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Eli HaZe'ev

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Eli HaZe'ev

Eli HaZe'ev was an American-born Israeli convert to Judaism, Vietnam War veteran, Kahanist, and victim of the 1980 Hebron terrorist attack.

Biography

Born James Eli Mahon Jr., HaZe'ev was born to US Air Force Colonel James E. Mahon in Alexandria, Virginia. He served as a sniper in the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War where he was badly wounded. During the war he lost his thumb, his teeth were shattered by a grenade, he received napalm burns, and a enemy bullet had punctured his lung.

After the war, Eli joined up with a motorcycle gang in Washington state and was arrested for allegedly killing another member with a shotgun, though the charges were later dropped.

Eli immigrated to Israel in 1974 where he converted to Judaism and settled in the Kiryat Arba settlement of Hebron in the West Bank. He joined the Israel Defense Forces, despite initially being rejected due to his injuries from Vietnam, and served in the 1978 Israel invasion of Lebanon as a sniper.

After the war, Eli became involved in several Religious Zionist settler organizations, such as Gush Emunim and the Jewish Defense League, though he believed them to not be extreme enough. In 1979, a group of Jewish vigilantes, including HaZe'ev, raided several Arab homes in Hebron, ending in their arrest by Israeli authorities.

In 1980, HaZe'ev was one of the victims of an attack by Arab terrorists in Hebron who murdered several Jews leaving the Tomb of the Patriarchs and heading to the Hadassah clinic. During the attack, he attempted to unsling his M16 and attacked one of the gunmen, but died from his injuries.

Sources

  1. "Other People's Mail". WRMEA. 1998-03-30. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
  2. "Jewish Militants Charged with Terrorizing Arabs in Hebron". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
  3. Clairborne, William (6 May 1980). "Virginia Man's Violent World Ends in West Bank". The Washington Post.
  4. Staff (2016-05-18). "Hope and Community Triumph 36 Years after the Murder of "The Six"". The Jewish Community of Hebron. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
  5. Fisher, Dan (1985-07-21). "Anti-Arab Extremists Gaining Strength : On West Bank, Settlers' Politics Drifting to Right". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
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