A young woman was walking down the road in the Old City of
Yerushalayim, looking fearfully to the right and the left.
Though she was assured by a British officer that there was
nothing to fear, she felt unsafe in the dark and empty
streets. . . She kept murmuring verses of Tehillim as
she walked on slowly. Suddenly, she stopped. She saw a man
come running out of a house. He, too, was looking fearfully
right and left, and he seemed to be scared and confused.
Suddenly, the man blurted incoherently: "The synagogue. .
."
She stood petrified, trying to make sense of what she'd just
heard, but couldn't. She stood in the empty street and
waited. Again the man exclaimed, "The synagogue. . ." and he
motioned with his hand. It looked like he was pointing
towards an entrance of a nearby courtyard. She knew that
there was a synagogue there, but didn't understand what he
was trying to say. What was a woman supposed to do in a
synagogue? She stood bewildered a moment longer, but then
followed him into the synagogue.
She stood by the entrance, and suddenly started wailing. It
was a horrible sight: all the sifrei Torah thrown to
the ground, mutilated, siddurim and Chumoshim
ripped apart, their pages strewn all over the floor. Some
cruel and terrible hand had done this 'mischief'. . .
Both stood crying and wailing, unaware of the British
officer, who stood by the door, watching.
*
It was Chol-Hamoed Pessach, year TaRaP, 5680, as two
young men walked down Jaffa Road, going back from the new
city beyond the walls to the Old City of Yerushalayim. The
weather was bright, and they both were in a happy holiday
mood. As they neared Jaffa Gate, they saw a mob of wild,
angry Arabs converging on the Old City in Yerushalayim, from
the direction of Hebron.
Without warning, the Arabs unsheathed knives and sticks from
within the folds of their robes and attacked the Jews on the
road, screaming "Itbach el Yahud! — Slaughter
the Jews!"
The two young fellows started running back in the direction
of the 'new city.' A Jewish merchant nearby motioned to the
two to come inside his store, which they did. The heavy door
was soon closed and securely blocked with a heavy wardrobe
that was pushed against the door. The captives felt, for the
time being, safe from being harmed by the angry, and violent
Arabs.
Though seemingly secure, the captives in the store watched
fearfully through the barred windows, and noticed how angry
and violent were the hostile Arabs. They were running back
and forth, waving their deadly weapons and calling Itbach
el Yahud! (Kill all Jews!)...
Several hours passed in fear and worry. The captives kept
asking one another, "What was going on inside the Old City?
Was anyone in their family hurt? The women and children, and
the elderly parents, brothers and sisters. What of the
friends and neighbors, and entire community?... Are they
safe, or hurt, G-d forbid." Hours of fear and fearful
thoughts passed, before they saw coming a troop of mounted
British soldiers, and upon their arrival the murderous Arabs
dispersed and disappeared.
It was quiet in the street; the heavy wardrobe was pushed
aside, and the Jewish captives inside the store opened the
door, trying to welcome and talk to the British soldiers.
However, the soldiers wouldn't listen. They made them go back
into captivity. Though eager to go home to their families,
they were forced to stay inside until darkness.
Walking stealthily in the dark streets, the two men reached
their home safely, but soon wild cries of 'Itbach el
Yahud' were heard again. . . Unfortunately, the Jews did
not possess weapons, and the few sticks they could gather,
would not keep away the armed, hostile Arabs. The doors were
barred, and heavy furniture was shoved against the doors. In
great consternation and fear, the Jews of the Old City heard
the wild calls of the bloodthirsty Arabs, as well as their
banging on doors and windows.
Fear gripped everyone. What if the doors wouldn't hold up?
How long could the women and children keep their emotional
stability and strength, as all along the banging and wild
cries keep coming through the barred doors and windows? Where
were the British soldiers? Why weren't they coming to the aid
of the helpless Jews?'
It was past midnight when the British showed up and dispersed
the Arabs. The British soldiers instructed all Jews to leave
their homes immediately, without taking any of their
belongings, nor food (on Pesach!). . . Each family was told
to go to a relative in the 'New City,' and stay with them
untill those wild Arabs got 'tired,' and left the city of
Yerushalayim.
It took a long while before the poor people of the Old City
could go back to their homes. The men came first and
fearfully surveyed the havoc the Arabs had wrought: broken
doors and windows, gutted homes. Everything of negligible
value had been stolen; no stone had been left unturned, and
everyone had to start from scratch.
Worst of all was the state of the synagogues. Sifrei
Torah, siddurim, Chumoshim and other holy items were
desecrated. The murderous Arabs had vent their hatred on the
Jewish community, their homes and belongings, while the
British Mandatory Government had barely made a move to
protect the Jewish blameless citizens, their homes and
property. They neglected to guard the holy places and the
holy scriptures as well.
It took a long while for the Jewish inhabitants to even
partially recover from their fears, their losses, and to
overcome their sorrow.
