38	THEY MUST GO

bblood has scattered and the streets are now silent. The police barrive at the yeshiva and place the body of the martyr on a table, bappointing a policeman to watch over it. In every Jewish home bthe Sabbath is greeted with trepidation and concern over what bwill happen tomorrow. The son of Rabbi Moshe Mordechai bEpstein, head of the Slobodka-Hebron yeshiva, is called to the boffice of the Hebron governor, an Arab, who is flanked by two bofficers, one British and the other Arab. The governor tells the bson of the Rosh Yeshiva (“dean of the seminary”) that he must bgo to every Jewish house and warn the occupants not to walk bout. He says: “Let the Jews stay in their houses and I will be bresponsible for their lives. . . .” The Jewish promise is given, and bthe night passes in troubled silence, broken only by the sounds bof police on horses passing through the streets and various Jew- bish families leaving their homes for the “safety” of the house of bthe respected Eliezer Don Slonim.

bEarly Sabbath morning, at five, the Jews are already up, btheir leaders meeting to discuss what to do. It is suggested that ba telegram be hurriedly sent to Jerusalem to inform the bHaganah about the situation. But the telegraph office will not bopen until eight and by that time it will already be impossible. bThere is also a suggestion to send someone by automobile to bJerusalem, but for some reason it is decided that an Arab should bbe the driver, and no Arab can be found to do it. In the end the bJews meet with an Arab police officer named Ibrahim Jarjura, bwho tells them in the name of the police chief that “the Jews bmust remain in their houses and only then can we take responsi- bbility for their safety.” The police chief, an Englishman named bCapireta, tells the Jewish leaders the same thing.

bBy 6:00 A.M., with Arabs now streaming into Hebron from bthe surrounding countryside, E. D. Slonim and a yeshiva stu- bdent, along with a police detail, go from Jewish house to house, bwarning the Jews not to go out and not even to look out the bwindows. Arab neighbors, meanwhile, gleefully tell their Jewish b“friends” that “today will be the slaughter.” The streets are bnow packed with Arabs, armed with guns, swords, and knives. bCars speed through the streets with Arabs sitting on the roofs, bshouting slogans calling for death to the Jews. The atmosphere bis electric, and through it all walk the Arab and British police bofficers, calmly. . . .

bThe Jewish leaders of the community meet at the home of b