The Brooklyn Rail

Nowhere Outside of History

On the night of April 9th, 1948, the infamous Jewish paramilitary groups Irgun and the Stern Gang surrounded the tiny Arab village of Deir Yasin, five kilometers to the west of Jerusalem. After issuing a brief warning to evacuate, the paramilitaries— led by future Israeli president Menachim Begin— proceeded to sweep the village, massacring 254 of the village’s 700 inhabitants, mostly older men, women, and children.