July 21, 1938: Five Dead by Arab Terror

During the "Disturbances" or the Great Arab Revolt of 1936-1939, the Mufti succeeded in causing the British to alter their concept of what was the purpose of the League of Nations Mandate - from reconstituting  the Jewish people's national home in Palestine in a territory from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River (taking into consideration that the territories lying between the Jordan and the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall be entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to postpone or withhold application of such provisions of this mandate) and that stems from a recognition given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with that country, to a decision that "His Majesty's Government therefore now declare unequivocally that it is not part of their policy that Palestine should become a Jewish State" which members of the League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission considered an illegal act, one that reneged on what had been decided 17 years earlier.

That move by the British, which was accompanied by a severe restriction of immigration certificates to 75,000 over the next five years, obliquely aided Hitler's mission to eradicate the Jews of Europe by keeping them within his grasp, as they had no where to go,

In addition, over 500 Jews who were in Palestine were killed by Arab terrorist gangs and untold Jewish property was burned, uprooted and destroyed.

The Yishuv , in general, maintained a policy a Havlaga, self-restraint, whereas the Irgun, from mid-1937 on, conducted counter-terrorist operations which included marketplace bombings, bus bombings, incursions into Arab villages and assassinations.  At times, the Hagana also engaged in such actions, especially in the Haifa district.

Whether or not these Havlaga-breaking actions more moral or not has been argued since that time, most recently in a new, rather tendentious and error-ridden book.

I picked one incident that, perhaps, provides an insight into the thinking of the Yishuv's defense forces at that time.

It is not mentioned in this Wikipedia entry.

In Parliament, on July 20, 1938, the Secretary of State for the Colonies Mr. M. MacDonald informed the members of the House that

"During the fortnight ended the 19th July, 77 persons were killed and 247 wounded, and there were 32 cases of bomb-throwing. Other terrorist acts included 52 cases of sniping, seven armed robberies and one kidnapping. There were two outbreaks of arson at Haifa, which were suppressed, and a number of acts of sabotage against Jewish, Arab and Government property; but I am unable to estimate the extent of the damage to property sustained during the period."

The very same night, at a location called Kiriat HaCharoshet (now within Kiryat Tivon) then populated by 60 families with a train station, marked in blue:

now an upscale area:

an attack by Arabs took place. Here's Davar of July 21:

In the upper left-hand corner is the short report.   This is the following day's item on the funerals:

Here is the Palestine Post report in English on another terror attack at a nearby location:

On that very same page, you can read about other events just to get an idea of what was happening:

This record informs the the five people murdered were Shmuel Gutterman, Leah (Lotte) Gutterman (34), Bilhah Gutterman, Rivka (Regina) Spiegler and Yaakov Spiegler. The Guttermans were three years in the country and Shmuel, 38, worked as a baker. That evening, the family was in the midst of sitting Shiva for their oldest boy who had died of cancer, it seems. Their daughter was less than two years old.  The Arabs who broke into their shack shot and stabbed them to death and then set the place alight.  They then broke into the nearby shack where the husband had not yet returned home.  The mohter and son were stabbed and burnt alive while a daughter, six-year old Ora, managed somehow to slip out and hide in the yard until rescued by defenders who, despite shooting and wounding several attackers, were outnumbered and had to withdraw to the center of the neighborhood.

The next day's Palestine Post:

Was this an isolated incident?

Here's more of page 2:

and from the previous day's paper:

And the following day's edition

Maybe now you have a better perspective on whether restraint or response was the policy to be adopted.

^

Ha-Ha-Haaretz Example of How To Lead a Story

What caught my eye was the headline in my Google alert:

Palestinian killed after stabbing soldier in West Bank (Ch. 10)

which is from the "Breaking News" box.

And here is the story's lead:

A Palestinian man was shot and thought to have been killed by Israel Defense Forces on Thursday after stabbing a soldier in a West Bank village near Hebron.

The story itself is headlined and sub-headlined so:

IDF soldier moderately hurt after stabbed during West Bank arrest

Soldier returns fire at assailant, killing him; incident takes place in West Bank village south of Hebron while army forces arrested a Palestinian released as part of the Shalit prisoner swap.

Notice how the paper's bias shows through, blatantly?

Now, if I was editor, I would have written:

Arab attempts to kill soldier; shot and killed

or

Arab terrorist stabs soldier; killed by return fire

What would you have written?

---------

UPDATE

Here's Reuters:

Israeli troops kill Palestinian teenager in West Bank

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - An Israeli soldier shot dead a Palestinian and wounded another who stabbed him on Thursday, as troops carried out an arrest in the occupied West Bank, a local medical worker and the Israeli army said.

^

When Pals. Killed 11 Children in Their Beds

Check this post.

And read my comment there.

Haaretz's Tom Segev on the Map I Produced

In the footsteps of terror

Menachem Begin regularly rejected any comparison between the terrorist acts carried out by members of the Irgun (pre-state underground militia) and the actions of Palestinian terrorists; he claimed that in contrast to the Arabs, the Irgun - his organization - spared civilians' lives. Begin was even more angered when Irgun members were called "dissenters" and cast out from the pantheon of Israeli heroism. After he became prime minister, he frequently took the trouble to correct the historical narrative, and after his death, the Menachem Begin Heritage Center was founded, which operates by force of a special law, at the state's expense.

The center has just put out a map for travelers. The Begin Center takes pride in the terrorist acts that Irgun and Lehi (another pre-state militia) members carried out; the map it published leads travelers along a route of those attacks in Jerusalem.

It is a large and eye-opening map, lavishly printed on glossy paper. There are a total of 165 flag markers on it, the vast majority of them denoting terror attacks perpetrated by members of Irgun and Lehi, and a minority marking acts by members of the Haganah and Palmach. Contrary to Begin's claims, the map enumerates a long series of outright terror attacks, including bombings of places where civilians tended to congregate, such as buses, cafes, markets, a cinema, a post office and the like. The terror attacks are termed "acts of retaliation."

The chronology of terror attacks that accompanies the map strengthens the thesis that no less than they were intended to hurt the Arabs and the British, the actions of the various organizations were designed to bolster their standing, in anticipation of the struggle over the governing of the state about to be established, and it's hard not to get the impression from the map that this competition continues to this day.

As expected, the map shows that the Irgun did much more for the country than the Haganah. The number of Arabs the Irgun killed is almost quadruple the number of Arabs the Haganah killed (according to the map a total of around 250. In actuality there were more ). Some 60 British were also eliminated, nearly all of them by the Irgun and Lehi. The Haganah mainly ran interference: According to the map, one in every four actions it carried out was aimed at hurting the Irgun, by abducting its members and disrupting its activities. There is no mention of the Haganah's efforts to defend the Jewish Quarter, or of the Hish, the secretive field corps of the Haganah, or of the convoys that brought supplies to the besieged city, or of the Convoy of 35 ("Lamed Heh" ), or of other actions. On Mount Scopus a traveler relying on the map will find a marker for "the Haganah's failed attempt to conquer Augusta Victoria." The truly significant event that occurred nearby is not referenced on the map at all: the attack on the doctors' convoy in April 1948, in which 78 people, mostly personnel from Hadassah Hospital and the Hebrew University, were killed. One may speculate as to why this incident has no place in Begin's heritage. Perhaps it is because the convoy was traveling under the Haganah's protection; perhaps because Irgun and Lehi members did not rush to its defense; and perhaps because the attack came just a few days after the conquest of Deir Yassin by Irgun and Lehi members.

The Deir Yassin affair is described on the map at length; as expected, the text portrays the conquest of the village as a military operation in every way, and does not mention the death of more than 110 Palestinians, and states: "About a third of the Irgun's and Lehi's fighting force was hurt by the gunfire and sustained many dead and wounded." The map does not note the numbers: 35 wounded and five dead.

A response will be forthcoming.

^

Arab Laborer Stabbed at Shiloh

Have just been advised that non-Shiloh residents, teenagers, jumped an Arab laborer and injured him with a knife. Police are present.

I will attempt to update.

I hope they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and more importantly, that there parents begin to assert authority over reclacitrant youthful offenders.

And much more importantly, that this "hilltop youth" phenomenom be quashed.

* - I have been informed that there is a serious suspicion of simple criminal intent here rather than a simple 'price tag' revenge attack. - *

UPDATE

INN:

Shiloh: Masked Men Attack Arabs in Construction Site

Several masked men arrived recently at a construction site in Shilo and attacked 2 Arab workers and a Jew who was in the area with pepper gas, as reported by the police of the Shai district. They also struck a worker with an iron bar. They escaped by vehicle. The police are investigating the incident.

Ynet:

Possible 'Price tag': 2 Palestinians attacked in West Bank

Two Palestinians were attacked by masked men, probably Jews, in Shilo settlement in the West Bank. According to reports, six or seven men brutally beat the two Palestinians with iron rods and sprayed them with pepper spray while the two were working on a construction site in the area.

One of the Palestinians was injured and treated by medics, until he was evacuated to a nearby Palestinian hospital. The attacks fled the scene and police forces are searching for them.

Haaretz.

^

Is This News Blacked Out or Non-Existent?

This iterm:

Palestinian workers injured in Jerusalem bomb blast


06/03/2011 16:46 JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian worker was injured Sunday morning in a pipe bomb blast near the Gilo settlement between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Jerusalem municipality refuse collector Iyad Bashir, 21, was taken by ambulance to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital with severe injuries to his hand. Preliminary investigations indicated that Bashir picked up a rubbish bag containing an explosive device, said Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Simmari

His colleague Moath Bashir suffered shock from the incident.

Israeli border guards and police closed the area and searched for other explosives, the spokeswoman said, adding that an investigation had been opened. Local sources suggested extremist settlers were responsible for the attack, noting that several other Palestinian laborers working in settlement areas had been targeted in similar incidents in the past. Israeli police imposed a complete blackout on the investigation, Ma'an's reporter said.

Of course, if there was a pipe-bomb, if, perhaps it was planted there, or forgotten there or thrown away there by someone other than a Jewish Israeli. 

The possibility does exist, does it not?

^

Is This The Way To Win A War of Terrorism?

Here's President Obama with John Brennan, his counterterrorism adviser, in the Oval Office in May:



You might feel this is unfair but think: is this the way you pictured the US Commander-in-Chief overseeing a war for survival?

Relaxed, in luxurious surroundings, notably those couches?

Heck, I'd nod off after five minutes.

Maybe living in caves does sharpen one's mind?

On The Killing Of Civilians in a National Liberation Campaign

The Irgun, its Commander Menachem Begin as well as the Lechi, are constantly maligned on the issue of killing civilians during the campaign for the liberation of the Land of Israel during 1944-1948.

As I pointed out just this week, the LA Times managed to list the King David Hotel operation as an example of previous hotel attacks by "terrorists" in connection with the Mumbai attack.

Well, in Cyprus, a campaign against the British was carried out between 1955-1959. I wanted to zero in on one incident, the murder of a British civiloian, a woman, who was killed in a market while with her infant daughter.

The details of the murder of Catherine Cutliffe

October 3 [1958] was the day of the worst atrocity committed in Cyprus during the entire emergency. Mrs.Catherine Cutliffe, her daughter Margaret, and their German born friend Mrs. Elfriede Robinson, were shopping in Famagusta's Hermes Street. It was a special day for the Cutliffe family, Margaret was shopping for her Trousseau, she was engaged to a member of her father's regiment, 29 Field R.A. As they were leaving a shop in the Greek quarter of Famagusta (Varosha), Margaret was carrying her wedding dress.

They had taken but a few steps, when two youths opened fire on them, from behind, one gunman shot Mrs. Cutliffe twice in the back, then twice more, as she lay bleeding on the street, Mrs Robinson was shot by the other youth, who continued to shoot her as she lay on the pavement, Margaret by some miracle was unhurt, Mrs Robinson eventually recovered from her injuries, but Mrs Cutliffe died almost immediately...

...As the investigation into the attack continued, it became obvious it was well planned, and the local population was forewarned, witnesses, British of course), the cyps never saw any thing that happened to the S.F., or their dependents. Shops had put the shutters up early that day, and the streets were almost deserted, there were no young people to be seen, all this, on a Friday, the busiest shopping day of the week, intelligence sources came to the conclusion that it was a premediated attack, and the locals had been informed.

That attack was the prelude to attacks on women, and children, all over the Famagusta area, these attacks, included the setting on fire of baby carriages, and an increase in attacks, on the S.F.

And I found this comment:

Shot and killed a British surgeon in his car as he left hospital after treating a GC patient.

Shot and killed Dr. Charles Benson while he was working at Amiandos mine.

Murdered Theodore Bogdanovitch, a Serb by birth and very pro British.

Killed Brian Preece, the teenage son of a British soldier.

Killed Mrs. Karberry in a car ambush.

Murdered Francis Hellier while he was shopping. He may have been shot in the back but if in the side or front does it really make any difference.

Shot and killed QPM Demmon when he was in hospital

Murdered a civilian who suffered the results of having polio.

Murdered two civilians, Hallows and Miles, as they left a Masonic lodge meeting

Murdered a teacher, Thomas Mylrea

Shot and killed in the street (again I don't know whether in the back or not) Charles Woods, John Smith and Herbert Pritchard.

Would you like more names of murdered civilians? There are a lot more.

Fortunately the bomb, planted by the snivelling cowards but so called freedom fighters, on board a Hermes plane which was to take British familes back to Britain exploded prematurely or the list would be even greater.

Does anyone recall seeing the Cutliffe incident or any of the others profiled prominently in any mentions of terror?

And how do the Cypriots regard their armed struggle?

Here:

most Greek Cypriots still see the Eoka struggle as a celebration of both their heroes and their Hellenism. Most school days, coachloads of children come to the Central Prison to lay flowers on the graves of 13 Cypriots buried in the little walled garden a minute's walk from the execution shed, where a working British gallows is demonstrated to the older children. Nine of the Cypriots were hanged, one an 18-year-old condemned merely for possessing a firearm. The others were Eoka men killed in gunfights whose public funerals were deemed likely to turn into riots. Among them is Gregoris Afxentiou, cornered in a dug-out in the Troodos mountains where he made an epic last stand until petrol was poured in and lit.

So, they weren't terrorists?

Athos was described as "The Smiling Killer" by Detective Sergeant William Webb, the sole survivor of three detectives ambushed in Ledra Street by 17-year-old Athos and two others who exchanged shots with them at point- blank range.

"It was like the movies," Athos recalled over afternoon tea at the Nicosia Hilton. "Were we terrorists? I think not. We were patriots and very religious, like the Irish. We certainly weren't doing it for the money."

Like the Irish. But much less than the Irgun I can say.

Chabad at Mumbai

1103 GMT

Security forces have also surrounded Nariman House, a five-story residential building near the Trident Oberoi hotel that contains an office of the Jewish outreach group, Chabad Lubavitch. Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, the group's main representative, is thought to have been taken hostage. Reports say his wife and daughter have been freed. The Reuters news agency says that four gunmen remain in the building. There have been reports of gunfire.

Hibey: From Pollard to the "Pals."

The NYTimes has reported that Arabs (who term themselves) "Palestinians" are seeking to overturn a judgment that has gone against them to the tune of $192.7 Million.

In a case stemming from a 2002 terror incident when a gunman interrupted a bat mitzvah celebration and killed 6 people and wounded more than 30, a lawsuit was filed by the family of an American victim, Aharon Ellis, who was murdered in the attack, a federal judge, Victor Marrero, awarded the family a default judgment of $192.7 million in damages. But the Pals. want a second chance and the judge has agreed but is requiring the Pals. to post a bond of $192.7 million.

The defendants assert they “are teetering on the verge of bankruptcy,” citing a financial crisis. The family's lawyer, David J. Strachman, opposes any reduction in the bond, saying the defendants are most probably misleading the court. He has noted the bank accounts once controlled by Yasir Arafat. He thinks there are hundreds of millions of dollars that are available in assets.

Richard A. Hibey, a lawyer for the Palestinian defendants, has told the court that the documents will show how “this utterly insolvent, destitute operation runs.”

That name, Hibey, resonated with me.



And I checked.

Richard A. Hibey, and (here too), the attorney defending the Palestinian Authority (aka "Pals.") in the suit, is also a political donor. Here's one contribution record I found. Plays both sides of the partisan divide, it seems. That's okay, no?

But more interestingly, he seems to have been the first lawyer of...Jonathan Pollard, and, it is claimed, sabotaged him:-

Richard Hibey, astonishingly, failed to file a time-limited statement of intent to file a direct appeal. This failure - too gross to be a mere oversight - then prevented Jonathan Pollard from ever exercising his constitutional right to a direct appeal of his sentence. What Hibey did file instead, was a Rule 35 motion to reduce sentence...

And this observation by two lawyers:-

The ineffective assistance claim, which will be argued by Semmelman, centers on the representation Washington attorney Richard A. Hibey, now of Miller & Chevalier, provided his client nearly two decades ago.

"I was appalled at the quality of the legal representation Jonathan received," Semmelman said in an interview. "It became apparent to us that Jonathan Pollard was sentenced to life not because of what he did, but because of what was done to him."

The list of complaints against Hibey is extensive.

According to a brief submitted to the court, Hibey neglected to file any notice of appeal; publicly announced that Pollard had no avenue of appeal; failed to challenge a statement Weinberger submitted to the court all but demanding a life sentence after the government promised not to seek such a sanction; and committed various other errors that denied his client effective representation. Hibey last week declined comment.

Because of a statute of limitations question, the ineffective assistance issue is not directly before the circuit.

Now, the Pollard family have always maintained that Hibey, of Lebanese descent, was either a bad, unprofessional lawyer or, and this is speculation, had a political/ideological knife to twist:-

Actually, what might have saved Pollard from a life term would have been several seemingly obvious moves by his attorney, Hibey. He should have objected to the government's breach of its plea agreement and excessive sentencing by Robinson, insist many legal authorities. Most damaging, in the wake of all the errors and breaches, Hibey never filed the simple one-page Notice of Appeal form within the requisite 10 days. The damage was as good as permanent. By not filing the appeal form, Hibey assured there would never be legal recourse to undo the grievances.

Whether or not Hibey allowed his ethnic connections to override his ethical and moral obligations to his client is one question. Nevertheless, two others remain:

1. Is Hibey representing the Pals. out of professional commitment or for the money (how much does a lawyer receive if he saves his client just short of $200 million)?

2. Are the Pals. being properly and adequately represented?

And one more:-

If they are being properly represented, why wasn't Jonathan Pollard accorded the same courtesy?

More investigation would help.

P.S. DaledAmos thinks so, too. As does SoccerDad.

You May Have Missed These Letters

In the Jerusalem Post:-

Police behavior...

Sir, - Police authorities have concluded that the officer who climbed aboard the tractor but did not shoot the terrorist acted properly. He determined that the driver had no pulse, and was therefore neutralized ("Police reject criticism over handling of bulldozer attack," July 8).

Had he fired his weapon, Batsheva Unterman would be alive today.

It took an off-duty soldier, "M," to take the initiative and end the carnage, in a near-replay of events at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva four months ago. There, while the terrorist was slaughtering teenagers inside, a policeman sat safely outside, ostensibly to prevent civilians from entering. He was also not officially censored.

"M" credited his action to his upbringing and the injunction in Leviticus 19: "Do not stand idly by while your neighbor's blood is spilled." In contrast, the police's guideline seems to be: "To protests by your fellow citizens apply violence, but to your enemies be indulgent and wear kid gloves."

TUVIA MUSKIN
Rehovot

...& misunderstanding

Sir, - Thank you for this clear rendering of the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee meeting. I'm proud of our having a moral police commander like the popular Mickey Levy, who testified about why the terrorist wasn't killed before he did more damage.

However, the source of this police failure becomes clear from his misquoting the Torah and seemingly being unaware of the full scope of Jewish teachings on attackers.

The Ten Commandments say "Don't murder," not "Don't kill." The Talmud explains that if someone sets out to murder you, kill him first. And the rabbis teach: He who is merciful to the cruel will end up being cruel to the merciful - as indeed happened last week.

So I disagree with MK Marina Solodkin that there is not enough professionalism in the police force. Yes, an error was made, but it was in understanding how to deal with wicked people.

For the same reason we needed the (Shai) Dromi Law, to tell us that we can and must defend ourselves most forcefully when there is a risk of acute danger to our lives.

M. HAGENAUER
Jerusalem

Jewish Anti-Arab Terror Attack in Jaffa

Probably the Sarayiah Building.