Ralph DeKoven, a student of the Hebron Yeshiva, who was injured during the massacre there, when forty students, including eight Americans, were killed, returned to the home of his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Bernard DeKoven, of Chicago.
The home was crowded with Zionist leaders, guests and relatives, who came to welcome the Chicago high-school boy, who for a time was considered one of the killed.
“I am extremely happy to be again with my parents,” the youth said. “I will never forget what took place in the school where I went to study.
“Four of us left Chicago last year with one aim-to continue our Talmudical education in the land of the prophets. Three of us are now dead.
“Young Jacob Wexler, David Epstein and Manuel Frohman lost their lives. Poor fellows. They were so ambitious and known as Talmudical geniuses. Oh, how they fought for their lives. I saw Arabs piercing through their bodies. I saw tears in their eyes, begging for mercy. I heard their voices, then I, myself, fell unconscious. A knife thrust stabbed me.
“At the hospital I was told that my pals were dead.
“The attack upon the school came suddenly. We were caught as in a fire trap.
“Many were killed, many were injured during the Palestine disorders. I have seen those injured and dead, but I cannot forget the sight at the rabbinical school at Hebron. I cannot forget the terror-stricken eyes of the victims. Those eyes are haunting me even now.
“I don’t know what I am going to do. I am happy to be again with my dear ones.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
