1938 in the British Mandate of Palestine
««« 1937 1936 1935		»»» 1939 1940 1941
See also: 1938 in the United Kingdom Other events of 1938

Events in the year 1938 in the British Mandate of Palestine.

Incumbents

• High Commissioner – Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope until 1 March; Sir Harold MacMichael
• Emir of Transjordan – Abdullah I bin al-Hussein
• Prime Minister of Transjordan – Ibrahim Hashem until 28 September; Tawfik Abu al-Huda

Events

Kibbutz Hanita, built in the Tower and stockade settlement method, 1938

• 4 January – The British government appoints the Woodhead Commission to explore the practicalities of the partition of Palestine.
• 10 January – James Leslie Starkey, a noted British archaeologist of the ancient Near East and Palestine who leads the first excavations in Tel Lachish, is killed by a gang of armed Arabs near Bayt Jibrin on a track leading from Bayt Jibrin to Hebron.
• 23 February – The Port of Tel Aviv officially opens, as a competing (Jewish) port to the port in Jaffa, the latter having been crippled by the Arab revolt and general strike since 1936.
• 1 March – Sir Harold MacMichael assumes office as the High Commissioner of Palestine.
• 21 March – The founding of the kibbutz Hanita
• 13 April – The founding of the moshav Shavei Tzion as part of the tower and stockade settlement scheme.
• 26 June – The founding of the kibbutz Alonim
• 29 June – Shlomo Ben-Yosef executed for ambushing an Arab bus near Safad.^[1]
• 6 July – 18 Arabs and 5 Jews were killed by two simultaneous bombs in the Arab melon market in Haifa, 79 people were wounded.^[2]
• 16 July – 10 Arabs were killed and 29 wounded by a bomb at a marketplace in Jerusalem.^[2]
• 17 July – The founding of the kibbutz Ma'ale HaHamisha
• 25 July – The founding of the kibbutz Tel Yitzhak
• 25 July – 39 Arabs were killed and over 60 wounded by a second bomb in the Haifa vegetable market.^[2]
• 16 August – Former Jewish policeman Mordechai Schwarcz executed for the murder of an Arab policeman
• 17 August – The founding of the moshav Beit Yehoshua
• 25 August – The founding of the kibbutz Ein HaMifratz
• 26 August – 24 Arabs were killed and 39 wounded by a bomb in the Jaffa vegetable market.^[3]
• 30 August – The founding of the kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi
• 2 October – 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine: In the 1938 Tiberias massacre, Arab rioters kill 19 Jews in the city of Tiberias, eleven of whom are children.^[4] During the massacre, 70 armed Arabs set fire to Jewish homes and the local synagogue.
• 12 October – The British Government announces sending a further four battalions to Palestine.^[5]
• 18 October – British army troops regain control of the old city of Jerusalem, which is occupied by Arab extremists in early October.
• 9 November – A technical British committee, known as the Woodhead Commission, rejected the Peel Commission partition plan mostly on the grounds that it could not be achieved without a large forced transfer of Arabs.^[6] It proposed "a modification of partition which, ...seems, subject to certain reservations, to form a satisfactory basis of settlement", if the U.K is prepared to provide a "sufficient assistance to enable the Arab State to balance its budget".^[6]
• 16 November – The founding of the moshav Sharona
• 17 November – The founding of the moshav Geulim
• 24 November – The founding of the kibbutz Eilon
• 25 November – The founding of the kibbutz Neve Eitan
• 25 November – The founding of the kibbutz Kfar Ruppin
• 29 November – The founding of the kibbutz Kfar Masaryk
• 22 December – The founding of the kibbutz Mesilot

Notable births

• 13 January – Yehoshua Porath, Israeli historian (died 2019)
• 24 January – Yoram Taharlev, Israeli poet, author, and comedian (died 2022)
• 30 January – Yoram Tsafrir, Israeli archaeologist (died 2015)
• 13 March – Dan Margalit, Israeli journalist
• 3 April – Boaz Moav, Israeli politician, academic, and activist (died 2002)
• 14 April – Rivka Michaeli, Israeli actress
• 1 July – Ilana Karaszyk, Israeli Olympic runner, long jumper
• 14 July – Moshe Safdie, Israeli-American architect and urban designer
• 21 July – Ya'akov Ahimeir, Israeli journalist and television and radio personality
• 9 August – Moshe Maya, Israeli rabbi and politician
• 29 August – Amnon Reshef, Israeli general
• 29 August – Ofer Bar-Yosef, Israeli archaeologist and anthropologist
• 3 October – Dan Bar-On, Israeli psychologist (died 2008)
• 29 October – Ralph Bakshi, Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films
• 4 December – Nava Arad, Israeli politician and Member of Knesset (1981–1992, 1995–1996) (died 2022)^[7]
• Full date unknown
  • Amos Meller, Israeli composer and conductor (died 2007)
  • Dan Meyerstein, Israeli chemist and resident of Ariel University
  • Salman Abu-Sitta, Palestinian Arab researcher
  • Naji al-Ali, Palestinian Arab cartoonist (died 1987)
  • Ahmed Jibril, Palestinian Arab, founder and leader of the militant group PFLP-GC
  • Abu Ali Mustafa, Palestinian Arab, member of the PLO executive (died 2001)

Notable deaths

References

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