Rabbi's Account of Peace in Khan Younis During 1929 Riots
תורגם ותומצת מתוך Arab48 על ידי baba
During the 1929 Arab-Jewish riots in Palestine, Rabbi Yosef Yair of Khan Younis reported receiving peaceful treatment and hospitality from the local Arab population. He sent a letter to the British High Commissioner praising the town's residents, contradicting claims of widespread savagery. Rabbi Yair, who had lived in Khan Younis for 15 years, later lost his extensive landholdings when kibbutz settlements were established there in 1948.
הידיעה ב-5 שורות · תקציר של baba
- Rabbi Yosef Yair reported peace and hospitality from Khan Younis Arabs during the 1929 riots.
- The 1929 riots caused 133 Jewish and 116 Arab deaths across Palestine.
- Rabbi Yair's letter to the British High Commissioner praised Khan Younis residents.
- The "Palestine" newspaper published the Rabbi's letter, refuting claims of Arab savagery.
- Rabbi Yair lost his land in Khan Younis when kibbutz settlements were established in 1948.
During the August 1929 "Buraq Uprising," also known as the "Disturbances" by Jews, which saw three days of clashes between Arabs and Jews across Jerusalem, Jaffa, Hebron, and Safed, Rabbi Yosef Yair of Khan Younis reported experiencing peace and hospitality from the local Arab population. The riots resulted in 133 Jewish deaths and 339 wounded, and 116 Arab deaths and 232 wounded. Rabbi Yair, who had lived in Khan Younis with his family for 15 years prior to the events, sent a letter to the British High Commissioner, Chancellor, praising the town's residents. His letter, published in "Palestine" newspaper, stated that the Arabs were not as savage as the High Commissioner claimed. In his message dated September 23, 1929, Rabbi Yair described his family of three being treated with "comfort, honor, and tranquility" by the people of Khan Younis, whom he had lived among for about 15 years. He expressed no desire to leave the "good town" and conveyed his gratitude to all the Arab residents.
Rabbi Yosef Yair, described as a unique, intelligent, upright, and just father figure, had arrived in Gaza from Egypt in the 1880s. Originally from the Balkans and Morocco, he later moved to Khan Younis. He engaged in the barley and colocynth trade, becoming wealthy and acquiring significant land. He leased this land to farmers on a sharecropping basis but failed to register it officially, leading to its loss. In 1948, kibbutz settlements were established in the southern region on his land, resulting in his dispossession of all property.
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