Goldstein, Baruch

(1956-1994)

   The perpetrator of an attack at the Tomb of the Patriarchs (known by Muslims as the Ibrahim Mosque) in Hebron on 25 February 1994 that left 29 Arab worshippers dead and more than 100 others wounded. Goldstein, an American-born resident of the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba and a follower of Rabbi Meir Kahane and the Kach Movement, was killed by some of the survivors of the massacre. The attack resulted in a disruption in Israel's autonomy negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization and the imposition of a Temporary International Presence in Hebron. A commission of inquiry headed by president of the Supreme Court of Israel Justice Meir Shamgar concluded on 26 June 1994 that Goldstein had acted alone in committing this "base and murderous" massacre.

   See also Hebron Massacre; Shamgar Commission of Inquiry.