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The so-called 'Triangle Market' in Hebron. (Eyal Vershavksi) Last update - 09:34 17/10/2007 Last Jew to leave Hebron after 1929 massacre to back settler claims By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Hebron, Israel, Yosef Ezra  By the time Yosef Ezra was four years old, his family was the only Jewish family still in Hebron following the 1929 massacre. They left only in 1947, a day after the UN voted to establish the state of Israel. He still has clear memories of his 15 years in the city. Today, Ezra is 75 and lives in Jerusalem. But he still has registration documents for the Hebron lands and houses owned by both his family and Magen Avot, an umbrella organization of Sephardi yeshivas in the city. So this morning, he intends to publicly come to the aid of today's Jewish residents of Hebron, at a High Court of Justice hearing on whether those residents should be allowed to remain in the so-called "Triangle Market." A Civil Administration appeals committee decided a few months ago that the families could continue living in the market, until a final decision was made on the legality of their presence. It thereby rejected the position of the custodian of government property in the West Bank, who had wanted them evicted immediately. Peace Now then petitioned the court against the committee's decision, and the State Prosecutor's Office announced that it sided with Peace Now. Advertisement Permission to speak When Ezra heard that, he decided to go to court today and request permission to speak. The settlers have asked that he be added to the petition as a respondent. "I never waived my rights, and those of my family, in these properties," he said. "But until we get this property back, I and descendants of other families expelled from Hebron have allowed the Hebron settlers to maintain them and use them." Ezra claims that unlike other Jewish property in Hebron, his family's property was never taken over by the Jordanian custodian of absentee property. "I personally traveled to Jordan and checked whether there was an expropriation order for those stores in the Triangle Market," he said. "There is no such thing. Thus the Israeli custodian is not the successor of the Jordanian custodian. This belongs to my family, and we want Jews to continue to live there; we want the Jewish community of Hebron to continue to exist." Property's owner Ezra is furious at the state for not consulting him, the property's owner - despite the fact that in his capacity as chairman of the Hebron Refugees Committee, he conducted a voluminous correspondence with the state for years in an effort to get Jewish properties returned to their original owners. Ezra's relationship with the Hebron settlers is a lengthy one, though it has had ups and downs. More than 25 years ago, he participated in the cornerstone-laying ceremony of a new Jewish neighborhood in the compound of Hebron's Avraham Avinu Synagogue. Years earlier, he and other former Hebron residents met with then defense minister Moshe Dayan. "Dayan promised to return the Jewish property to us," Ezra said. "He promised, but he didn't deliver." When Menachem Begin was prime minister, the government offered the Hebron refugees alternative land near Netanya, if they would waive their claims to the Jewish property in Hebron, Ezra related. The families refused. In the years before 1947, Ezra's father used to pass intelligence to David Raziel, commander of the pre-state underground Etzel (Irgun Tzvai Leumi). If one of his Arab neighbors died, he would spend hours in the mourning tent to assess the mood and to get wind of any plans to attack or incite against Jews. Ezra believes that his father's association with Raziel is why the state refused to compensate the Hebron refugees, the way it did for people driven out of Gush Etzion and other West Bank communities: Etzel was affiliated with the political opposition to the ruling Mapai Party. No symmetry Ezra sees no symmetry between his demand that Jewish property in Hebron be returned to its original owners, and Palestinians' desire to regain their property in Jaffa, Acre, Ramle and Lod. "Every war has consequences," he said. "That's the price the Arabs ought to pay for the trouble they made." He believes the Hebron settlers are "true pioneers, among the last who are putting Zionism into practice." Ezra says that his family came to Israel from Spain following the Spanish expulsion of 1492. After nine months in Gaza, they moved to Hebron, and remained there continuously for the next 450 years. Once, he said, there were excellent relations between Jews and Arabs in Hebron. But today, the Arabs, "like Peace Now and the prosecution, simply want Hebron to be free of Jews. I will fight that with all my strength." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Against his release Mother of Kuntar victim appeals to President Peres against his release. Gloom and doom How many missiles will be fired from Iran, Syria, Lebanon in the next war?   1.   Poetic Justice - Proof of Ownership 06:17  |  0 Degrees 17/10/07   2.   The Jews of Hebron, Palestine 06:19  |  Slibovitz 17/10/07   3.   A lot of Arab families have never waived their rights either 06:20  |  newageblues 17/10/07   4.   Who are the real land owners and who are the settlers? 07:14  |  Dan 17/10/07   5.   #2 Israeli Arabs are safe in Haifa, Jaffa; Will Hebron Jews be? 07:18  |  Rob 17/10/07   6.   The difference 07:31  |  Esther 17/10/07   7.   oh god! how nauseating can the charade get! 07:35  |  eric 17/10/07   8.   newageblues 07:42  |  Brad 17/10/07   9.   newageblues just goes to show Arabs can`t have it all either. 07:54  |  PETERSM 17/10/07   10.   0 Degrees.Poetic indeed.They refused peaceful co existence. 07:57  |  PETERSM 17/10/07   11.   JEWISH refugees from Arab lands did not declare war. 08:01  |  PETER SM 17/10/07   12.   SLIBOWITZ.Will it be OK to scream death to Arabs in Hamastan? 08:20  |  PETER SM 17/10/07   13.   Deeds & Keys 08:57  |  Palestinian 17/10/07   14.   The facts are simple. Forget the flim-flam 10:01  |  Natallie Durson 17/10/07   15.   what kind of logic is this? 10:02  |  another Jew 17/10/07   16.   #7 eric doesnt answer the standing challenge 10:29  |  victor hardman 17/10/07   17.   Jews vs. Arabs 10:29  |  SC 17/10/07   18.   #13 pally i still have an untold number of car keys and car docs 10:31  |  victor hardman 17/10/07   19.   Waive Palestine to a piece on the moon....! 10:48  |  Anton Siniora 17/10/07   20.   Zionists created a frankenstein monster,the only solution now,is 10:49  |  lakshmi 17/10/07   21.   Mr. Ezra and His Claims 11:13  |  Yaakov Sullivan 17/10/07   22.   Judenrein? 11:26  |  Joseph 17/10/07   23.   Mr Ezra 11:42  |  ussishkin 17/10/07   24.   Palestinian 13 11:54  |  Nerys 17/10/07   25.   senseless 12:20  |  Axel 17/10/07   26.   # 22 joseph 12:27  |  Axel 17/10/07   27.   Arabs have too many Countries already, return Hebrews to Hebron 12:38  |  Efox 17/10/07   28.   Hebron is Palestinian. Period. 12:44  |  Hannah 17/10/07   29.   @13, palestinian 12:51  |  vladimir 17/10/07   30.   #13, Palestinian 12:54  |  Hannah 17/10/07   31.   @26, axel. jordan is judenrein, israel is arabrein 12:56  |  vladimir 17/10/07   32.   Yaakov Sullivan 12:59  |  Lynn 17/10/07   33.   Hebron`s jewish settlers 13:05  |  Peter XM 17/10/07   34.   #20, Lakshmi 13:05  |  Hannah 17/10/07   35.   # 21 Yaakov 13:07  |  Lynn 17/10/07   36.   Lynn, on land sales in Hebron 13:25  |  Yaakov Sullivan 17/10/07   37.   Hebron 13:33  |  Gabe 17/10/07   38.   Why are his title deeds better than Arab ones? 14:08  |  Don Camillo 17/10/07   39.   Lynn, thank for that correction #35 14:24  |  Yaakov Sullivan 17/10/07   40.   Reply to #26 23:10  |  Joseph 17/10/07   41.   Esther,your Lithuanian grandparents ,weren`t they "peaceful"? 23:28  |  Absolute Sweden 17/10/07   42.   Buy your very own rusty key in the Shuk 00:12  |  Myths of Palestine 18/10/07   43.   "He still has registration documents" 01:06  |  Adam Keller 18/10/07   44.   Hannah shows her revisionist Arab history 01:35  |  David 18/10/07   45.   #5 and #12 -- Arabs in Israel, Jews in Palestine 02:00  |  Slibovitz 18/10/07   46.   #14, Natallie is correct. 02:21  |  Realist 18/10/07   47.   !3 deeds and keys palestinian 04:35  |  judith 18/10/07   48.   ignorant Hannah #30 04:39  |  judith 18/10/07   49.   #48 I agree 07:37  |  Raed 18/10/07   50.   valid registration documents - yes 09:25  |  Frank 18/10/07   51.   How nauseating can Eric get? 09:54  |  Joe Sittizen 18/10/07   52.   Ezra, a Palestinian Jew 10:29  |  worriedlebanese 18/10/07   53.   hebron 10:44  |  habakook 18/10/07   54.   #20 12:24  |  Moshe 18/10/07   55.   "Palestinian Jew" #52 12:25  |  aj 18/10/07   56.   # 40 joseph 12:36  |  Axel 18/10/07   57.   Keys ! Victor 13:52  |  Sean 18/10/07   58.   Crocodile Tears 14:01  |  Jerusalem Joe 18/10/07   59.   Slibovitz #45 15:35  |  marbpl 18/10/07   60.   if ezra can stay... 16:49  |  ravi 18/10/07   61.   Dear WorriedLebanese 22:14  |  Joe Sittizen 18/10/07   62.   Live and Let Live...in Hebron 02:51  |  Nunie 19/10/07   63.   #50 Ooops! Frank makes a mistake Part 1 04:42  |  Johnboy 19/10/07   64.   #50 Ooops! Frank makes a mistake Part 2 05:08  |  Johnboy 19/10/07   65.   # 51 excuse me joe sittizen in jerusalem 06:07  |  eric 19/10/07   66.   #62 Indeed, why not, Nunie? 08:19  |  Johnboy 19/10/07   67.   valid documents and NO occupation, Johnboy 21:59  |  Frank 20/10/07   68.   0 degrees#1 - you have 0 proof 22:51  |  William 10/02/08   69.   Lakshmi#20 - Zionists fought for life, Arabs support genocide 22:59  |  William 10/02/08   70.   Hannah#28 - Abraham BOUGHT the land, not stolen 23:06  |  William 10/02/08   71.   Don Camillo#38 - Palestinian deeds 23:12  |  William 10/02/08   72.   Yaakov#39 - most Jews DO acknowledge their Arab neighbors 23:16  |  William 10/02/08   73.   Axel is ignorant of economic and history#56 23:25  |  William 10/02/08   74.   Jerusalem Joe#58 - education and healthcare is not a right 23:29  |  William 10/02/08   75.   #22 joseph`s response 11:23  |  john 09/05/08   76.   How nauseating can the charade get 23:36  |  Jonathan 03/07/08

Read & React Shot and bleeding, Jerusalem terrorist kept going to kill baby's mother Responses: 162 ANALYSIS / Terrorist or petty criminal run amok? Responses: 127 Ari Shavit: Strike on Iran is good for Israel and U.S. in long run Responses: 83 Reuven Rivlin: Talkbackers, not security services, are setting Israeli policy Responses: 34 Obama enlists Jewish lawmakers in outreach effort Responses: 61 Rosner's Domain On Israel-Diaspora relations, Israelis are quite clueless Back to Vietnam Poll: Do you believe Israel might attack Iran? Why did the US go to war in Iraq? (WTR) Young adult Jews prefer to marry Jews More Headlines 23:35 Police fear violent attacks against Arabs in wake of Wed. terror attack 21:49 Source: Hezbollah swap to take place next week 21:20 Olmert: Direct Israel-Syria peace talks needed 'very soon' 19:13 Qassam hits Negev, sixth since start of Gaza truce 19:44 Olmert: Raze terrorist's home, revoke family's social benefits 20:16 Mother of Kuntar victim: This monster will be a Lebanon hero 23:18 On Israel-Diaspora relations, Israelis are quite clueless 22:00 Actor Hanan Goldblatt convicted of rape, sexual assault 20:48 For first time, Israeli rabbi to attend Saudi-sponsored interfaith meet 21:12 Ramat Gan police chase, arrest 12 illegal Palestinian workers 13:50 Barak okays construction of dormitory at Hebron seminary 12:18 How many missiles will be fired from Iran, Syria, Lebanon in the next war? 19:09 Hitler wax figure unveiled in Berlin amid criticism 14:41 Study: Israelis like to smoke marijuana, less keen on coke Previous Editions Select Day 02 jul 01 jul 30 jun 29 jun 27 jun 26 jun 25 jun 24 jun 23 jun 22 jun 20 jun 19 jun

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