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Category: Modern History

  • Safed – The Key to the North in 1948

    Safed played a key role in the War for Independence in 1948. The Operation to secure Safed was called Operation Yiftach and it was launched on April 30, 1948.

    April 15, 1948 Safed, 1948

    When the British officially withdrew from Safed, and from other areas throughout Palestine, the Palmach was ready. They had already infiltrated into Safed and were ready to help increase the defensive line for the Jews who were besieged in the Jewish quarter. The Arabs had already put themselves in control of the strategic points in the city including the police fortress on Mount Cana’an. This was an ancient fortress in the town. They also had a very strategically located claim to the Shalva House. In addition, the Arab population in Safed was thought to be about 12,000 while the Jewish population was only 1,700. Most of these Jews were elderly and religious.

    April 28, 1948

    On this day, the Hagana forces went and took over the Rosh Pinah police fortress and a neighboring army camp. Going around Mount Cana’an, the Palmach was able to occupy the villages of Birya and Ein Zeitun in the North of Safed. This created an open corridor for them that lead into the besieged Jewish quarter of Safed. Supplies were, therefore, able to be brought from this holding ground into the starving Jewish quarter of Safed.

    May, 1948

    The first Jewish attack in Safed occurred on May 6, 1948. Unfortunately, it was not successful since the Arabs brought in reinforcements and started to use artillery. Then, on the evening of May 9th, Haganah launched a mortar barrage on key sites in Safed. Plamach infantry, fighting bitterly, were able to take the citadel, Beit Shalva and the police fort. These were Safed’s three most strategic and dominant buildings. On May 10th, mortars continued to hit Arab neighborhoods. As many as 10,000 Arabs fled town at this time. Among those who left was the family of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. This enabled the Jews to take control of a continuous area in the eastern and upper sections of the Galilee. The city was officially conquered by the Jewish fighting forces on May 11, 1948 and they secured the empty Arab quarters at this time.

    Safed, a Jewish City

    As a result of Operation Yiftach, Safed became a completely Jewish town. Today, the population of Safed numbers approximately 20,000 Jews. It has immigrants from all over the world and has an incredible artist’s colony. Many of the original buildings bear the marks of the battle from 1948, and can still be visited today as a standing and living memorial to the fighting that took place there.

     

  • Arab Riots of 1929 in Safed

    Safed Jews, along with those in a number of other Jewish areas, endured a horrific Arab riot in 1929. Between 1922 and 1928, the relationship between Arabs and Jews had been tolerable and relatively peaceful in Safed and in other areas in Palestine. This was soon to change, however.

    1929 Safed Riots in 1929

    In late 1928, a new phase of violence began that would have terrible consequences for the Jews in Safed and in other areas of Palestine. There were minor disruptions that set off the riots that involved disputes about the right to pray at the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem. In August, 1929, these disputes led to an outbreak of Arab violence. Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, declared that Jews were endangering the mosques and other Islamic holy sites. He called on all Arabs to slaughter the Jews with his words, “Itback al-Yahud.”

    The British Lack of Help

    On August 22, 1929 Jewish leaders in Palestine met with the British Deputy High Commissioner to make him aware of the fears of Arab riots. The British Commissioner assured the Jews that he was in control of the situation and that his government would protect the Jews. The next day, the Riots of 1929 started through Palestine and lasted for seven days. The British did virtually nothing during this time to keep the Jews safe.

    August 23, 1929

    On this day, Arab mobs attacked Jews in many areas of Palestine, including Jerusalem, Motza, Hebron, Safed, Jaffa and more. The Haganah (a Jewish defense force which would later become the Israeli Army)  defended the Jews of Jerusalem and were able to stop the riots there in a day or two. The violence in Jerusalem, however, started by rumors about Jews defiling Muslin holy places and other such fabrications, created even more problems in the rest of the country. Attacks on Tel Aviv and Haifa were thwarted by Jewish resistance, but areas like Hebron and Safed were hit hard. In Hebron, 67 Jews were killed and in Safed, 18 were massacred. In total, all around Palestine, over 133 Jews were killed and more than 300 were wounded.

    Safed Museum

    There is a poignant museum in Safed called the Meiri Museum of Safed History that shows what happened there in 1929. Many of the pictures are incredibly graphic and show what the Jewish people underwent during this horrific time in Safed history.

    Results of the Riots

    As a result of the riots, many of the Jews left Safed and all Jews were sent out of Hebron. The British Colonial Secretary, Lord Passfield, announced the formation of a Commission of Inquiry into the riots. Although the British had done nothing to protect the Jews during the riots, they investigated the riots after they were over. In 1930 they issued a new policy whitepaper. This paper was clearly pro-Arab and recommended limiting Jewish immigration and land ownership in Palestine.  In essence, the 1930 Paper punished the Jews for the riots and supported the Churchill Paper of 1922. The Zionist movement was incredibly insulted by these conclusions.

  • Safed Massacre Of 1929

    Relative Peace

    Between the years of 1922-1928, the Jews and Arabs of Palestine seemed to coexist in relative peace. Late in the year 1928, however, the relationship became not just rocky, but downright violent, beginning with minor scuffles between the two groups. The subject of these disputes was focused on the right of the Jews to pray at that famous remnant of the Jewish temple, the Western Wall, in Jerusalem. Mayhem ensued in 1929 when Hadj Amin al-Husseini incited Arab hatred by stating that the Jews had placed Arab mosques and other holy Moslem sites in danger.Safed Massacre Of 1929

    The Jews held a march in the Jewish city of Tel Aviv on August 14, 1929. Six thousand Jews chanted the words, “The Wall is ours.” On the 15th, hundreds of Jews descended upon the Western Wall to demonstrate in support of their right to worship there. The next day, Friday, August 16, an inflammatory sermon was preached resulting in a rally cobbled together by the Supreme Moslem Council. The demonstrators marched to the Wall, where they burned prayer books and the notes of Jewish supplicants, placed by tradition into the cracks of the Wall.

    Cruel Slaughter

    On Friday August 23, the violence moved outside the confines of Jerusalem, to many other parts of the country as bands of Arabs attacked the Jews. In many locations, the mobs were joined by Arab policemen. Attacks on Jews in the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa were well-defended by armed Jews, while Hebron suffered the worst with the cruel slaughter of 67 Jewish men and women. In Safed, 18 Jews were killed. Altogether, across the country, there were 133 Jewish deaths and more than 300 injured.

    A resident of Safed at the time of the massacre, David Hacohen had been away at the time of slaughter, reaching the city two days later. He believes he was the first to arrive in the city from the outside in the aftermath of the pogrom. Hacohen remembers that the official statement released by the British said that the “disturbances” had broken out on August 29, at 6:15, that the army had arrived by 8:35, and that the restoration of order was immediate. The statement went on to report some fatal casualties and many burnt houses, but claimed that Jewish inhabitants had been moved to safety and that calm prevailed in the city of Safed.

    Ongoing Pogrom

    Meanwhile, rumors continued to fly that the pogrom in Safed was ongoing, but the British Government House gave no further information. Two days later, Hacohen managed to find his way to the town where the Jewish elders of the cities fell upon him weeping bitter tears. Said Hacohen, “Inside the houses I saw the mutilated and burned bodies of the victims of the massacre, and the burned body of a woman tied to the grille of a window.”

    Referring to the marauding Arabs, Hacohen continued, “They slaughtered the schoolteacher, Aphriat, together with his wife and mother, and cut the lawyer, Toledano, to pieces with their knives. Bursting into the orphanages, they smashed the children’s heads and cut off their hands. I myself saw the victims.”

    The total loss to Jewish life and property was 18 killed, about 40 wounded and 200 houses burned and looted.

  • Modern History Of Safed

    The history of Safed dates back to the time of the great Temple in Jerusalem and the events of the city have ceased to halt during the past 2,000 years. Just as during the past millennium, the last 200 years in Safed have been active ones and the city has seen its fair share of natural destruction, wars, rebirth and celebration. Here in our section on the modern history of Safad, we explore the city’s history in the modern era. Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the city of Safed.

    19th Century SafedModern History

    Learn about the history of the Abbo family, one of the oldest families in Safed. Enjoy this fascinating family story and discover more about the intrigues of Safed through this one family that remembers it all.

    Riots And Wars Of The Modern Era

    Unfortunately, Safed, like the rest of Israel, has seen its fair share of riots, war and destruction. Read on to find out more about the riots of 1929 and 1936, the battle for Safed in 1948 and the about how Israel’s War of Independence affected the city. Enjoy the exciting recounting of what Safed residents describe as the liberation of their city. Also read about more tragic events like the massacre of 1974 and the 2006 2nd Lebanon War.

    A Time For Celebration

    As Safed is a city built upon the layers of ruins caused over the centuries due to the numerous earthquakes in the area, it is an exciting city for archeological exploration. Check out our article on excavating Safed and learn all about the modern archeological digs unearthing the many layers of Safed. Also enjoy our articles on how Safed celebrates the many Jewish holidays throughout the year and discover the rituals undertaken by Safed residents during Chanukah, Succot, Passover, After Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Purim, and Independence Day. Also hear about Ethiopian immigrants in Safed and about how city has worked at absorbing these new residents and about the many complications that can arise when trying to buy property in Safed.