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ABSTRACT
On June 13, 1974, four Palestinian militants penetrated kibbutz Shamir in northern Israel, killing three women before being killed by an ad-hoc force of kibbutz members. The attack on Shamir generated a new discourse in Israel about civilian reaction to terrorism and the concept of the citizen-soldier. But this discourse was intertwined with contemporaneous social and ethnic conflicts, as it included comparisons between the events in Shamir and in other communities struck by Palestinian terrorism around the same period. Analyzing the public reactions to the raids on Shamir and other Israeli communities – mainly the towns of Kiryat Shmona and Ma’alot – this article argues that, in contrast to received opinion, security threats did not serve as a social glue keeping together a divided Israeli society, but rather accentuated ethnic and social tensions plaguing Israel in the 1970s.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. The information is based on “Tkifat ha-mehablim be-Shamir” [Terrorist Attack on Shamir], an IDF debriefing, Kibbutz Shamir Archives [hereafter KSA], box 127; an internal kibbutz debriefing, published in a kibbutz memorial booklet, July 13, 1974, 8–16; and on Cna’ani, Kibbutz Shamir, 2–7. Many kibbutz members at the time kept personal weapons in their homes due to security concerns.
2. “Yom damim ve-te’uzah” [A Day of Blood and Valor], Kibbutz memorial booklet, July 13, 1974, 1.
3. On Nahariyah: Yo’el Dar, “Ha-lailah ha-arokh be-Nahariyah [The Long Night in Nahariyah], Davar, June 26, 1974, 7; Arieh Hashaviah, “Ba-hazarah le-tashah” [Back to 1948], Davar, July 12, 1974, 44. On Kfar Yuval: David Shalev, “Toshavei Kfar Yuval hishtatfu ba-hista’arut al ha-mehablim [Kfar Yuval Residents Participated in Fighting the Terrorists[, Ma’ariv, June 16, 1975, 1. On Beit She’an: David Shalev et al., “Shnei ezrahim siy’u la-ko’ah ha-poretz shel tzahal [Two Civilians Helped the IDF Forces], Davar, November 20, 1974, 3.
4. For a recent discussion of the Israeli citizen-soldier, see Mitelpunkt, Israel in the American Mind, 117–228.
5. Moskovich, “The transformation of the Israeli Civil Guard,” 353.
6. ”Ha-mishtarah me’argenet mishmar Ezrahi shel mitnadvim” [The Police is Organizing a Volunteer Civil Guard], Ma’ariv, May 5, 1974, 6.
7. Ya’acov Friedler, “Terrorists Slain in Kibbutz Fight after Murdering Three Women,” Jerusalem Post, June 14, 1974, 1; Shalev, “Toshavei Kfar Yuval,” Davar, June 16, 1975, 2.
8. Field, “Nights Underground,” 181–217.
9. Rafi Feuerstein, “Cold shoulder for periphery,” Ynet, June 25, 2006, www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3266956,00.html. Accessed February 20, 2023; Lilach Ben David, “Let’s talk about Gaza, Sderot and the racist valuation of lives,” +972 Magazine, July 8, 2014, www.972mag.com/lets-talk-about-gaza-sderot-and-the-racist-valuation-of-lives/. Accessed February 20, 2023; Yonatan Orekh, “Nisharu levad: alafim bodedim be-hafganat toshavei ha-darom be-Tel Aviv” [“Left Alone: Thousands at the Demonstration of the Residents of South Tel Aviv”], NRG August 15, 2014, www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/1/ART2/607/728.html. Accessed February 20, 2023; “Alafim hifginu be-Kikar Rabin be-Tel Aviv le-ma’an toshavei Otef Aza” [Thousands protested in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Behalf of Residents of the Gaza Strip], Ha’aretz, August 15, 2014, www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/1.2406703. Accessed February 20, 2023.
10. Bar-Tal and Labin, “The Effect of a Major Event on Stereotyping,” 265–280; Bar-Tal and Sharvit, “The Influence of the Threatening Transitional Context,” 147–70; Canetti-Nisim, Halperin, Sharvit, and Hobfoll, “A New Stress-Based Model of Political Extremism,” 363–389; Sharvit, Bar-Tal, Raviv, Raviv, Gurevich, Sharvit, “Ideological Orientation,” 105–121.
11. Waxman, “Living with Terror,” 4–26; Pedahzur, Suicide Terrorism, 184.
12. See, for example, Almog, Preida mi-Srulik, 301; Yuchtman-Ya’ar and Shavit, Megamot ba-hevrah ha-Yisraelit, Kerekh 2, 1208; Cohen, Year Zero, 52–3; Del Sarto, Contested State Identities, 115.
13. Sayigh, Armed Struggle, 332–3.
14. Ibid., 339; Kimmerling and Migdal, The Palestinian People, 434–5.
15. Dolnik, Understanding Terrorist Innovation, 85; Ciment, World Terrorism, 404; Becker, The PLO, 233; Herf, Undeclared Wars, 255.
16. Sayigh, Armed Struggle, 339–41.
17. Various reports, Ma’ariv, May 16, 1974; Dolnik, Understanding Terrorist Innovation, 85; Ciment, World Terrorism, 404; Herf, Undeclared Wars, 265; Udi Edri, “Ha-dramah hehelah be-sha’ah 5:25 bediyuk: ha-pigu’a be-Ma’alot – tmunah ahar tmunah” [The drama began at exactly 5:25: the attack in Ma’alot picture by picture”], May 15, 2019, Israeli National Library, https://blog.nli.org.il/maalot/. Accessed February 20, 2023.
18. Sayigh, Armed Struggle, 340–1.
19. Copies of the leaflets are in KSA, box 27.
20. “Peres dive’ah la-memshalah al retzah Shamir” [Peres Reported to the Government on the Murder in Shamir], Davar, June 16, 1974, 3.
21. “Shalosh nashim nirtzehu be-hadirat mehablim le-Shamir” [Three Women Murdered in Terrorist Attack in Shamir], Davar, June 14, 1974, 2.
22. Mark Gefen, “Shamir – tafnit ba-ma’avak neged ha-teror” [Shamir – A Turning Point in the Fight Against Terror], Al Ha-Mishmar, June 16, 1974, 3.
23. Y. Gilbo’a, “Ha-pa’am lo nitkelu ha-mehablim be-anashim hasrei yesha ve-neshek” [This Time, the Terrorists did not Encounter Helpless and Unarmed People], Ha’aretz, June 14, 1974; Ya’akov Erez, “Ha-dilemah be-gvul ha-tzafon” [The Dilemma in the Northern Border”], Ma’ariv, June 16, 1974, 13.
24. See, for example, Savir family, Kibbutz Ein Ha-Shofet to Uzi Tzur, June 13, 1974; Doni and Miri, Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan to Uzi Tzur, June 13, 1974, KSA, box 27.
25. Haim Gouri, “Mashehu al ha-hitrahashut ha-bo-zmanit” [Something on the Simultaneous Event], Davar, June 14, 1974, 2.
26. Yoela Har-Shefi, “Yeled ben sheva she-hivhin rishon ba-mehablim be-Shamir ratz le-hazhir et haverav be-veit ha-yeladim” [A 7 Year-Old-Boy Who First Noticed the Terrorist Ran To Warn His Friends in the Children’s House], Yediot Aharonot, June 14, 1974. See also Gefen, “Shamir – tafnit ba-ma’avak,” Al Ha-Mishmar, June 16, 1974, 3.
27. Motaleh Baran, “Mi-tguvot ha-rega ha-rishon” [Immediate Reactions], Kibbutz memorial booklet, July 13, 1974, 18.
28. “Duah va’adat ha-berur be-inyan Ma’alot [Report of the Commission of Inquiry Concerning Ma’alot], August 20, 1974, Israel State Archives (ISA)/PMO/GovernmentSecretary/000junx/7314/21.
29. The literature on this topic is vast. See, for example, Rozin, The Rise of the Individual, 139–79; Yuchtman-Ya’ar and Shavit, Megamot ba-hevrah ha-Yisraelit, Kerekh 1, 428–9; Shafir and Peled, Being Israeli, 74–95; Yiftachel, “Nation building and the Division of Space,” 33–58; Gigi, “Relations between Development Towns and Kibbutzim,” 121–139; list of transit camps, on the website of the Association for Transit Camp Heritage, accessed on February 20, 2023, https://maabarot-story.org; on Ma’alot-Tarshiha, see Smooha, Israel: Pluralism and Conflict, 399.
30. Shapira, “The Kibbutz,” 2–3.
31. Ibid., 2.
32. Ibid., 8. Also Ben-Rafael, “The Kibbutz in the 1950s,” 272; Goldstein, “The Kibbutz and the Development Town,” 96–120; Gigi, “Relations between Development Towns and Kibbutzim,” 121–39.
33. Chetrit, “Mizrahi Politics,” 51–65.
34. “Anshei Shamir einam hasrei yesha!” [Shamir People Are Not Helpless!], Pi Ha-Aton, June 17, 1974.
35. “El Tze’irei Kiryat Shmona ve-Ma’alot!” [To the Young People of Kiryat Shmona and Ma’alot!], ibid.
36. Gideon Eshet, “Hasrei ha-yesha” [The Helpless], ibid.
37. Caplan, “Why Was Moshe Sharett Sacked?” 275–297.
38. Sprinzak, “Israel’s Radical Right,” 97–128.
39. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 508.
40. Recent studies that combine security with cultural questions include Rozin, “Infiltration and the Making of Israel’s Emotional Regime,” 448–72; Mitelpunkt, Israel in the American Mind.
41. “Gur: Ha-teroristim yitaklu le-ha-ba be-anashim hamushim” [Gur: From Now On, Terrorists Will Encounter Armed People], Davar, June 14, 1974, 2.
42. David Shalev, “Rabin: lihyot im ha-lehimah ba-teror” [Rabin: To Live with the Fight against Terror] Davar, June 25, 1974, 3.
43. Erez, “Ha-dilemah,” Ma’ariv, June 16, 1974, 16; Friedler, “Terrorists Slain,” Jerusalem Post, June 14, 1974, 1; “Yom ha-damim be-Shamir” [The Day of Blood in Shamir], Al Ha-Mishmar, June 14, 1974, 1; Shulamit Har-Even, “Himush Ha-ukhlusiyah – shikulim be’ad” [Considerations in Favor of Arming the Population], Ma’ariv, July 5, 1974, 16; Shalev, “Toshavei Kfar Yuval,” Davar, June 16, 1975, 1.
44. Gouri, “Mashehu al ha-hitrahashut,” Davar, June 14, 1974, 2.
45. Rozin, “Infiltration and the Making of Israel’s Emotional Regime,” 462.
46. Rozin, “Pahad be-tzel totaheyah shel Suriya,” 109.
47. Lomsky-Feder, “The Meaning of War,” 301; Sheffer and Barak, “Introduction,” 7.
48. For the direct quotation from Begin, see “Begin Urges Arms for Trained Civil Guard,” Jerusalem Post, June 14, 1974, 2; see also Erez, “Ha-dilemah,” Ma’ariv, June 16, 1974, 16; Shalev, “Rabin: lihyot im ha-lehimah,” Davar, June 25, 1974, 3; Har-Even, “Himush Ha-ukhlusiyah,” Ma’ariv, July 5, 1974, 16; Moskovich, “The transformation of the Israeli Civil Guard,” 353; “Ha-yeshivah ha-shivim-ve-sheva shel ha-Knesset ha-shminit” [“Protocols of 8th Knesset, 66th meeting”], July 24, 1974, https://fs.knesset.gov.il/8/Plenum/8_ptm_253465.pdf. Accessed February 20, 2023.
49. An article in Ha-shavua ba-Kibbutz ha-artzi, quoted in Shhorim pirhei ha-tzuf [Black Are the Nectar Flowers], (kibbutz memorial booklet published in June 1975),16.
50. Rozin, “Infiltration and the Making of Israel’s Emotional Regime,” 459.
51. Yermia to Shamir, June 14, 1974, KSA, box 27.
52. Admon to Surika and Milia, June 15, 1974, ibid.
53. Shapira, Yigal Allon, 322; Gan, “From ‘We’ to ‘Me,’” 33–46.
54. David Rabin to Shamir, June 26, 1974, KSA, box 27.
55. Letter from Tzvi Markman, undated, ibid.
56. Kibbutz Gal-On to Shamir, June 16, 1974; Kibbutz Nir David to Shamir, June 21, 1974; letter from Tzvi Markman, ibid; David Yehudai, “Ba-halof shanah” [A Year Later], in Shhorim pirhei ha-tzuf, 21; Galia Ben-Horin, “Esrim shanah le-ason ha-mehablim” [Twenty Years after the Terrorist Disaster], June 13, 1994, KSA, box 206. On the myth of stone clearing, see Shani, Milah ba-sela: Shamiripedia [The Shamir Encyclopedia], 125.
57. Yemima and Yosef Avidar to Surika and Milia, June 14, 1974, KSA, box 27.
58. Haim Gouri, “Shalom lakh, muvla’at” [Farewell, Enclave], Davar, June 19, 1974, 2.
59. For Avidan’s comment, see Davar, June 16, 1974. On Tel Hai, see Zerubavel, “The Politics of Interpretation,” 133–160.
60. Quoted in shhorim pirhei, 16.
61. Mishal, Ve-eleh shnot, 190–1; Ben-Ami and Mishal, Ve-eleh toldot, 268.
62. Jackie Houri and Ofer Aderet, “Meyased ha-hazit ha-amamit le-shihrur Falastin – ha-mifakdah ha-klalit, Ahmad Jibril, met be-gil 83” [“Founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, Ahmad Jibril, Dies at Age 83”], Ha’aretz, July 8, 2021, https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/law/1.9978914. Accessed February 20, 2023.
63. Yael Shpigler to Avi Bettelheim, undated. Bettelheim’s response is dated May 29, 2000. Sent privately to the author.
64. Author’s conversation with Shamir members, January 7, 2021; interview with Dina and Yigal Ben Efraim, Shamir, July 12, 2021.
65. Banko Adar, Ha-shavua ba-kibbutz ha-artzi, quoted in Shhorim pirhei, 16.
66. Eini Burenstein, Lehavot Ha-Bashan, June 13, 1974, KSA, box 27. See also Kibbutz Gal-On to Shamir, June 16, 1974, ibid.
67. Yigal Lev, “Al rovim u-mitnadvim be-kibutz Shamir” [On Volunteers and Rifles in Kibbutz Shamir], Ma’ariv, June 21, 1974, p 8–9; 41.
68. Ibid.
69. David Goren, “Be-dim’ah atzurah huv’u shtei havrot Shamir li-mnuhot” [Two Shamir Members Buried with Restrained Tears], Al Ha-Mishmar, June 16, 1974, 8.
70. Yoela Har-Shefi, “Yeled ben sheva,” Yediot Aharonot, June 14, 1974.
71. Morris, The Birth, 15, 32; Drory, Lewin, and Ben-Ari “Kibbutz Under Fire,” 121–43.
72. Rozin, “Infiltration and the Making of Israel’s Emotional Regime,” 458.
73. Har-Shefi, “Yeled ben sheva,” Yediot Aharonot, June 14, 1974; letter from Tzvi Markman, box 27, KSA; Hotam, June 21, 1974; Shmuel Socha, “Ha-yom ha-bilti nishkah” [The Unforgettable Day], in Shamir’s memorial booklet, July 13, 1974, 21.
74. Rozin, “Infiltration and the Making of Israel’s Emotional Regime,” 449; Shapira, “Al ha-shtikah,” 20–33.
75. “Revavot be-levayot korbanot ha-hatkafah be-Ma’alot, be-Tzfat, be-Hatzor u-ve-Elifelet” [Tens of Thousands at the Funerals of the Attack Victims in Ma’alot, Safed, Hatzor and Elifelet], Davar, May 17, 1974, 2.
76. David Shalev, “16 korbanot ha-tevah huv’u le-kever ahim be-Kiryat Shmona” [The 16 Massacre Victims were Buried in a Mass Grave in Kiryat Shmona], Davar, April 14, 1974, 3.
77. “Shotrim leyad ha-kneset hasmu be-alot u-meginim me’ot mafginim zo’amim mi-Kiryat Shmona” [Police Blocked with Batons and Shields Hundreds of Furious Protesters from Kiryat Shmona near the Knesset], Ma’ariv, April 18, 1974, 7; Yosef Vaksman, “Yehakru tlunot shel toshavei Ma’alot al mehdalim bithonyim” [Complaints of Ma’alot Residents on Security Failures Will Be Investigated], Ma’ariv, May 19, 1974, 7.
78. “Shotrim leyad ha-kneset,” Ma’ariv, April 18, 1974, 7.
79. Vaksman, “Yehakru tlunot,” Ma’ariv, May 19, 1974, 7.
80. Shapira, Israel, 341–2.
81. Rozin, “Infiltration and the Making of Israel’s Emotional Regime,” 456–9.
82. “Ma’alot-Tarshiha,” letter from Counselor on Arab Affairs, Haifa, to Counselor on Arab Affairs, Jerusalem, March 31, 1974, ISA/PMO/ArabAffairsAdvisor/R0003mhy/13946/5; “Aravim mabi’im retzonam le-hishtatef be-tafkidei avtahah” [Arabs Express Will to Participate in Security Roles], Ma’ariv, May 19, 1974, 6.
83. Ya’akov Erez, “Hayal Druzi hukah be-milui tafkido be-Kiryat Shmona” [A Druze Soldier Beaten on Duty in Kiryat Shmona], Ma’ariv, April 18, 1974, 1.
84. Henry Kamn, “Israelis Bury Four Victims Amid Grief, Anger, Shame,” New York Times, November 21, 1974, 1; Dalia Mazori, “He-hamon ha-histeri be-Veit She’an tza’ak” [The Hysterical Crowed in Beit She’an Shouted], Ma’ariv, November 20, 1974, 1; David Shalev, et al. “Shnei ezrahim siye’u la-ko’ah ha-poretz shel tzahal” [Two Citizens Helped the IDF’s Breaching Force], Davar, November 20, 1974, 3.
85. Shalev, et al. “Shnei ezrahim,” ibid.
86. “Ha-panterim meyatzgim be’ayah she-tuatea mi-tahat la-shatiah” [The Panthers Represent a Problem that Was Swept Under the Rug], Ma’ariv, November 21, 1974, 7.
87. Shohat, “Sephardim in Israel,” 30.
88. “Ba-medinah” [In the Country], Ha-olam ha-zeh, November 27, 1974, 14.
89. “Intzident be-Tzfat” [An Incident in Safed], Ma’ariv, May 24, 1974, 15.
90. Moshe Dor, “Ha-adamah ro’edet be-Ma’alot” [The Ground is Shaking in Ma’alot], Ma’ariv, May 22, 1974, 5.
91. Arieh Avnery, “Tlishut ve-onshah” [Detachment and Its Punishment], Davar, April 18, 1974, 7.
92. Hanoch Bartov, “Dam Kiryat Shmona” [The Blood of Kiryat Shmona], Ma’ariv, April 14, 1974, 5.
93. Har-Shefi, “Yeled ben sheva,” Yediot Aharonot, June 14, 1974.
94. Guga Cohen, “Bo ba-yom” [On that Very Day], Hotam, June 21, 1974, 6.
95. Har-Shefi, “Yeled ben sheva,” Yediot Aharonot, June 14, 1974.
96. Friedler, “Terrorists Slain,” Jerusalem Post, June 16, 1974, 2.
97. Banko Adar, “Litpos mahaseh! Mehablim ba-nagaryah!” [Take a Cover! Terrorists in the Carpentry Shop!] Ha-shavua ba-kibbutz ha-artzi, undated clipping from KSA, box 127.
98. Georgina Bush, private correspondence with author, July 11, 2021.
99. Har-Shefi, “Yeled ben sheva,” Yediot Aharonot, June 14, 1974.
100. Ben-Horin, “Esrim shanah.”
101. On the different meanings that kibbutzniks and new immigrants attached to living in frontier areas, see Goldstein, “The Kibbutz and the ma’abara,” 32.
102. Hedva Segal, recollection of the attack on Shamir sent privately to author, April 2019.
103. Yehudai, “Ba-halof shanah.”
104. Abramson, Drama and Ideology in Modern Israel, 42; Ben-Ami, Scars of War, 39.
105. “Boker ha-13 be-yuni be-miklat 13” [The Morning of June 13 in Shelter 13] and “Mitokh sihot im yaldei kitah vav” [Conversations with Sixth-Grade Children], in Shhorim pirhei, 7–8; 17–20.
106. Author’s conversation with Shamir members, January 7, 2021.
107. Yehoshua Sobol, “Le-maharat ha-yom” [The Day After] Hotam, June 21, 1974, 7.
108. Willis, The Emerald City, 64.
109. Sobol, “Le-maharat,” Hotam, June 21, 1974, 7.
110. Shapira, Israel, 348; Elmaliach, “The Demobilization,” 123–46.
111. Shapira, “The Kibbutz,” 7.
112. Ibid., 1, 6, 11.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Ori Yehudai
Ori Yehudai is the Saul and Sonia Schottenstein Chair in Israel Studies and Associate Professor of History at The Ohio State University. He is the author of Leaving Zion: Jewish Emigration from Palestine and Israel after World War II (Cambridge, 2020).