This month marks the 100^th anniversary of the Jaffa riots, also known in Hebrew as “Me’ora’ot Tarpa” (literally, Events of the year 5681, according to the Hebrew calendar).  On May 1, 1921, Jews marching in a May Day parade in Neve Shalom (a Jewish suburb of Jaffa established in 1890) were attacked by Arab residents of Jaffa. In the following days, riots spread across Jaffa and surrounding areas.  Jewish shops and homes in Jaffa were looted and burned; altogether 43 Jews lost their lives, and 134 Jews were injured.  Although this wasn’t the first violent event of its kind against Jews in Eretz Yisrael at that time, it was a devastating moment for the Jews of Jaffa and marked a paradigm shift in the way they looked at their Arab neighbors.

Continue reading on my Times of Israel Blog: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-riots-that-led-to-a-new-commercial-district/