Today, after the pogrom and massacre of October 7, 2023, we would like to note and remember another pogrom and massacre that occurred 86 years ago, on October 2, 1938, in the Kiryat Shmuel neighborhood of Tiberias where Palestinians claim 'Arabs and Jews lived peacefully'.
In the evening hours of that day, under cover of darkness and with the help of a well-organized diversionary operation, a group of armed Arabs (non-Tiberians) infiltrated the Kiryat Shmuel neighborhood and committed acts of killing, burning, and abusing the residents of the neighborhood (a house on Herzl Street, a synagogue, and several houses on D Street).
The act of pogrom, burning, and murder lasted about an hour until the intervention of Jewish watchmen and defense forces who arrived in the city from Mitzpeh and the "Achva" neighborhood area.
Unfortunately, this was a well-planned operation by the rioters, which included a diversionary operation that drew the attention of the Jewish defending forces to the west and south, while at the same time about 30 rioters were entering the city from the northeast – from Wadi Hammam and the slopes to the Sea of Galilee. In this area, where the Erlich School - Ariston Hotel - City Hall are now located, there were natural cliffs, so the defense line was very thin and the rioters took advantage of this.
