3. The King David Hotel Bombing
On July 22, 1946, Zionist paramilitaries entered the King David Hotel in the territory then known as British Mandate Palestine. Armed with 250 kilograms (500 lb) of TNT, they placed bombs along the side of the basement support columns and quietly left. Above, the hotel was crawling with British officers and ordinary tourists alike. Somewhere amid the din and bustle, a telephone rang, reporting a bomb threat. No action was taken. Such threats were made all the time.
The call came at a time of heightened tensions in the region. British soldiers were on the streets enacting brutal crackdowns, and the lack of a secure Jewish homeland was frustrating thousands. Into this volatile mix stepped Zionist paramilitary group Etzel. Self-styled freedom fighters, the group aimed to end British rule through any means necessary. Although they didn’t shirk from violence, they tried not to hurt civilians. Before setting a bomb off, they made sure to telephone ahead and tell the authorities to evacuate immediately.
This time, the threat didn’t work. Shortly after noon, the TNT exploded, and the hotel’s southern wing collapsed. With no evacuation taking place, 91 people died, among them 41 Arabs, 28 Brits, and 17 Jews. The remaining five were people with no side in this conflict who just happened to be in the wrong place. The majority of those killed were civilians.
Today, there’s uncertainty about how to remember the bombing. Some consider the attack a noble action that regrettably resulted in deaths. Others, such as this writer at Haaretz, consider it an ugly massacre. It may have contributed to the birth of the Jewish state, but at what a cost.
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