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REVIEW: ‘Ghosts of a Holy War’

JL;DR SUMMARY Yardena Schwartz's "Ghosts of a Holy War" delves into the often-overlooked 1929 Hebron massacre, an event that epitomizes the complex layers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HamasIsraeli Palestinian ConflictArab Jewish RelationsAmin Al HusseiniBritish Mandate PalestineYardena SchwartzDavid Shainberg1929 Hebron MassacreJewish Community In HebronHoly Land History

Places mentioned

Jerusalem, Israel
"That is the focus of journalist Yardena Schwartzs recent book, Ghosts of a Holy War. Schwartz opens her historical narrative with the lively but ultimately tragic tale of David Shainberg, an idealistic, 22-year-old American Jew from a secular family who leaves a comfortable existence in his hometown of Memphis in 1928 to study in a yeshiva in impoverished Hebron."
Tel Aviv, Central District, Israel
"Most of the Hebron victims were pious Sephardim, Schwartz notes, and politically and culturally far from the secular Zionists building Tel Aviv and other new Jewish communities in Mandatory Palestine."
Hebron, Palestinian Territories
"She details Shainbergs unlikely journey, his passion for Jewish learning and his magical time in Hebronuntil it crashed down on him in August 1929."
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
"Schwartz opens her historical narrative with the lively but ultimately tragic tale of David Shainberg, an idealistic, 22-year-old American Jew from a secular family who leaves a comfortable existence in his hometown of Memphis in 1928 to study in a yeshiva in impoverished Hebron."

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Retrieved 2025-10-04 05:31:02 UTC
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