History of the Jews in Hebron
According to the Bible, Abraham settled in Hebron and purchased the Cave of the Patriarchs as a burial place for his wife Sarah.
The biblical tradition asserts that the cave is the final resting site for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their wives—Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah.
During the Second Temple period, Hebron, initially Edomite, underwent a significant shift as its population embraced Judaism under Hasmonean rule.
In the 16th century, under Ottoman rule, Jews from Spain established a community in Hebron and built the Abraham Avinu Synagogue.
After the Exodus from Egypt, The Twelve Spies arrived in Hebron,[4] where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the Anakim (giants), lived at that time.
An inscription found in Karnak, Egypt, lists among the cities he conquered "Field of Abraham," possibly referring to Hebron.
When Jewish exiles from Babylon returned to the Land of Israel with Ezra and Nehemiah, settlement in Hebron and surroundings was renewed.
However, it is assumed that the Edomites migrated to the southern part of Mount Hebron, which was empty of Jews, perhaps due to the pressure of the Nabatean tribes on their ancient land east of the Jordan.
[15] The Makhamra family, a Palestinian Muslim clan based in Yatta, may trace its lineage back to Jewish ancestors who fled Hebron during the Crusades.
The ancient city hill, known as the "Kasbah," was abandoned at this time and a Jewish quarter established by Jews expelled from Spain grew up to the west of the Cave of Patriarchs, along the route of a water conduit.
[22] In 1517, in the final phases of the Ottoman-Mamluk War, following the Mamluk defeat of the Turks, the Jews of Hebron were violently attacked and their property was looted.
[24] Here he established the Abraham Avinu synagogue, which was destroyed during the 1929 Hebron massacre, razed under Jordanian rule after 1948, and rebuilt after the renewal of Jewish settlement in 1967.
In the late 18th century, Rabbi Avraham Gershon of Kitov, brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov, lived in Hebron.
Rabbi Chaim Yeshua Bejio, then the head of the city's Sephardic and Portuguese community acquired various plots of land in Hebron.
[31] In 1840, Hebron was taken over by 'Abd al-Rahman al-'Amr of Dura who ruled with a heavy hand, collecting patronage fees from the farmers and ransom from the Jews.
[33] A few days later he fled from Jerusalem, deposed the new governor, drove out the mufti and imposed steep fines on the residents, especially the Jews.
[35] For seven years, Abd al-Rahman fought with his brother, Salem, over control of Hebron during which the plunder of Jewish property continued.
[25] In 1852, Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Bibas, an early Zionist, settled in Hebron and established a study hall, donating his extensive library to the city.
Medini opened a yeshiva in Beit Romano [fr] and completed the writing of a large Talmudic encyclopedia, "Sdei Chemed".
[37][38] In 1907, as the city developed economically and the Zionist Organization became active, the Eretz Israel Workers' Association (Poale Zion) established its fourth branch in Hebron.
When World War I erupted, the Ottomans expelled many Hebron Jews with foreign citizenship and "Torat Emet" closed down.
The yeshiva attracted Jewish newcomers to the city and served as an important source of income for the local Arabs, from whom the students rented apartments and purchased goods.
Forced to convert to Islam against their will several generations earlier, possibly around 150 years prior, they were known as the al-muḥtasibīn (المختاسبين), meaning "those who give their law to heaven".
[46] The same family was also mentioned by Eliyahu Yehoshua Levanon, who wrote in 1937 that the muḥtasibīn came from Istanbul and converted to Islam 150 years earlier.
He adds that despite being considered one of the anusim, he is one of the last Arabs educated among Jews, allowing him to recite the Shema prayer and Ma Nishtana from memory, as well as sing Hatikvah.
A separate grave was dug for severed limbs, soil, blood-soaked clothes, and items removed from Jewish homes.
The Hadassah building became an Arab girls' school, the Abraham Avinu synagogue was destroyed and used as a goat pen, and the Jewish cemetery was vandalized and desecrated.
