The Terror Started in 1851

The first official victim of terror

...Rabbi Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref...killed in Jerusalem in 1851, was the first victim of terror recognized by the State of Israel.

Tzoref managed to obtain from Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali, and then later from Turkish authorities, the permits to rebuild the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem's Old City, which Arab creditors burned down in 1721.

...One night unknown assailants tried to kill Tzoref by gunshot, but they missed their target. "The shooter, who fled to one of the courtyards, fell into a cistern and drowned ... " writes Solomon.

The second time, his assailants struck him on the head with a sword. "One night, close to sunrise, when Tzoref was making his way to the vatikin [early morning] prayer services as was his wont, murderers attacked him from behind, and struck him on the head with a sword, until he fell wallowing in his own blood. Jews who were also heading to prayers, found him in a pool of blood and while he was still alive, brought him back to his home." As a result of that sword strike, Tzoref lost his memory. He lived for another three months and then died.

The Hurva Synagogue was dedicated 14 years later.