Arab Gang's 1936 Kidnapping and Murder of Lazarovitch Family Solved After Decades
Nearly 90 years ago, during the early days of the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt in Mandatory Palestine, an Arab gang led by Yosef Abu Dora attempted to free hundreds of Arab prisoners from the Atlit detention camp. When the attempt failed, the gang attacked the home of Moshe Lazarovitch, deputy commander of the camp, kidnapping six family members including Moshe, his wife Bruria, their three children, and Bruria's brother Eliyahu Kirzner. The three adults were executed, while the children were released two days later and brought to Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek. The children were unaware of their parents' fate.
The British police were unable to solve the case due to local villagers' silence under the gang's intimidation. The bodies of the three adults were initially buried in a forest, later exhumed, burned, and reburied elsewhere. The Arab Revolt, which began with a 100-day strike, caused heavy casualties on all sides, including 3,000 Arabs, 400-600 Jews, and 250 British personnel. The revolt led to the Peel Commission and the establishment of numerous Jewish settlements.
In 1940, the Lazarovitchs' son Hagai was killed in an Italian air raid on Tel Aviv. In 1962, their daughter Rachel demanded answers about the family's fate, prompting the Israeli police chief to assign investigator Shlomo Ben Elkana to the cold case. Using intelligence methods and local interrogations, Ben Elkana located the burial site and recovered remnants including three buttons from the victims' clothing. The remains were reburied in a ceremony at the cemetery in Rishon LeZion, stirring significant public emotion.
The event faded from public memory until Yoel Amster discovered the site near Zikhron Yaakov and, with the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites, established a memorial. Amster connected with surviving family members, including Yifrah Lazarovitch, who as a child had been kidnapped and longed to spend one last night in his childhood home. Amster fulfilled this wish by erecting a tent on the exposed floor of the house, where Yifrah spent a night before his death shortly after. On the upcoming Monday, a special memorial event will be held at Yad LaBanim in Rishon LeZion to recount the story of the Arab Revolt and the Lazarovitch family tragedy.
