Attacks on the Jewish colonies continued in Palestine Saturday and part of Sunday, notwithstanding the assurances of the High Commissioner that the situation was well in hand.
The Jewish colony, Yesod Ha’ maalah. Upper Galilee, 12 kilometers northeast of Rosh Pinah, was attacked by Arabs who crossed the Jordan from Transjordania unhampered by the military. The settlers had been evacuated, whereupon the Bedouins sacked the colony. Appeals for reinforcements remained unheeded.
Other Jewish settlements in Northern Galilee are endangered. An attack on the colony Ayeleth Ha’ shachar. 7 kilometers northeast of Rosh Pinah, with a population of 50 families, was made but repelled. The colony Kiryath Anabbim (Dilb) in the Judean hills. 12 Kilometers from Jerusalem, was again attacked. Much damage was caused.
Attacks were also perpetrated Saturday night on the colony Mishmar Ha’ yarden. 4 kilometers to the east of Ayeleth Ha’ shachar, and on the colony Machnaim. 5 kilometers east of Rosh Pinah, Upper Galilee. Due to the action of the settlers’ self-defense body, the attacks were repelled.
The Hebrew newspapers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were again permitted to appear today. The editors were warned, however, that the publications will be immediately suspended if they will publish any matter which is likely to arouse a disturbance of the peace.
ARAB POLICE OFFERS EXCUSE FOR FIRING AT JEWISH REFUGEES
The Zionist Executive here received a report confirming a previous report that one was killed and 6 were seriously wounded among the Jewish refugees in Safed, who were given shelter in the Safed police barracks after the massacre occurred. According to this report the Arab police ordered firing above the heads of the refugees for the purpose of stopping what was alleged to be “excessive noise.” An Arab policeman fired into the crowd.
The Safed police chief explained the occurrence in the following manner. According to him a panic was caused among the refugees by the breaking of a bed, whereupon some Jews who were in possession of firearms under police license began to fire.
According to reports received here by the Zionist Executive, not a single Arab was arrested or punished for the Safed massacre. It urged Sir John Chancellor to proclaim martial law in the city of Safed, which the High Commissioner promised to consider. The Zionist Executive also complained against the harsh attitude of some military commanders toward the sufferings of the civil population.
The Safed chief of police, in an interview with the representative of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency admitted that five days before the massacre occurred, he demanded daily more troops for protection. In the course of three days, he said, he held the peace single-handedly, with the aid of a few native policemen, amidst growing excitement. Zionist leaders here noted that the government continued during these days to give assurances that Safed was “quiet and sufficiently protected.”
A survey made of the situation in Saried shows that all Jewish shops in the city have been looted and that one-half of the houses in the Jewish quarter were destroyed by fire.
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.
