Chareidi Who Fell Defending Yemin Moshe Windmill In 1872, Recognized As 1st Victim Of Arab Terror

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The first victim of Arab terror in the modern period, a chareidi Jew named Aharon Hershler, will be commemorated at the historic Yemin Moshe windmill for the first time, 150 years after he was murdered.

Hershler immigrated to Palestine from Hungary at about the same time as Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld and settled in the Mishkenot Shaananim neighborhood adjacent to the walls of Jerusalem. He served as one of the heads of Kollel Ungarin and was considered a Torah genius, studying in Kollel Shomrei Hachomos.

In 1872 there was an abundance of rain which filled all of the water cisterns in Jerusalem’s courtyards. The Jews did not need to pay high prices to the Arabs of neighboring Silwan for water and they, seeing their livelihood curtailed, elected to steal and rob from the Jews instead.

On 1st of Teves 5633 (5th of January 1873), the Arabs tried to rob a number of Jewish businesses and 23-year-old Aharon, who was guarding the windmill which served as the storeroom for flour, attempted to fend them off. The Arabs, who were afraid to be identified by Hershler, fired 12 bullets at him and he was transferred to hospital, where he died of his wounds a few days later and was buried on Har Hazeisim. He was survived by a wife, a young daughter, parents and siblings.

The windmill has been restored as a tourist attraction and JLM initiatives which activates the site has elected to make a special tribute to Aharon Hershler and to change the position of the windmill’s blades on Israel’s Remembrance Day to reflect the mourning for Hershler and the 24,000 victims of Arab aggression.

The Jerusalem chevra kadisha registered the event stating: “An avreich was living near the Montifiore house and thieves came to his house. Suddenly he woke up and chased them and they saw that they were in trouble and ‘threw arrows at him’ and he fell on the spot and was 5 days in the hospital of Rothschild and died on Sunday the 6th of Teves and the whole city was shocked.”

Hershler’s great-granddaughter, 95-year-old Bilhah Shamir, recalls hearing the story of his heroism from her grandmother, who was not yet born when her father was murdered. Shamir says that “everyone in Meah Shearim knows Hershler’s story and is proud of him to this day.”

Bilhah Shamir