It is a very difficult time nowadays, both in Israel and everywhere else. Lots of attention was recently (and for good reason) concentrated on possession and possibility acquiring and using of the atomic weapon. So I decided to tell about the single time when Israel was suspected and accused of using one.
The year was 1948 and the British troops were getting ready to leave mandate. The more or less intense civil war was raging in the territory for the previous half a year, and since the November voting in UN that has proposed partition of the remaining mandate territory between Jews and Arabs was rejected by the latter (accepted by Jews) everybody expected matters to get worse.
In Safed (Tsfat), the unofficial capital of Galilee, British troops were getting ready to abandon the town. Safed is an old town, with significant importance to religious Jews, as a place connected to development of Kabbalah. Strong, uninterrupted Jewish presence dates there back to ancient times. However, in 1948 this was predominately religious, Mizrahi community consisting mostly of elderly people. There were between 1,500 and 2,500 Jews and between 9,000 and 11,000 Arabs in Safed right before the British withdrawal.
British, absolutely convinced about Arab force superiority in town, offered Jewish community evacuation to avoid massacre, however Jews refused. On May 16 British troops left the town for the last town leaving in Arabs hands all the most important military points: the Citadel, the Government House, and the police post on Mount Cana’an. This is very important, since Safed is built on the mountain and the streets are very steep. All the significant points were on the top of the hill giving those holding them significant advantage.
Jewish quarter was under siege and people were slowly running out of food and water, on top of being constantly shot at. Palmach (Haganah elite forces) managed to sneek into the city on Friday April 23. Chief rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Avraham Zeida Heller, ordered the congregants in shul the next morning to go home and cook for the ravenous fighters on that Shabbat Day. Although very little food was available because of the Arab blockade, they were able to use the flour that remained from Pesach.
Two Jewish attack that followed - on April 30 and May 6 - remained unsuccessful and the situation was dire. On May 6, after meager Jewish forces had to retreat from unsuccessful trial to capture the fortress, they were caught under heavy shelling for 24 hours. Additional small forces of Palmach brought to the town news about infamous mufti of Jerusalem gathering forces to take Safed and a homemade mortar - Davidka. Such mortars only started to be used at the time. They were inaccurate, didn't do much damage, but they were extremely noisy. On May 10 Jews started to use Davidka in Safed. The damage to Arab quarter was relatively small, but the impression made by noisy mortar was tremendous.
That afternoon it rained. It is extremely rare to witness rain in Israel in May. It is even said that between Pesach and Sukkot one should not pray for rain as it is leading Lord to temptation. This time, however, it started raining heavy, though for a short time. The Jewish commanders started rumors among the very uneducated Arab population that they have an atom bomb, and obviously, after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, everybody read that it always rain after the nuclear explosion.
The noise from Davidka, the completely unexpected rain, and the rumors spread had combined huge effect. Almost whole Arab population fled in panic certain that Palmach forces have somehow acquire nuclear weapon and are actually using atom bomb on Safed. Thus is how the battle for Safed ended and I hope we will never witness more serious use of nuclear weapon than this one.
Below city of Safed (Tsfat) today