Page 174 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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150———Goldstein, Baruch (1957–1994)

the commission determined that Goldstein had told
GOLDSTEIN, BARUCH (1957–1994) no one, including his wife, of his plans. The govern-

né Benjamin Carl Goldstein ment subsequently outlawed Kahane Chai and arrested
some of its leaders.
Goldstein’s supporters among the Jewish settlers
Ultra-nationalist and member of the Jewish group transformed his grave into a shrine and pilgrimage
Kahane Chai, Baruch Goldstein massacred 29
site. Many continued to maintain that Goldstein’s
Muslims bowed in prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque in
actions were justifiable, telling U.S. and British
Hebron in 1994.
journalists that the doctor had had inside infor-
Born in Brooklyn, Goldstein was a serious and
mation on a large Arab attack in Kiryat Arba. No
quiet child, graduating a year early near the top of his
proof of this claim has been provided, however.
high school class. At Yeshiva University in Manhattan,
Having passed legislation banning monuments to
Goldstein changed his name to Baruch and became
terrorists, the Israeli government razed the shrine
involved in Kahane Chai, a group founded by Rabbi
but left the controversial inscription on Goldstein’s
Meir Kahane, a militant Jewish nationalist who had
headstone calling him a “martyr” with “clean hands
argued that no Jew was safe as long as there was a
and heart.”
single Arab in the land of Israel. Goldstein met his
wife at Kahane Chai headquarters in Jerusalem, and See also JEWISH TERRORIST GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES;
Kahane officiated at their wedding. Kahane was KAHANE CHAI
assassinated in New York in 1990.
Goldstein graduated from medical school and Further Reading
moved to Israel in 1983, joining the Kiryat Arba set-
Bronner, Ethan, and Steve Fainaru. “Life and Death of a
tlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Kiryat Arba
Zealot: Hebron Gunman’s Actions Present a Paradox;
was one of many Jewish settlements in Hebron, a town Goldstein Was Known as Healer.” Boston Globe, March
of nearly 100,000 Arabs. Goldstein worked as the 2, 1994, 1.
Israeli Army doctor in Hebron and served for several Cockburn, Patrick. “Settlers Remember ‘Greatest Jew’
years as a Kahane Chai representative on the Kiryat Who Killed 29 in Mosque.” The Independent (London),
Arba local council. Admirers and friends said that his February 17, 1995, 12.
anger grew as he tended Jewish settlers who had been Haberman, Clyde. “Israel Panel Says Killer at Hebron Was
shot in Arab-Israeli violence in Hebron. He and many Acting Alone.” New York Times, June 27, 1994, A1.
other right-wing settlers did not support the peace talks Haberman, Clyde. “West Bank Massacre: The Overview.”
New York Times, February 26, 1994, A1.
between the Palestine Liberation Organization and
the government of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In
an interview on Army Radio a few months before he
attacked the mosque, Goldstein complained that the GRAND CENTRAL STATION
Army was not protecting Jewish settlers. BOMBING
Before dawn on February 25, 1994, Goldstein
walked into the Cave of the Patriarchs carrying an
automatic weapon. At the time, Jewish settlers were On September 10, 1976, terrorists calling them-
allowed to carry weapons inside the holy site, held to selves Fighters for Free Croatia diverted TWA
be the burial place of Abraham. The site, called the Flight 355, bound for Chicago, to the Mirabel Air-
Hebron shrine by Jews and the Ibrahimi Mosque by port in Montreal. The terrorists then instructed the
Muslims, is sacred to both religions and divided into pilot to radio a message directing the New York City
separate prayer halls. Goldstein burst into the mosque Police Department (NYPD) to a bomb located in a
and opened fire on a crowd of praying Muslims, Grand Central Station subway locker. Describing
killing 29 before the shocked crowd bludgeoned him the bomb as a “gel” type, the terrorists threatened to
to death. About 125 others were wounded. detonate it if they detected any “false moves.” The
During an Israeli government commission’s inves- group also threatened to detonate another bomb
tigation, Palestinian witnesses and Army guards had located “in a highly busy location” if their demands
raised the possibility of a second gunman. However, were not published by several newspapers, including