The Lone Survivor Speaks: 80 Years since Chevron Massacre

The Arabs Gave Their Word, but the Blood Flowed

On Shabbos Kodesh, the 18th Menachem Av, Jews around the world commemorated 80 years to the shocking and  bloody massacre in Chevron * Shlomo Slonim's family was butchered before his eyes, with the rest of the Jews.  His father had an excellent relationship with the Arabs, and they promised that those in his house would remained unharmed, but go depend on their promises..* All those who hid in his house, including his entire family, were murdered in cold blood by the Arabs * The Arabs stabbed Shlomo, only a year old, in his forehead and arm- symbolizing the Arab's war on the Jewish brain and arm *  Special

Shlomo Slonim is the fifth generation in Chevron.  This year he turned eighty.  Slonim is a survivor of the massacre in Chevron in the year 5689 (1929).  He is the only member of his family to come out alive from the treachery.  His mother, father, brothers and sisters were all butchered in front of his very eyes.  Shlomo was one year old at the time.

Could you give us a short synopsis of what took place then, eighty years ago in Chevron, for the sake of the future generations?

"It happened exactly eighty years ago, on Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Eikev, in the morning.  Masses of bloodthirsty Moslems attacked the Jewish residents of Chevron, City of our Forefathers.  The Arabs from Chevron and the environs surrounded the Jewish homes, and then, with murderous looks, burst into the homes and went on a rampage, stabbing and butchering anyone and everyone in sight. Among the dead were young and old: men, women, children and infants.

"One of the most atrocious scenes took place at my parent's house.  My father, Eliezer Dan Slonim, was the director of the local bank branch and an honored and respected member of the Jewish community.  He was held in esteem by the local Arabs. My mother's parents, Rabbi and Mrs. Avrohom Yaakov Orlansky, the Rav of Zichron Yaakov, were visiting us at the time. Rabbi Orlansky and his wife Yenta arrived in Chevron one day earlier, to take part in a family celebration.  My father's Arab friends had promised him, that 'no matter what, no harm will befall you and your people'.  This promise caused many people to gather at our home, since they trusted this promise and felt safe.

"At eight a.m. they got the signal, and a monstrous wave of murder and pillage overcame the Jewish community of Chevron.  Streams of human blood flowed from under the smashed doorposts of the Jewish homes.  Hundreds of injured, many of them with fatal wounds, lay wallowing in their blood, near the bodies of their loved ones.  24 of the 67 victims of the Chevron carnage were killed in our 'safe' house in Chevron.

"I was all of one year old.  The Arabs stabbed me in the forehead, and in my finger, symbolizing their war on the Jewish brain and the Jewish arm.  Until this very day I have a scar on my forehead, and my finger is paralyzed.  These scars are silent witnesses to the atrocities perpetrated in that horrendous massacre."

Eighty years later; what are the lessons to be learned?

Chevron is a Jewish city, paid for in full, in cash.  There was a never-ending continuity of Jewish residents in Chevron.  Even after the terrible pogrom, attempts were made to renew the Jewish settlement in Chevron.

"It is truly sad to see all the problems. It is sad that the government and the High Court put obstacles in the way of those wishing to rehabilitate and develop the Jewish community in Chevron.  There is much Jewish property that is not as yet in Jewish hands.  Our founding fathers- the Avos- are at eternal rest in Chevron; Dovid HaMelech established his reign in Chevron, and reigned there for seven and a half years.  During all the years there was always a Jewish presence in Chevron. All those who documented their travels to the Holy Land throughout the ages visited Chevron, and wrote of the Jewish presence that they found there.

"To our sorrow, the settlement in Chevron has always suffered disturbances, and they were constantly harassed. They didn't understand how important the settlement in Chevron is. In the long run, the government and High Court that prevent the natural expansion of the Jewish settlement in Chevron are rewarding those butchers from 5689.

Do you think that Jews will be banished once again from Chevron?