Makleff was born in the village of Motza , near Jerusalem in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1920 . His parents were among the founders of this first modern village outside Jerusalem , located along the road to Jaffa . During the 1929 Palestine riots , inhabitants of the neighbouring Arab village of Qalunya attacked the Makleff home , which was located along the perimeter of Motza , and killed the entire family , except the young Mordechai , who managed to escape the massacre by jumping from a second story window . The murderers included a shepherd employed by the family and the local policeman , who was the only person in the area to own a gun . The murder shocked the Jewish population of Palestine , and was one of the most remembered rioting events . With his immediate family now dead , Mordechai Makleff was raised by relatives in Jerusalem and Haifa
1929 Palestine riots
1929 Palestine riots
Mordechai Maklef