In Palestine 60 years ago: Operation Nachshon and the awful events at the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin—a turning point in the First Arab-Israeli War
Deir Yassin Remembered
During the Jewish campaign to open up the corridor between the coast and Jerusalem in April 1948 (Operation Nachshon), the most significant event was the massacre of 100-110 Palestinian villagers at Deir Yassin on the city's western edge on April 9. The attack on the village was carried out by two Jewish underground organizations, IZL (Irgun Z'vai Leumi) and LHI (Lehame Herut Israel [Stern Gang]), with the apparent agreement of the Haganah in Jerusalem. As the attack progressed, it was met with fierce and unexpected resistance. Though the villagers had been friendly toward the Jews, not allowing Palestinian resistance fighters to stay there, they had understandably armed themselves against possible attack.
Now they resisted. The fighting went so badly for the Jewish attackers that they resorted to dynamiting houses, killing men, women and children.
The details are found in many sources, including Benny Morris's 1999 book, Righteous Victims. The web site for Deir Yassin contains much helpful information as does the memorial documentary.
The immediate result of the massacre was to galvanize Arab hatred, but also to create fear to such a degree that a Palestinian refugee exodus was set in motion. It was indeed a turning point that made the Jewish successes in the days ahead much easier. But it also set the pattern for reprisal. On April 13, the Palestinians launched a six hour attack on a ten-vehicle convoy bound for the Hadassah Hospital-Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus. In a brutal end to the confrontation, two armored buses were torched and more than 70 mostly unarmed Jewish doctors, nurses and lecturers lost their lives.
For more than a hundred years, the tiny strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River has been the subject of intense debate and bitter conflict, with one of the main focal points of the ongoing struggle being a single ancient city. Exploring the lives of fourteen key Palestinian and Jewish leaders, this fascinating study examines the roles of identity and ideology in the search for a resolution to the final-status issue of Jerusalem. The book will prove an important resource for scholars and students interested in the Arab-Israeli conflict, peace studies, and political psychology.
