View Full Version : The Maalot school massacre
Arafats claim to be the "father of modern day terrorism" is certainly no exaggeration. His bloody record partly consisted of: Airline hijackings and massacers of airline passangers at ticket counters and in actual airlines, massacering dozens of people in separate incidents in Tel Aviv and on Israeli roads in the 1970's, the munich olympic massacer, hijacking of a passanger ship and the subsquent murder of a wheel chair bound invalid, kidnapping and cold blooded murder of European and American diplomats in Sudan, starting two bloody civil wars in Lebanon and Jordan (where tens of thousands were killed) and the murder of thousands of Israelis from the years 1993-2004.
Yet for me, the most disturbing of his exploits was the Maalot school massacer - where 25 school children were murdered in cold blood in 1974. The terrorists held the school children and their teachers hostage for a few days - rigging the classroom with explosives. Does this remind us of a recent event in russia? Its small wonder where todays terrorists get their ideas from.
It was sickening to watch world leaders (with France standing out) pass their honors and condolences to the father of modern day terrorism - whose legacy is carried out the world over in school massacers in Russia to blowing up night clubs in Bali. My stomach turned when I hear Arafat apologists ignore or white wash his record.
Here, in an attempt to white wash Arab terrorism, our very own poster Tidier proclaimed that Sharon was more of cold blooded murderer than Arafat. Love or hate Sharon, how he ever got to such a conclusion is beyond moral comprehension.
Anyway I would like to devote this thread to the horrible school massacer in maalot. Please find and post any links or articles on the massacer and its victims thus keeping a record of one of Arafat's most henious and sinister crimes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maalot_massacre
The Maalot massacre was a school massacre in Maalot, Israel, that occurred on May 15, 1974.
On this date, which corresponds with the 26th anniversary of Israeli independence, Palestinian terrorists broke into the high school in Maalot, a community in northern Israel. The terrorists immediately killed a security guard and some of the students, the remaining students and teachers were held as hostages.
In the morning, the men were identified as members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine who had infiltrated into Israel from Lebanon. They presented their demands: release Arab militants from Israeli prisons, or they would kill the students. The deadline was set at 6:00 p.m. the same day.
The Knesset, the Israeli parliament, met in an emergency session, and by 3:00 p.m. a decision was reached to negotiate, but the terrorists refused a request for more time.
At 5:45 p.m., a unit of the elite Golani Brigade stormed the building. All of the DFLP members were killed in the assault, but not before they used firearms and explosives to kill 21 students that afternoon. All told, 26 people were killed and 66 wounded (not including the terrorists), including several people killed by the terrorists on their way to the school the night before.
http://www.io.com/~jewishwb/iris/archives/664.html
The DFLP was responsible for the May 1974 massacre of a family of three and 22 high school students in the northern Israeli town of Maalot, Galilee. Another 56 students were injured. In November of that year, four DFLP terrorists killed four Israelis in the town of Beit She'an near the Jordanian border.
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Israel Radio (16 April, 0800-0900 GMT, Reshet Bet, "Hakol Diburim") today interviewed a survivor of the Maalot attack, a Mr. Marwan, who was 17 at the time. He expressed shock that Israel could admit Hawatmeh, especially today, when Israel commemmorated Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. He questioned whether such an act is consistent with the government's fight against Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon, and called on the government to demand that the Palestinian Authority extradite Hawatmeh for trial and punishment.
The following link also contains details of other gruesome terror attacks conducted by the PLO in Israel throughout the 1970's (usually by PLO terrorists who infiltrated Israel through Lebanon).
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_terrorism_1970s.php
The beautiful northern Israel town of Ma'alot is located in the Western Galilee, 20 km east of Nahariya, and less than an hour's drive from Haifa. Ma'alot was founded in the 1950s when hundreds of thousands of immigrants came to Israel from North Africa, refugees from hostile Arab nations where they were no longer safe. The Israeli Government at that time decided to place new immigrants in development towns such as Ma'alot.
On May 15, 1974 (Israel's Independence Day) a group of 11th grade students from Safed (Tsfat) were on a field trip to the Golan, a full day of hikes. That night, the children were housed at a school in Ma’alot where they slept on the floor. During the night, three Arab terrorists dressed as IDF soldiers attacked the school, killing the guard and some of the children. Some of the children escaped by jumping out of a window on the second floor and the rest were held as hostages.
In the morning the terrorists were identified as members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) who had infiltrated from Lebanon. The DFLP is a Marxist-Leninist and formerly pro-Soviet group that split from the Popular Font for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in 1969. They presented their demands: release Arab terrorists from Israeli prisons, or they will start to kill the children. The deadline was set at 6:00PM the same day.
The Knesset met in emergency session. Although Israel’s policy forbid negotiation with terrorists, the plight of the children forced an exception. By 3:00PM a decision was reached to negotiate, but the terrorists refused a request for more time.
At 5:45PM a unit of the elite Golani brigade stormed the building. All of the terrorists were killed in the assault, but not before they took the lives of 21 children. There were a total of 26 victims, including several people murdered by the terrorists on their way to the school the night before.
In Beirut, eloquent demonstrations honoring the fallen fedayeen as noble martyrs of the cause were ordered by Nayef Hawatmeh, the DFLP leader.
rhodescholar
11-14-2004, 09:06 AM
I remember watching the news that day about it. Back then you didnt have the internet or cable news,so it took a while for things to come about. First reports were rather sketchy, but you knew right away that arafat the animal was back at work, killing more jews and getting his fellow arabs killed in the process, all while he sat comfortably from far away.
The sc-mbags in france led by chirac will no doubt continue to pander as a means of ingratiating themselves within the islamic extremist community. All this while even the arab leadership, who endured and suffered his predilection for murder and violence first hand for decades, werent running to attend the funeral.
But i do think about the maalot massacre often, and the others as well where the arafat-led terorrists targeted children as a method. The dolphinarium and sbarro pizza bombings should have made clear to all that israel wasnt dealing with human beings who have any value for life. Maalot did it for me in 1974, and observers of those 2 more recent attacks targeting children i imagine, would have decided to write off the arabs permanently as well.
Israel needs to complete the wall and totally extricate itself from any contact with the surrounding arab muslims, as soon as possilbe. This will end the whining of the rest of the world (ie europe), and will allow israel to move forward. Should attacks emanate from behind the wall, artillery fire will be sent in substantial quantity. This will put an end to this farce that the world has allowed iran, arafat, syria and others to drag on for far too long.
But i do think about the maalot massacre often, and the others as well where the arafat-led terorrists targeted children as a method. The dolphinarium and sbarro pizza bombings should have made clear to all that israel wasnt dealing with human beings who have any value for life. Maalot did it for me in 1974, and observers of those 2 more recent attacks targeting children i imagine, would have decided to write off the arabs permanently as well.
I think its fair to say that at the end of the day the Israeli government and only the Israeli government is responsble for what is happening today. Their famous motto once upona time was never to negotiate with terror. I dont think that motto applies today. The Oslo accords, the so called "road map to peace" the Gaza disengagement are the biggest blunders in history and rewards terrorism, further inflaming and encouraging terrorists the world over.
I even hear that they are considering releasing Bourghati from prison to participate in elections!
The more the Israeli government keeps looking over its shoulder at the international community and its PR image the more responsible it is for every Jewish death. The fact that they are under 'pressure' from the US and EU to capitulate to terror is a lousy excuse. capitulaing, rewarding and collborating with terror makes them criminally responsible. To be an Israeli Prime Minister is to make a stand against a hostile world.
If Sharon or anyone else cant do it they should not be in office.
To further illustrate the type of barbaric animals Israel is dealing with I decided to actually post up details of other cold blooded massacers from this link http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_terrorism_1970s.php
These gruesome terror attacks from Lebanon is what eventually led Israel to invade that country in order to oust out the PLO:
Nahariya/Avivim School Bus Attack, 1970
On May 8, 1970 there was a brutal attack on an Israeli school bus by Palestinian terrorists who crossed the Lebanese border.
Avivim, an agricultural community established in 1963, is just metres from the border with Lebanon. Settled and built from the ground up by Moroccan immigrants, the majority of the residents belonged to one of two families; Peretz or Biton. The local council bus picked up children each morning to take them to two schools.
The terrorists knew the schedule of the bus and were able to ambush it. They fired on the bus, killing the adults instantly. The bus driver continued until he himself was shot. Then the bus crashed, injuring many of the remaining children. [COLOR=Indigo]The attack caused the death of 9 children (aged between six and nine) and 3 adults, and left 19 others crippled for life.
The terrorists were never apprehended.
Lod Airport Massacre, 1972
On May 30, 1972, a three-man hit squad from the Japanese Red Army attacked civilians at the Lod Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel in an operation planned and supported by the General Command of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP-GC). Twenty-six people were killed in the massacre and 78 were injured.
Kiryat Shmona (or Quirat Shemona), 1974
On April 11, 1974, a team of three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command penetrated the Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona from Lebanon. Although they had apparently been instructed to take hostages, they instead entered an apartment building and killed all eighteen residents they found there, including nine children. The terrorists then barricaded themselves in one of the apartments and were eventually killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces.
Tel Aviv Savoy Hotel, 1975
On March 5, 1975 eight PLO terrorists arrived in Tel Aviv, coming by sea in a rubber dinghy, and landing without being spotted. They entered the Savoy Hotel and took dozens of hostages including a Dutch boy, 15, two Swiss, a Somali, and several Israelis. The terrorists barricaded themselves in the top floor of the hotel with the hostages.
Azmi Zrayir, a hero of the PLO, and Abu Jihad, one of the founders of "Black September", have been linked to this attack as organizers.
The terrorists demanded the release of their followers from Israeli jails. Israel Defense Forces started a rescue mission in the afternoon. Three IDF soldiers were killed and eight hostages wounded during the operation. At the end of the battle, the terrorists retreated to a room and blew themselves up when the commandos broke in. Seven terrorists were killed and one captured. Eight hostages were murdered and 11 wounded by the terrorists.
Bus Hijacking on Coastal Road, 1978
On March 11, 1978 eleven terrorists, again coming from Lebanon with Zoadic rubber commando dinghies, landed at the beach of Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael. They killed an American photographer and a taxi driver and hijacked a bus, whose passengers, including many children, were on a day-trip to the north. The hijackers forced the driver to return to Tel Aviv. Driving on the coastal highway, the terrorists fired on passing cars from the bus.
When the bus approached a blockade set up by the police at an entrance to Tel Aviv, a shootout took place. The terrorists left the bus and fired missiles. The bus burst into flames and most of the passengers were either burned alive or killed by terrorist gunfire.
The massacre left 35 innocent people dead and 100 injured. The terrorists were identified as belonging to Fatah; nine were killed and two captured.
http://www.partner.org.il/kavimut/news-0105-avivim.html
REMEMBERING THE AVIVIM MASSACRE
Yesterday marked the 31st anniversary of an attack on a Confrontation Line (Northern border) settlement, an organized terrorist attack that ended in the death of 9 children, 3 adults, and left 19 others crippled for life.
Avivim, an agricultural Moshav established in 1963, can be found just metres from the border with Lebanon. Settled and built from the ground up by Moroccan olim (immigrants), the majority of the residents belonged to one of two families; Peretz or Biton.
On the morning of 8th May 1970 the schoolchildren of the Moshav, aged between six and nine, said goodbye to their parents. The children left the Moshav to go on the bus that was to take them to two schools.
Around ten minutes into the journey, shots were heard in the Moshav. Shalom Peretz¸ a boy of seven at the time, remembers; "I can still hear the shots. No one knew what was happening, but they knew it wasn't good. Everyone began to cry and run towards the bus". They later found out what had happened "the bus which took the children to the schools was a bus from the local council. The terrorists knew exactly what time the bus would be travelling. They fired on the bus, killing the adults instantly. The bus driver continued until he himself was shot. Then the bus crashed, injuring even more. The older children, those who knew what was happening, threw themselves out the window and tried to hide."
By the time the residents of Moshav Avivim arrived, the majority of the children had already died. Even more were dead by the time the army and Magen David Adom (the ambulance services) had reached the bus. Shalom continues; "there was a little girl who had asked her mother that morning for flowers for her teacher. When her mother arrive at the scene, she found her lying there, dead. She was still holding the flowers."
The terrorists were never found, and later, others belonging to the same group made an attack on a school in Maalot, killing twenty-two children and seven adults
Moshav Avivim is characterised by a strong community held together with strong bonds. What hurts one hurts them all. The residents were not tied only by blood, being as they were almost all members of one of two families, but by the cooperative spirit. Thus, twenty-four parents grieved and grieve for their lost children, so did and does the entire community.
Every year in Moshav Avivim there is a memorial ceremony to those that died in this attack. The community moves from a memorial in the Moshav itself to one that has been placed where the bus crashed. It ends in Sfat, at the graveyard.
Shalom Peretz is in charge of the ceremony; "every year it's like it happened yesterday. I knew everyone, and I still remember them." He and his sixteen year-old daughter have, over the years, written many songs and poems to and about those murdered. He has compiled them into a small book, and as he shuts the book, as he finishes talking, he kisses it.
Below is something he wrote about the children and adults murdered while riding in the school bus on 8th May, 1970. It was read out at the ceremony yesterday.
The victims of AVIVIM
Machluf Biton
Ripped from his mother's bosom whilst still being nutured by her love.
Shimon Azran
He always loved everyone, but didn't even have the time to say goodbye.
Rami Yarkoni
As in life he continues to accompany the babies of Beit Raban to the world of dreams.
Ester Avichezer
Beautiful as the moon, and wise as the new day. Her shadow haunts us with its silence.
Aliza Peretz
Like a flower in a bouquet of roses, Elokim chose you for his garden in heaven.
Shimon and Haviva Biton
Inseparable in life as in death, you blood sealed you fate.
Yaffa Batitu
The light of her golden curls has dimmed, leaving us in dark mourning.
Shulamit Biton
A child of soft and innocent smile has left her parents in a world of loneliness.
Channa Biton
The memory of your modesty and your unassuming nature - rare in one so young - deepens the distress of remembering you.
Maimon Biton
You so loved to play games with your friends and to have fun. And today you are in the heaven where your parents watch over you.
Yehuda Ochayon
On that bitter day you didn't want to go to school. We didn't know that you feared to walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
Twelve candles glow towards the heavens.
With your souls you have blessed them and granted us life.
rhodescholar
11-14-2004, 05:06 PM
Animals.
Look, I dont consider all arabs to be monsters, some are quite decent, rational human beings who see the light of reason and recognize that islam should not be used as a process to direct all aspects of one's life. Many of whom have also suffered at the hand of the violent filth, such as the 16 year old who tried to get hamas from using his backyard as a launching pad for kassam rockets, and paid with his life.
But I do believe that until they get their houses in order, there is nothing for israel to gain through engagement with either the west bank/gaza arabs, or the surrounding arab nations. Israel should complete its very successful barrier, and extricate itself from the middle east entirely in the political and trade arenas, since it cannot do so geographically.
I am absolutely certain that this barrier has the arab muslim terrorists and their supporters running VERY scared, as it will sharply limit their ability to conduct terrorist attacks using traditional gaps in the 2 way flow of goods/trade that currently exist between the west bank/gaza arabs and israel. A barrier that ends the relationship completely between israel and the local arabs will do this nicely.
It will also undermine all of the leftist complaints about israel' improper administration of the local arabs, and allow israel to grow, ending its massive military funding requirements to a degree, and further expenditures towards improving standards of life within. Separation is imperative for demographic reasons as well.
Look, I dont consider all arabs to be monsters, some are quite decent, rational human beings who see the light of reason and recognize that islam should not be used as a process to direct all aspects of one's life.
Oh pleaaaase theres no need for a politically correct knee jerk reaction. When I said "animals" i dont mean ALL arabs. In any case when I say such a thing, I dont feel like i need to explain myself - just have another look at the above incidents concerning school children ect. spare me that politically correct BS.
Remembering Maalot
by Larry Domnitch
May 13, '05 / 4 Iyar 5765
Thirty one years have passed since twenty high school students on a field trip were murdered, and dozens were wounded in the northern Israeli town of Maalot.
May 15, 1974, the 26th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, was a day of horror and mourning for the people of Israel. The news of Maalot - of the teenagers slain in the Netiv Meir school by Arab terrorists who made their way from the Lebanese border - hit the war-torn people of Israel like a bolt of lightening.
Prime Minister Golda Meir had the grim task of relating the news to a stunned and horrified nation. She stated that the terrorists exploded grenades before Israeli soldiers entered the building. The terrorists opened fire upon the ninety children held hostage as they tried to escape. She announced the death toll - twenty children - and declared that Israel, "will do everything in its power to cut off the hands that want to harm a child, an adult, a settlement, a town, or a village." An Israeli military spokesman put it aptly when he stated, "There is no retaliation for the lives of 20 children." Indeed, their tragic deaths were beyond reprisal.
As the victims were being laid to rest, in the same cemetery as young victims of a school bus ambush three years earlier, thousands converged upon the northern Galilee town to mourn, grieve and express their outrage.
Following the massacre, United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim expressed shock and condemned the act. However, it was also the UN Security Council that condemned Israel for retaliating against terrorist bases after the Kiryat Shemona attack one month earlier, which took eighteen lives.
The reaction to Maalot from the Arab world was silence. But Arab leaders were quick to condemn Israel following its retaliatory raids against the terrorist bases the following day. Egypt's Foreign Minister, Ismail Fahmy, who for weeks was threatening Israel with another military strike if it continued to retaliate for acts of terrorism, predictably labeled Israel's acts as 'terrorism'.
In the United States, 'disengagement' was (then and now) the commonly used term for Israeli withdrawal. Plans were proposed suggesting that Israel relinquish portions of the Golan Heights to Syria. Just days before Maalot, the Israeli cabinet had convened for four and a half hours to discuss territorial concessions to Syria in light of recent disengagement proposals. Shuttling from the Soviet Union to various Arab countries, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was urging the Israelis to make concessions in the name of 'disengagement.'
Following Maalot, President Richard Nixon, as well as Kissinger, offered scathing condemnations of the massacre, while the United States Senate adopted a resolution urging all nations to "take appropriate action" against the terrorists. Still, the talk of 'disengagement' and the pressure upon Israel to make concessions continued.
Prime Minister Golda Meir had expressed the hope that the "international community would once and for all recognize the true nature of the so-called Palestinian liberation movement." Certainly, the world community had already witnessed an abundance of ghastly acts of Arab terror, and had failed to draw that conclusion.
Since Maalot, there have been countless more funerals for victims of Arab terror, countless more grieving survivors. Israelis continue to mourn and ask themselves how many more tears must be shed, while the world community continues to demand more concessions.
The young victims of Maalot must be remembered. Their deaths should serve notice that Arab terror must be defeated.
In their memory, may terrorism finally be eradicated from the face of the earth.
Cyrus the Great
05-15-2005, 11:40 AM
It's interesting, the more I read the articles here the more I understand that I don't know much about the history of the Israeli-Arab conflict. What book would you guys recommand that would explain the Israeli-Arab conflict from day one ?
NewsGuy
05-15-2005, 12:45 PM
Yes, I remember being a young child in Israel when the Maalot massacre happened.
It was very frightening.
We understood that the Palestinian PLO movement (these days Fatah) were blood-thirstly savages who wanted nothing more than to mass-murder us all.
These days, it is equally frightening to think that the Muslim world still remains silent as Palestinian suicide bombers massacre busloads of Israeli children on their way to school.
And the hypocritical, anti-Semitic UN still sponsors resolutions condemning Israel for self-defense operations against Muslim terrorists.
Unfortunately, nothing much has changed since Maalot.
tandem
05-15-2005, 01:57 PM
the founder of the democratic front, the terrorist group who committed the maalot massacre, is yassir abed rabbo aka abu bashar. this terrorist, who is regarded by the israeli left as a terrorist turned peacenik, co-wrote the so-called geneva initiative with far left politician yossi beilin, arafat's personal balls fondler.
yes, an arab terrorist who had a personal hand in murdering almost 30 israeli children is now, with the help of the extreme left in israel, trying to write the destiny of the jewish state.
It's interesting, the more I read the articles here the more I understand that I don't know much about the history of the Israeli-Arab conflict. What book would you guys recommand that would explain the Israeli-Arab conflict from day one ?
Check out this by Dr. Mitchell Bard : http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mftoc.html
I also recommend something like the "Case for Israel" by Alan Dershowitz - good starting point for anyone who is not that familiar with the conflict. "why terrorism works" is also another good read by Dershowitz. Books by Efraim Karsh and Joan peterson also make a good read.
the founder of the democratic front, the terrorist group who committed the maalot massacre, is yassir abed rabbo aka abu bashar. this terrorist, who is regarded by the israeli left as a terrorist turned peacenik, co-wrote the so-called geneva initiative with far left politician yossi beilin, arafat's personal balls fondler.
yes, an arab terrorist who had a personal hand in murdering almost 30 israeli children is now, with the help of the extreme left in israel, trying to write the destiny of the jewish state.
Tandem, its not just the Israeli left. Sharon and co are dealing with Mohammed Dahlan (who they see as a credible and legitmate peacnik) -- someone who was resonsible for the massacer of Israeli school children in 2002.
The Israeli government on both sides of politics should be held criminally responsible for dealing with and legitmising these unrepentenent terrorists who continue to perpetrate acts of mass murder.
The government is as guilty as the terrorists.
Cyrus the Great
05-16-2005, 07:27 PM
Check out this by Dr. Mitchell Bard : http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mftoc.html
I also recommend something like the "Case for Israel" by Alan Dershowitz - good starting point for anyone who is not that familiar with the conflict. "why terrorism works" is also another good read by Dershowitz. Books by Efraim Karsh and Joan peterson also make a good read.
Thanks. The website was very informative and interesting. I will be sure to alo read the books you recommanded.
nuttie
06-05-2005, 08:32 PM
It's interesting, the more I read the articles here the more I understand that I don't know much about the history of the Israeli-Arab conflict. What book would you guys recommand that would explain the Israeli-Arab conflict from day one ?I think I would recommend original documents rather than a narrative book. Quite a few can be found on this website:
http://www.zionismontheweb.org/
On the top toolbar, just click documents.
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