bsettlement of Be’er Tuvya was composed of some 120 people.
bMost of them, terrified and near panic, were together in the
blarge stable of Devora Korovkov. Arabs from the surrounding
bareas began their attacks. From the nearby settlement of Gedera
bcame a reply to the Jews’ desperate request for help: “We can-
bnot help you. We have not enough men or ammunition for
bourselves.”
bPerhaps more than anything else, the following statement
bby one of the Be’er Tuvya settlers tells the chilling reality of the
b“Palestinians” and what any ultimate victory of theirs would
bmean for the Jews. In the words of D. Yizraeli: “Several of the
bwomen asked the doctor to give them poison so that they not fall
binto the hands of the Arabs. He refused. But he said that all
bwould defend the women and children until their last drop of
bblood. And if there was no other way, they would use their guns
bto save the honor of their women.”
bIn the attack that followed, with the Arabs burning houses
bon all sides, it was, ironically, the doctor, Haim Yizraeli, who
bwas the first to be killed, shot down in his white coat as he stood
bnear the gate. Just hours earlier he had gone out to bind up the
bleg of an Arab who had attacked the settlement and been
bwounded. Herzl Rosen was slaughtered next, and Moshe
bCohen, who had refused to leave his farm, pointing to the dec-
bades of good relations with his Arab neighbors, was stabbed
bnumerous times and with his last remaining strength managed
bto reach shelter.
bThe arrival of British troops saved the rest of the settlers.
bBut they were evacuated to “safety,” and when they returned,
bthe entire settlement had been burned to the ground. Literally,
bnothing was left.
Safad
bHigh in the beautiful Galilean hills stood the city of the
bKabbalists, Safad. Its 3,000 Jews had lived for generations with
bthe Arabs. All spoke Arabic, and the Sephardic Jews were hard-
bly distinguishable in their dress. As the days of pogroms re-
bceded, it appeared that Safad would be spared the horror.
bBut on 23 Av (August 29), at 5:30 P.M., a mob of Arabs
bburst into the Jewish quarter, led by Fuad Hajazi, a young clerk
bof the local government health office. The first place attacked
b