(Photo: An archway in Yatta, Southern Mount Hebron, which
has been likened to a star of David. Credit: Tsvi Misinai / Wiki
Commons.)
has been likened to a star of David. Credit: Tsvi Misinai / Wiki
Commons.)
There was a Hebron connection to the murder of four Israeli civilians at the
Sarona Center in Tel Aviv on June 8, 2016. Noam Arnon, spokesperson for the Jewish
Community of Hebron discussed the issue of Arabs with Jewish roots and mourned one of
the victims on the Yishai
Fleisher Show.
Sarona Center in Tel Aviv on June 8, 2016. Noam Arnon, spokesperson for the Jewish
Community of Hebron discussed the issue of Arabs with Jewish roots and mourned one of
the victims on the Yishai
Fleisher Show.
Dr. Michael Feige was a sociologist and anthropologist at Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev. “He interviewed me many times,” said Arnon, “and mentioned me
in his books. He did not hold our opinion, but he was a fair man and nice guy and I’m
very sorry that he was killed.”
Arnon also detailed the phenomenon of Hebron proper and the surround Southern Hebron
Hills as a hotbed of terrorist activity. Specifically the city of Yatta, the hometown of
the two terrorist who carried out the shooting at the Tel Aviv coffee shop.
“When I heard the names of the terrorists, [cousins Khaled and Mohammed Mahamra] I knew
they were part of the Mahamra clan, a very large family in the Southern Hebron Hills,
especially in Yatta,” Arnon stated.
Yatta has been identified by researchers as the Biblical city of Jutta (pronounced
Yutta), described in the Book of Joshua 15:55 and 21:16 as a city designated for
Kohanim.
WAS THE MEHAMRA CLAN ONCE JEWISH?
The historian Yitzhak Ben Zvi, who later became Israel’s second president, researched
the town in 1928 and posited that the Mehamra clan has Jewish roots.
It’s a concept that Arnon says may hold validity. “Ben Zvi actually visited those clans
and described how they light Hanukah candles and preserve some Jewish commandments and
Jewish habits. So they belong to an ancient Jewish clan that lives here supposedly from
the time of the Second Temple period. When the Muslims appeared here in the country,
some of them were forced to convert to Islam. But they remained as Jews. They still
remembered their origins as Jews,” he stated.
Arnon described a well-known story of how the clan was rejected by fellow Muslims. “In
the War of Independence in 1948 one member of the Mahamra clan happened to be in Gaza.
The mob in Gaza identified him as a Jew and hanged him because he was Jewish. He was an
Arab and Muslim for many generations. They have some background in Jewish history but
are Muslim, yet this poor guy was hanged by a mob as a Jew.”
“In 1967 when Israel took over, a delegation of this clan went out to meet an Israeli
officer,” Arnon continued, “and begged him to connect the village to the water supply
and electricity saying, ‘you know we are brothers. We are Jews. Please take care of us.’
But what happened was that Israel unfortunately brought the PLO terrorist organization
to control the area instead.”
“Arabs that I know asked me, ‘please don’t bring these terrible gangs upon our heads.
They are terrorists. We don’t want them here,'” Arnon explained. “They are waiting for
us to take care of the whole area and to create Israeli sovereignty because they know
Israel is the only democratic modern state that can take care of their rights. They see
the PLO / PA as a foreign entity.”
University of the Negev. “He interviewed me many times,” said Arnon, “and mentioned me
in his books. He did not hold our opinion, but he was a fair man and nice guy and I’m
very sorry that he was killed.”
Arnon also detailed the phenomenon of Hebron proper and the surround Southern Hebron
Hills as a hotbed of terrorist activity. Specifically the city of Yatta, the hometown of
the two terrorist who carried out the shooting at the Tel Aviv coffee shop.
“When I heard the names of the terrorists, [cousins Khaled and Mohammed Mahamra] I knew
they were part of the Mahamra clan, a very large family in the Southern Hebron Hills,
especially in Yatta,” Arnon stated.
Yatta has been identified by researchers as the Biblical city of Jutta (pronounced
Yutta), described in the Book of Joshua 15:55 and 21:16 as a city designated for
Kohanim.
WAS THE MEHAMRA CLAN ONCE JEWISH?
The historian Yitzhak Ben Zvi, who later became Israel’s second president, researched
the town in 1928 and posited that the Mehamra clan has Jewish roots.
It’s a concept that Arnon says may hold validity. “Ben Zvi actually visited those clans
and described how they light Hanukah candles and preserve some Jewish commandments and
Jewish habits. So they belong to an ancient Jewish clan that lives here supposedly from
the time of the Second Temple period. When the Muslims appeared here in the country,
some of them were forced to convert to Islam. But they remained as Jews. They still
remembered their origins as Jews,” he stated.
Arnon described a well-known story of how the clan was rejected by fellow Muslims. “In
the War of Independence in 1948 one member of the Mahamra clan happened to be in Gaza.
The mob in Gaza identified him as a Jew and hanged him because he was Jewish. He was an
Arab and Muslim for many generations. They have some background in Jewish history but
are Muslim, yet this poor guy was hanged by a mob as a Jew.”
“In 1967 when Israel took over, a delegation of this clan went out to meet an Israeli
officer,” Arnon continued, “and begged him to connect the village to the water supply
and electricity saying, ‘you know we are brothers. We are Jews. Please take care of us.’
But what happened was that Israel unfortunately brought the PLO terrorist organization
to control the area instead.”
“Arabs that I know asked me, ‘please don’t bring these terrible gangs upon our heads.
They are terrorists. We don’t want them here,'” Arnon explained. “They are waiting for
us to take care of the whole area and to create Israeli sovereignty because they know
Israel is the only democratic modern state that can take care of their rights. They see
the PLO / PA as a foreign entity.”
Noam Arnon, who has lived in Hebron since the 1980s, has spent extensive time
visiting with neighboring Arabs, specifically with Sheikh Farid
Jabari.
visiting with neighboring Arabs, specifically with Sheikh Farid
Jabari.
HISTORICAL RESEARCH ON YATTA
Some believe the name “Mehamra” means “winemakers,” significant because Muslims are
forbidden from drinking wine, while Jews use wine for reciting the kiddush prayer on
Shabbat and holidays. The Hebron Hills region is famous for its vineyards.
The famous Biblical researcher Edward Robinson stated that modern Yatta is the Biblical
Jutta. The following is an excerpt from his book “Biblical researches in Palestine,
Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea : a journal of travels in the year 1838” published in
1841.
“After two hours the Mukariyeh arrived from Hebron bringing with them their barley, and
also oranges and other fruit for us… We had before been undecided what route to take
from Beni Na’im, but the sight of Kurmul, and a report of names like Zif, Ma’in, and
Yutta, in that region, induced us to bend out steps that way… We left Beni Na’im
at half past 3 o’clock, descending gradually; and in twenty minutes came in sight of
Yutta on the distant hills, baring S. 55 degrees W. This is doubtless the Juttah of the
Old Testament; we afterwards saw it much nearer…”
For
full text click here.
In 1931, a Jewish burial complex dating to the 2nd century AD was found in the
town. The journal “Israel – Land
and Nature, Volumes 16-17, published by the Society for the Protection of
Nature in Israel, 1990, page 83. – 86, it discusses the 1987 discovery of a stone
slab with a seven-branched menorah engraved on it. The nearby site
of Hirbet el-Aziz was identified as Kfar Aziz, a Jewish town mentioned in the
Talmud.
Eusebius of Caesarea, a Roman historian who lived in the Land of Israel in the 2nd
century, wrote that Yatta was “a very large village of Jews eighteen miles south of Beit
Guvrin.” He was the author of many history books including Onomasticon, a directory of
place names from the Bible.
Some believe the name “Mehamra” means “winemakers,” significant because Muslims are
forbidden from drinking wine, while Jews use wine for reciting the kiddush prayer on
Shabbat and holidays. The Hebron Hills region is famous for its vineyards.
The famous Biblical researcher Edward Robinson stated that modern Yatta is the Biblical
Jutta. The following is an excerpt from his book “Biblical researches in Palestine,
Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea : a journal of travels in the year 1838” published in
1841.
“After two hours the Mukariyeh arrived from Hebron bringing with them their barley, and
also oranges and other fruit for us… We had before been undecided what route to take
from Beni Na’im, but the sight of Kurmul, and a report of names like Zif, Ma’in, and
Yutta, in that region, induced us to bend out steps that way… We left Beni Na’im
at half past 3 o’clock, descending gradually; and in twenty minutes came in sight of
Yutta on the distant hills, baring S. 55 degrees W. This is doubtless the Juttah of the
Old Testament; we afterwards saw it much nearer…”
For
full text click here.
In 1931, a Jewish burial complex dating to the 2nd century AD was found in the
town. The journal “Israel – Land
and Nature, Volumes 16-17, published by the Society for the Protection of
Nature in Israel, 1990, page 83. – 86, it discusses the 1987 discovery of a stone
slab with a seven-branched menorah engraved on it. The nearby site
of Hirbet el-Aziz was identified as Kfar Aziz, a Jewish town mentioned in the
Talmud.
Eusebius of Caesarea, a Roman historian who lived in the Land of Israel in the 2nd
century, wrote that Yatta was “a very large village of Jews eighteen miles south of Beit
Guvrin.” He was the author of many history books including Onomasticon, a directory of
place names from the Bible.
In archaeological surveys conducted after the Six Day War in
1967, an ancient wall was discovered which surveyors believed was
part of a large public building, which served as a
synagogue or a church. Another survey conducted by Zvi Ilan and
David Amit found an old lintel inscribed with a menorah. They believe the
discovery corresponds with references to a synagogue in the
Onomasticon.
1967, an ancient wall was discovered which surveyors believed was
part of a large public building, which served as a
synagogue or a church. Another survey conducted by Zvi Ilan and
David Amit found an old lintel inscribed with a menorah. They believe the
discovery corresponds with references to a synagogue in the
Onomasticon.
Others argue that Arab builders re-used building material from ruins and that
symbols in their towns do not indicate they had Jewish roots.
Rachamim Slonim Dwek who
currently lives in the greater Hebron Hill region and comes from a family with deep
Hebron roots disagrees that the current Arab-Muslim residents have Jewish roots. He
asserts that recycled building materials from earlier Jewish ruins was a practice done
since time immemorial. He argues the idea that some Arab clans may have originally been
Jewish is rooted in the belief that a shared ancestry could bring peace to the region.
Yet he asserts that such clans hold anti-Israel beliefs regardless of distant
ancestry.
symbols in their towns do not indicate they had Jewish roots.
Rachamim Slonim Dwek who
currently lives in the greater Hebron Hill region and comes from a family with deep
Hebron roots disagrees that the current Arab-Muslim residents have Jewish roots. He
asserts that recycled building materials from earlier Jewish ruins was a practice done
since time immemorial. He argues the idea that some Arab clans may have originally been
Jewish is rooted in the belief that a shared ancestry could bring peace to the region.
Yet he asserts that such clans hold anti-Israel beliefs regardless of distant
ancestry.
Notes:
* Yitzhak Ben-Zvi , Shaar Yishuv,
published by Yad Ben Zvi, pages 410-422
published by Yad Ben Zvi, pages 410-422
* Zvi Ilan, Ancient Synagogues of
Israel, Ministry of Defence Publishing, 1991
Israel, Ministry of Defence Publishing, 1991
LIKE US ON
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United States contact info:
http://www.hebronfund.org
1760 Ocean Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11230
718-677-6886
info@hebronfund.org
In Israel contact the offices of the Jewish Community of Hebron at:
http://en.hebron.org.il/
02-996-5333
office@hebron.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hebronofficial
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES:
* Daughter of Terror Victim Visits
Mother of 13-Year Old
* MK Oded Forer Visits Hebron,
Parents of 13-Year-Old
* Friday Shooting Attack and
Stabbing Attempt Shock Hebron
FACEBOOK!
United States contact info:
http://www.hebronfund.org
1760 Ocean Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11230
718-677-6886
info@hebronfund.org
In Israel contact the offices of the Jewish Community of Hebron at:
http://en.hebron.org.il/
02-996-5333
office@hebron.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hebronofficial
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES:
* Daughter of Terror Victim Visits
Mother of 13-Year Old
* MK Oded Forer Visits Hebron,
Parents of 13-Year-Old
* Friday Shooting Attack and
Stabbing Attempt Shock Hebron
