The Ma'alot Massacre: A Tragic Chapter in History

The Attack Begins

On the night of May 13, 1974, a sinister plan unfolded in the hills of Galilee, Israel. Three armed members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) slipped across the border from Lebanon, setting the stage for what would become known as the Ma'alot massacre. Their journey began in the Nahal Mattat Nature Reserve, south of the Lebanese village of Rumaysh, and they carried with them AK-47 rifles, grenades, and Czechoslovakian plastic explosives.

As they ventured forward, the militants encountered a van driven by a Druze resident of the nearby village of Hurfeish. The van was transporting Arab Christian women returning from work at the ATA Textile Works in Haifa Bay. The leader of the militants, identified as Linou, opened fire on the vehicle, instantly killing one woman and wounding the driver and other passengers. One of the wounded women later succumbed to her injuries. Despite the attack, the driver managed to reverse the van up the hill toward Moshav Tzuriel, but the attackers vanished into the night before Israeli soldiers could apprehend them.

The Infiltration

Continuing their deadly mission, the group reached Ma'alot, a town on a plateau in Galilee, founded by Jewish immigrants from Morocco and Tunisia in 1957. Disguised in Israel Defense Forces uniforms, the militants knocked on several doors. When they arrived at the home of Fortuna and Yosef Cohen, two of the attackers, speaking in Hebrew, claimed to be police officers searching for terrorists. Once the door opened, they brutally murdered the couple and their four-year-old son, Eliahu. Fortuna, seven months pregnant, attempted to flee but was also shot. In a harrowing twist of fate, their 16-month-old son, Yitzhak, who was deaf and mute, survived unscathed.

From the Cohen household, the militants moved toward the Netiv Meir Elementary School, where 105 students from a high school in Safad were lodged as part of a pre-military Gadna field trip. On their way, they encountered Yaakov Kadosh, a sanitation worker, who they shot and injured after asking for directions to the school.

The Hostage Situation

At approximately 4 AM on May 15, the militants stormed the Netiv Meir Elementary School, a three-story concrete structure with nearby construction sites. Inside, they took 102 teenage students hostage. The students, aged 14 to 16, had been on a three-day outing and were spending the night in Ma'alot. Despite warnings from a concerned parent who had learned of militants in the area, the trip had not been canceled.

Once inside, the attackers forced the students to sit on the floor at gunpoint, placing explosive charges between them. Three of the four teachers on the trip managed to escape by jumping out of a window, leaving behind their 90 pupils. This act would later spark outrage among the students' parents, leading to the teachers' suspension by local authorities.

Demands and Deadlines

As daylight broke, the militants issued their demands: the release of 23 Palestinian prisoners and three others, including Kozo Okamoto, a Japanese national involved in the 1972 Lod Airport massacre. The deadline for their demands was set for 6 PM that evening. At 10 AM, Sylvan Zerach, a 27-year-old on leave from the army, was shot while standing near a water tower to observe the unfolding events. He later died from his injuries.

An emergency session of the Knesset was convened, and a decision to negotiate was reached. Yet, the hostage-takers refused to extend their deadline.

The Takeover Operation

At 5:25 PM, the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces were given the green light to storm the school. The assault plan involved three units: two to break in from the entrance and a third to climb a ladder and enter through a northern window. As the units moved into position, coordinated sniper fire was planned to neutralize the attackers.

At 5:32 PM, the first squad breached the building's main entrance, blocked by makeshift barricades of tables and chairs. The first team, led by Yuval Galili, encountered gunfire on the stairs, prompting Galili to deploy a phosphorus grenade to create a smokescreen. In the chaos, the second team, led by Amiran Levine, lost sight of Linou, who was stationed at a window where he had earlier shot Zerach.

In the ensuing firefight, Harbi, one of the militants, grabbed a student, Gabi Amsalem, as a human shield. Rahim, another militant, was shot dead, but Linou managed to reload his weapon and unleash a barrage of machinegun fire and grenades on the students. In a desperate act of survival, some students leapt from the windows to the ground below.

Tragic Losses and Aftermath

The assault resulted in the deaths of 22 students and injuries to over 50 others. The slain students were laid to rest in their hometown of Safad, where 10,000 mourners attended the funerals, chanting "Death to the terrorists."

In retaliation, the Israeli Defense Forces launched airstrikes on DFLP and PFLP facilities in Lebanon, reportedly causing at least 27 deaths and 138 injuries in Palestinian refugee camps and villages. An investigation led by Attorney General Meir Shamgar concluded that the teachers who fled had acted appropriately, though the victims' parents rejected the findings.

A Legacy of Change

The massacre prompted the formation of the Yamam special police unit, and a Commission of Inquiry led by Amos Horev identified several governmental and security failures, offering recommendations for future improvements. The DFLP attempted another hostage-taking in Ma'alot in 1979 but was thwarted by Israeli soldiers.

Commemoration

In 2007, American filmmakers documented the tragedy in a film, and a memorial in the Netiv Meir school library honors the victims. A feature movie, "Their Eyes Were Dry," retells the harrowing story. In remembrance, a Reform synagogue in Southern California was named Shir Ha-Ma'alot, or "Song of Ascent," in memory of those lost.

Sources

For more information, visit the original Wikipedia article.