In 1929, Arab mobs attacked Jewish communities throughout Israel. False rumors -- fueled by inflammatory sermons in the mosques -- declared that the Jews were preparing to take control of the holy places, and that Jews were carrying out "wholesale killings of Arabs." Muslims mobs went on the attack, killing 17 Jews in Jerusalem and 18 in Tzfat. The worst atrocities occurred in Hebron, where only one British policeman guarded the entire city and was powerless to stop the rampage. In Hebron, 67 Jews including 12 Americans were murdered. The survivors were relocated to Jerusalem, leaving Hebron barren of Jews for the first time in centuries.