Solved case · 1956
File:Ramat Rachel Archeological Park 1001 07.jpgCredit: Daniel VenturaCC BY-SA 4.0SourceThe short answer
On 23 September 1956, Jordanian Legion soldiers opened machine-gun fire from positions near Mar Elias Monastery on a group of Israeli archaeologists touring an excavation site near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, killing four and wounding 16.
No one's coverage is attached to this file yet.
Know great coverage of this case?
A documentary, a podcast episode, a careful long-form video. Suggest it and an editor will review it before it appears here.
Suggest coverage for Ramat Rachel shooting attackOn Sunday, 23 September 1956, a tour was being held for a group of Israeli archaeologists at archaeological excavations near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, within Israeli sovereign territory. During the tour, machine-gun fire was opened on the group from Jordanian positions near Mar Elias Monastery, close to the Jerusalem–Bethlehem road.
The gunfire killed four people, including the archaeologist Jacob Pinkerfeld, and wounded 16 others. One additional person who was seriously injured in the attack later died of his wounds, approximately five years afterward.
In the aftermath, Jordan issued a statement expressing regret for the incident, attributing it to a single soldier described as having been "suddenly taken by madness." Israel's foreign ministry rejected this account as "completely unfounded," citing witnesses at the scene who stated that two submachine guns and three rifles were clearly seen firing from two separate Jordanian army outposts across the border toward the archaeologists at Ramat Rachel.
In response to the attack, the Israel Defense Forces carried out a counterattack, Operation Lulav, on 25 September 1956, targeting the Arab village of Husan near Bethlehem. The operation resulted in the deaths of 39 Jordanian soldiers and ten Israeli paratroopers.
Jordanian Legion soldiers opened machine-gun fire from positions near Mar Elias Monastery on a group of Israeli archaeologists touring excavations near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, killing four and wounding 16.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out Operation Lulav, a counterattack on the Arab village of Husan near Bethlehem, resulting in the deaths of 39 Jordanian soldiers and ten Israeli paratroopers.
A person seriously injured in the 1956 shooting died of his wounds, approximately five years after the attack.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Archaeologist killed in the 23 September 1956 shooting attack while touring excavations near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel.[3]
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
SOLVEDListenArmon Hanatziv, East Jerusalem · 2010s
Alexander Levlovich, a 64-year-old Israeli, died after Palestinians hurled rocks at his car in East Jerusalem on 13 September 2015, causing him to crash. His death was the first fatality of the 2015-2016 wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
SOLVEDListenTalpiot, Jerusalem · 2010s
A bomb detonated on an Egged bus in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood on 18 April 2016, injuring at least 21 people and killing the 19-year-old Hamas-affiliated bomber, who died of his injuries days later.
Credit: Bachrach44CC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenLiberty Bell Park, Emek Refaim, German Colony, Jerusalem · 2000s
On February 22, 2004, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device aboard Egged bus No. 14A near Liberty Bell Park in Jerusalem, killing eight passengers and injuring more than 60, including schoolchildren.
Credit: YnhockeyCC BY-SA 3.0SourceUNSOLVEDListenKfar Chabad (Shafrir), Israel · 1956
On 11 April 1956, three militants who crossed into Israel from Egypt attacked a crowded synagogue study hall in Kfar Chabad (Shafrir), killing five boys and their 24-year-old instructor and wounding five other children.
UNSOLVEDListenMa'ale Akrabim (Scorpions' Pass), on the old Eilat–Beersheba road · 1954
On 17 March 1954, gunmen ambushed an Israeli bus climbing the Ma'ale Akrabim (Scorpions' Pass) grade between Eilat and Tel Aviv, killing eleven passengers and the two drivers on site; a twelfth victim, a boy shot in the head, died 32 years later without regaining consciousness. Four passengers survived.
Credit: Yaakov Saar, Government Press Office (Israel)CC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenKings of Israel Square (now Rabin Square), Tel Aviv · 1995
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was shot and killed on 4 November 1995 in Tel Aviv by Yigal Amir, a far-right law student opposed to the Oslo Accords, as Rabin left a peace rally. Amir was convicted and sentenced to life; two associates were convicted of conspiracy.
