King David Hotel bombing — Jew Oughta Know Home The Blog Teaching About Donate Home The Blog Teaching About Donate Photo source: Wikipedia Memorial plaque in front of the King David Hotel today. Photo source: Wikipedia Bombing of the King David HotelJerusalem, July 22, 1946 In response to Operation Agatha/Black Sabbath, in which the British arrested hundreds of Irgun and Lehi fighters, the Jewish militias were determined to strike back. The southern wing of the King David Hotel — Palestine’s fanciest hotel — was the British military’s headquarters. The Haganah approved the attack (but later dropped out), and the Irgun and Lehi executed a plan to bomb the British side of the hotel. Disguised as Arab workers, Irgun fighters set the explosives in the basement, while a smaller bomb was placed across the street as a distraction; the Irgun called the hotel switchboard to report the bomb, hoping to evacuate the hotel and minimize the casualties. Whether the bomb threat was ignored, never reached the necessary authorities, came too late, or the bomb itself was mis-timed has long been debated. But the hotel was not evacuated and the explosion killed 91 people: 41 Arabs, 28 British, 17 Jews, 2 Armenians, and one Russian, Egyptian, and Greek. Most were civilians but several high-ranking officers were among the dead. It was the single worst terrorist attack in modern Middle Eastern history — and would not be surpassed until Arab terrorists bombed the U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut in 1983. The bombing horrified the British and much of the Yishv, and was condemned by the likes of Chaim Weizmann and David Ben Gurion. It led to harsh reprisals from the British, but also turned British public opinion against continuing to operate the Mandate, thus marking a major turning point that led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.The King David opened again as a hotel after 1967. Appears inEpisode 51Connected ToThe HaganahThe IrgunThe Lehi / Stern Gang Links to more infoWikipediaCenter for Israel EducationThe Jerusalem PostBBC — “I survived the bombing of the King David Hotel” Go Deep! Anonymous Soldiers: The Struggle for Israel, 1917-1947 By Bruce Hoffman Buy on Amazon Subscribe to the mailing list Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. First Name Last Name Email Address Sign Up We respect your privacy. Thank you! Back to Top Powered by Squarespace Israel at War, Explained Israel is at war with Hamas after the terrorist group brutally massacred 1,400 people on October 7. This war has the potential to reshape Israeli and Palestinian societies, spiral into a regional conflict, and fundamentally change Middle Eastern geopolitics. Make sense of it all by listening to Jew Oughta Know’s latest episodes explaining what is going on. Sign up We respect your privacy. Thank you!