The 1929 Massacre That Changed Jerusalem Forever

In August 1929, tensions over Jewish immigration to Palestine and the Western Wall exploded into a week of violence that left 133 Jews dead, mostly at the hands of Arab mobs, and 116 Arabs killed, mostly by British police and Jewish militia. The episode begins with the immediate trigger — a Jewish protest march at the Wall on Tisha B'Av — then traces the chain of events: the mutilation and massacre of the Hebron Jewish community, the destruction of the centuries-old Jewish quarter in Safed, and the British decision to deploy troops and impose martial law. Lucas and Luna examine the role of Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, in inflaming sentiment through Friday sermons at al-Aqsa Mosque; the spread of false rumors that Jews were planning to seize the Haram al-Sharif; and the starkly different outcomes for survivors, including the evacuation of Hebron's remaining Jews. They also discuss the Shaw Commission's investigation in 1930, which blamed Arab fears of Jewish immigration and perceived British bias for the outbreak, and how the massacre shattered the illusion of coexistence, hardening communal boundaries for decades. Specific locations covered: the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, the Hebron synagogue massacre, and the Safed pogrom. Key figures: Haj Amin al-Husseini, Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, and the British High Commissioner Sir John Chancellor.

#1929Massacre #Hebron #Safed #WesternWall #HajAminAlHusseini #ShawCommission #BritishMandate #AlAqsaMosque #TishaBav #JewishQuarter #OldCityJerusalem #Pogrom #IntercommunalViolence #1920s #PalestineMandate #History #FexingoHistory #JerusalemHistory

Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo