims

1938 Tiberias massacre The Tiberias massacre took place on 2 October 1938, during the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Tiberias, then located in the British Mandate of Palestine and today is located in the State of Israel. After infiltrating the Jewish Kiryat Shmuel neighb ...

October 1938 events Riots and civil disorder in Mandatory Palestine 1938 in Judaism People murdered in Mandatory Palestine {{Massacre-stub

See also

References