1920 Nebi Musa riots

The 1920 Nabi Musa riots or 1920 Jerusalem riots took place in British Mandate of Palestine on April 4–7, 1920 in and around the Old City of Jerusalem.

The events coincided with and are named after the Muslim Nabi Musa festival and followed rising tensions in Arab-Jewish relations over the implications of Zionist immigration, tensions which coincided with attacks on outlying Jewish settlements in the Galilee. Speeches by Arab religious leaders during the festival, in which traditionally large numbers of Muslims gathered for a religious procession, led to a serious outbreak of violent assaults on the city's Jews. Five Jews and four Arabs were killed and several hundreds were wounded. In its wake, sheikhs of 82 villages round the city and Jaffa, claiming to represent 70% of the population, issued a document protesting the violence against the Jews.

The British military administration's erratic response failed to contain the rioting, which continued for four days. As a result of the events, trust between the British, Jews, and Arabs eroded. One consequence was that the Jewish community increased moves towards an autonomous infrastructure and security apparatus parallel to that of the British administration.

History

British security forces searching Arab civilians, April 1920

The contents and proposals of both the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and Paris Peace Conference, 1919, which later concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, were the subject of intensive discussion by both Zionist and Arab delegations, and the process of the negotiations were widely reported in both communities. In particular, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, led to an undertaking by the victorious powers, predominantly Great Britain and France, to assume a 'holy mission of civilisation' in the power vacuum of the Middle East. Under the Balfour Declaration, a homeland for the Jewish people was to be created in Palestine. The principle of self-determination affirmed by the League of Nations was not to be applied to Palestine, given the foreseeable rejection by the people of Zionism, which the British sponsored. These post-WW1 arrangements both for Palestine and other Islamic societies led to a 'radicalisation' of the Arab world.

On March 1, the death at Tel Hai of Joseph Trumpeldor at the hands of a Shiite gang from Southern Lebanon, caused deep concerns among Zionist leaders, who made numerous requests to the Mandate administration to address the Yishuv's security and forbid a pro-Syrian public rally. Their fears were largely discounted, however, by the Chief Administrative Officer General Louis Bols, Governor Sir Ronald Storrs and General Edmund Allenby, despite a warning from the President of the World Zionist Organization Dr. Chaim Weizmann that "pogrom is in the air", supported by assessments available to Storrs.

Communiqués had been issued about foreseeable troubles between Arabs and Jews. To Weizmann these were reminiscent of instructions that Russian generals had issued on the eve of pogroms. In the meantime, local expectations had been raised to a pitch by the declaration of the Syrian Congress on March 7 of the independence of Syria and Palestine, with Faisal as its king.

Storrs issued a warning to Arab leaders, but his forces included only 188 policemen. The Ottoman Turks usually deployed thousands of soldiers and even artillery to keep order in the narrow streets of Jerusalem during the Nabi Musa procession. Zionist leaders request that the British authorities allow arming of the Jewish defenders to make up for the lack of adequate troops. Although this request was declined, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, together with Pinhas Rutenberg, led an effort to openly train Jewish volunteers in self-defense, an effort which the Zionist Commission kept the British informed of. Many of them members of the Maccabi sports club and some of them veterans of the Jewish Legion, their month of training largely consisted of calisthenics and hand to hand combat with sticks. By the end of March, about 600 were said to be performing military drill daily in Jerusalem. Jabotinsky and Rutenberg also began organizing the collection of arms.

April 4–7, 1920 in the Old City

Nebi Musa procession—April 4, 1920

The annual Nebi Musa spring festival was a Muslim festival that began on the Friday before Good Friday and involved a procession to the Nebi Musa shrine (tomb of Moses) near Jericho. It had apparently existed since the time of Saladin. Arab educator and essayist Khalil al-Sakakini described how tribes and caravans would come with banners and weapons.

By 10:30 a.m. on April 4, 1920, 60,000–70,000 Arabs had already congregated in the city square, and groups of them had already been attacking Jews in the Old City's alleys for over an hour; the Jews hid. Inflammatory anti-Zionist rhetoric was being delivered from the balcony of the Arab Club. One inciter was Hajj Amin al-Husayni; his uncle, the mayor, spoke from the municipal building's balcony.

The editor of the newspaper Suriya al-Janubia (Southern Syria), Aref al-Aref, delivered his speech on horseback. The crowd shouted "Independence! Independence!" and "Palestine is our land, the Jews are our dogs!" Arab police joined in applause, and violence started. The Arab mob ransacked the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, attacked pedestrians and looted shops and homes. They ripped open their quilts and pillows, sending up clouds of feathers associated by Jews with the European pogroms. The Torath Chaim Yeshiva was raided, and Torah scrolls were torn and thrown on the floor, and the building then set alight. During the next three hours, 160 Jews were wounded.

Khalil al-Sakakini witnessed the eruption of violence in the Old City:

"[A] riot broke out, the people began to run about and stones were thrown at the Jews. The shops were closed and there were screams... I saw a Zionist soldier covered in dust and blood... Afterwards, I saw one Hebronite approach a Jewish shoeshine boy, who hid behind a sack in one of the wall's comers next to Jaffa Gate, and take his box and beat him over the head. He screamed and began to run, his head bleeding and the Hebronite left him and returned to the procession... The riot reached its zenith. All shouted, "Muhammad's religion was born with the sword"... I immediately walked to the municipal garden... my soul is nauseated and depressed by the madness of humankind."

After the violence broke out, Ze'ev Jabotinsky met Governor Storrs and suggested deployment of his volunteers, but his request was rejected. Storrs confiscated his pistol and demanded to know the location of his other weapons, threatening to arrest him for possessing a firearm. Later, Storrs changed his mind and asked for 200 volunteers to report to the police headquarters to be sworn in as deputies. After they arrived and the administering of the oath had begun, orders came to cease and he sent them away. Arab volunteers had also been invited, and were likewise sent away. The army imposed night curfew on Sunday night and arrested several dozen rioters, but on Monday morning they were allowed to attend morning prayers and were then released. Arabs continued to attack Jews and break into their homes, especially in Arab-majority mixed buildings.

On Monday, as disturbances grew worse, the Old City was sealed off by the army and no one was allowed to exit the area. Martial law was declared, but looting, burglary, rape, and murder continued. Several homes were set on fire, and tombstones were shattered. British soldiers found that the majority of illicit weapons were concealed on the bodies of Arab women. On Monday evening, the soldiers were evacuated from the Old City, a step that was later declared "an error of judgment" by a court inquiry. The Old City's Jews had no training or weapons, and Jabotinsky's men had been concentrated outside the walled-city. Two volunteers entered the Jewish Quarter disguised as medical personnel to organize self-defense; they prepared rocks and boiling water. One of the volunteers was Nehemia Rabin (Rubitzov), father of Yitzhak Rabin.

Several British soldiers were sent to search Jews for arms at the demand of the Palestinian Arab leadership; the British searched the offices and apartments of Weizmann and Jabotinsky. At Jabotinsky's house, they found three rifles, two pistols, and 250 rounds of ammunition. Nineteen men were arrested, but not Jabotinsky, who went to the jail of his own volition to insist on his arrest. A military judge released him because he had not been home when the guns were discovered, but he was again arrested a few hours later. Storrs personally ensured that Jabotinsky received clothing from home, a mattress, and food from an adjacent hotel. It took the British authorities four days to put down the riots.

Aftermath

Musa Kazim al-Husayni, the mayor of Jerusalem, was dismissed by the British after the April riots

Five Jews and four Arabs were killed, while wounded were 216 Jews, 18 critically; 23 Arabs, one critically. The majority of the Jewish victims were members of the Old Yishuv. About 300 Jews from the Old City were evacuated.

Meinertzhagen told Lord Curzon that a number of anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist officers in the military administration had initiated the riots to prove the Jewish national home policy had no chance of success. In particular, Meinertzhagen asserted that Allenby's chief of staff, Colonel Bertie Harry Waters-Taylor, had given explicit instructions to Mohammad Amin al-Husayni on how to demonstrate to the world that Palestinian Arabs would not tolerate Jewish rule. However, Meinertzhagen had his own reason for blaming the riots on his colleagues as only four days before them he had written to the Foreign Office that all was quiet and that no trouble was anticipated. According to Segev, Meinertzhagen is "a doubtful source for such a serious charge". The Zionist Commission noted that Arab milkmen demanded their customers in Meah Shearim pay them on the spot, explaining that they would no longer be serving the Jewish neighbourhood. Christian storekeepers had marked their shops in advance with the sign of the cross so that they would not be mistakenly looted. A previous commission report also accused Storrs of inciting the Arabs, blaming him for sabotaging attempts to purchase the Western Wall as well. A petition circulated among American citizens and presented to their consul protested that the British had prevented Jews from defending themselves.

After the riots, Storrs visited Menachem Ussishkin, the chairman of the Zionist Commission, to express "regrets for the tragedy that has befallen us", -Ussishkin asked, "What tragedy?" -"I mean the unfortunate events that have occurred here in the recent days", Storrs said. -"His excellency means the pogrom", suggested Ussishkin.

When Storrs hesitated to categorize the events as such, Ussishkin replied,

-"You Colonel, are an expert on matters of management and I am an expert on the rules of pogroms."

The Palin Report noted that Jewish representatives persisted in describing the events as a "pogrom", implying that the British administration had connived in the violence.

Ze'ev Jabotinsky

Jabotinsky was convicted of possessing the pistol that Storrs had confiscated on the riot's first day, among other things. The primary witness was none other than Ronald Storrs, who said he "did not remember" being told about the self-defence organization. He was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment and sent to Egypt, though the next day he was returned to Acre. His trial and sentencing created an uproar, and were protested by London press including The Times and questioned in the British Parliament. Even before the editorials appeared, the commander of British forces in Palestine and Egypt, General Congreve, wrote Field Marshal Wilson that Jews were sentenced far more severely than Arabs who had committed worse offences. He reduced Jabotinsky's sentence to a year, and that of the 19 to six months. Over 200 were put on trial, including 39 Jews.

The Palin Commission (or Palin Court of Inquiry), a committee of inquiry sent to the region in May 1920 by the British authorities, examined the reasons for this trouble. According to the Survey of Palestine:

Savage attacks were made by Arab rioters in Jerusalem on Jewish lives and property. Five Jews were killed and 211 injured. Order was restored by the intervention of British troops; four Arabs were killed and 21 injured. It was reported by a military commission of inquiry that the reasons for this trouble were:--

(a) Arab disappointment at the non-fulfilment of the promises of independence which they claimed had been given to them during the war.

(b) Arab belief that the Balfour Declaration implied a denial of the right of self-determination and their fear that the establishment of a National Home would mean a great increase in Jewish immigration and would lead to their economic and political subjection to the Jews.

(c) The aggravation of these sentiments on the one hand by propaganda from outside Palestine associated with the proclamation of the Emir Feisal as King of a re-united Syria and with the growth of Pan-Arab and Pan-Moslem ideas, and on the other hand by the activities of the Zionist Commission supported by the resources and influence of Jews throughout the world.

The court placed the blame for the riots on the Zionists, 'whose impatience to achieve their ultimate goal and indiscretion are largely responsible for this unhappy state of feeling’ and singled out Amin al-Husayni and Ze'ev Jabotinsky in particular. The latter, however, was not, as the Court believed, an exponent of 'Bolshevism', which it thought 'flowed in Zionism's inner heart', but rather fiercely anti-Socialist. They had confused his politics with that of the Socialist-aligned Poalei Zion ('Zionist Workers') party, which it called 'a definite Bolshevist institution.' The document was never published. It was not even signed until July 1920, after the San Remo conference and replacement of the military administration with a civilian government under Sir Herbert Samuel.

Some rioters were punished. Musa Kazim al-Husayni was replaced as mayor by the head of the rival Nashashibi clan. Hajj Amin al-Husayni and Aref al-Aref were each sentenced to 10 years in absentia, since by then both had fled to Syria.

As the riots began, Jewish immigration to Palestine was temporarily halted by the British. Also, feeling that the British were unwilling to defend them from continuous Arab violence, Palestinian Jews decided to set up an underground self-defense militia, the Haganah ("defense"). Furthermore, the riots prompted the Arab leadership in Palestine to view themselves less as southern Syrian Arabs and more as a unique Palestinian Arab community.

See also

• The Conclusions section of the Palin Commission report.
• Arab nationalism
• Palestinian nationalism
• Zionism
• Anti-Zionism
• Timeline of Zionism
• Timeline of Jewish History
• Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
• Jaffa riots

References

• Idinopulos, Thomas A. (1998), Weathered by Miracles: A history of Palestine from Bonaparte and Muhammad Ali to Ben-Gurion and the Mufti, Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, ISBN 1-56663-189-0.
• Sachar, Howard M. (2006), A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time (2nd ed.), New York: Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN 0-679-76563-8.
• Segev, Tom (2001), One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate, Owl Books, ISBN 0-8050-6587-3.
• Wasserstein, Bernard (1991), The British in Palestine: The Mandatory Government and the Arab-Jewish Conflict 1917-1929, Blackwell, ISBN 0-631-17574-1.

External links

• Lenni Brenner: The Iron Wall