100 years since the assassination of Dr. Dehaan by the Zionists

On Friday July 5, 2019, a group of Jews went to visit the gravesite of Professor Yaakov Yisroel DeHaan, on the 100th anniversary of his murder at the hands of the Zionists. DeHaan was an important political activist who worked alongside Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld in the 1920’s to establish the Eidah Chareidis, the anti-Zionist Jewish community of the Holy Land, as an independent community not represented by the Zionists. His many political connections, his mastery of diplomacy and his work with Arab leaders to find a haven for Jews outside of the context of Zionism posed a threat to the Zionists, and in 1924 they assassinated him.

The inscription on his gravestone reads: “Here lies the exceptional scholar and professor, Dr. Yaakov Yisroel ben Yitzchak Halevi DeHaan, who gave up a promising career and placed his life in danger to fight like a lion and a warrior, fearlessly advocating with all his heart and soul for the establishment of the Orthodox Jewish community here in Jerusalem. He was murdered by wicked men in the prime of his youth on Monday night, 29 Sivan 5684 (June 30, 1924). He came to the Holy Land in 1919 and became an ally of G-d-fearing leaders. Through his advice and wisdom he assisted them and accomplished great things. He supported numerous charitable organizations in the Holy Land.”