THE JERUSALEM POGROM.
Shortly after my return to England events occurred in Palestine which
prove up to the hilt all that I have written with regard to the
anti-Jewish attitude of certain members of the E.E.F. Staff.
A veritable "pogrom," such as we have hitherto only associated with
Tsarist Russia, took place in the Holy City of Jerusalem in April, 1920,
and as this was the climax to the maladministration of the Military
Authorities, I consider that the facts of the case should be made
public.
To the observant onlooker it was quite evident that the hostile policy
pursued by the Administration must inevitably lead to outbreaks against
the Jews. An intelligent people, such as the Arabs, could not be blind
to the anti-Jewish course being steered.
The Balfour Declaration, that divinely inspired message to the people of
Israel, was never allowed to be officially published within the borders
of Palestine; the Hebrew language was proscribed; there was open
discrimination against the Jews; the Jewish Regiment was at all times
kept in the background and treated as a pariah. This official attitude
was interpreted by the hooligan element and interested schemers in the
only possible way, viz., that the military authorities in Palestine were
against the Jews and Zionism, and the conviction began to grow, in some
native minds at least, that any act calculated to deal a death blow to
Zionist aspirations would not be unwelcome to those in authority in the
Holy Land.
Moreover, this malign influence was sometimes strengthened by very plain
speaking. The Military Governor of an important town was actually heard
to declare in a Y.M.C.A. Hut, in the presence of British and French
Officers, and of Arab waiters, that in case of anti-Jewish riots in his
city, he would remove the garrison and take up his position at a window,
where he could watch, and laugh at, what went on!
This amazing declaration was reported to the Acting Chief Administrator,
and the Acting Chief Political Officer, but no action was taken against
the Governor. Only one interpretation can be placed on such leniency.
In March, 1920, the following extraordinary order was issued to the
troops in Palestine:--"As the Government _has to pursue_ in Palestine a
policy unpopular with the majority of the population, trouble may be
expected to arise between the Jews and the Arabs." This wording is very
significant. It was obviously calculated to throw the blame for any
trouble on the Jews, at the same time representing the Government as an
unfortunate victim, who, under some mysterious pressure, "_has to
pursue_" a Zionist policy.
The moment I heard that a certain officer was to be appointed to an
important post in Palestine I felt it my duty to warn the Chief Zionist
leader of the evil that would follow such an appointment, and told him
that in the interests not only of Jewry, but of England, it was
necessary that he should make a public protest against the appointment
of this official. Although I warned Dr. Weizmann of the dangers that
would follow, he was loth to believe that a British Officer would be
disloyal to the policy laid down by his Government. The good Doctor had
not suffered with the Jewish Battalion and did not realize the situation
or the intrigues that were in the air. So far as I am aware, no protest
was made and this official was duly appointed. I feared for the future,
not so much on account of the Jews, as on account of the harm that would
be done to the prestige and good name of England, and the result will
show that my fears were only too well grounded.
Within a few months of this appointment, public anti-Zionist
demonstrations were permitted throughout the land. These manifestations
took the form of processions through the streets with drums beating and
banners flying, the chanting of fanatical verses against the Jews being
a feature of these displays. In Jaffa inflammatory speeches were
delivered from the steps of the Military Governor's office, in the
presence of British officials, calling for the extermination of Zionism.
Arab papers were allowed to write the most outrageous articles against
the Jews, while on the other hand, if a Jewish paper dared to say the
least word of protest, it was immediately called to account.
With these significant happenings taking place before their eyes, and
feeling that they would get little or no protection from the Military
Administration, the Jews clearly saw that it was absolutely essential
for their own safety to form a Self-Defence Corps, for purely protective
purposes. This they did, and Lieutenant Jabotinsky was entrusted with
the command. This officer, with the full knowledge of the
Administration, enrolled a body of young men and trained them in case of
need.
His first act on taking command was to inform the Authorities of the
Corps' existence, its arming, and its purpose. He even asked the
Government for weapons, reminding them that rifles and ammunition had
been issued to Jewish Colonists in Galilee under similar circumstances.
It must be remembered that the Jewish people in Palestine never gave the
Authorities a moment's anxiety; on the contrary, they were most
law-abiding citizens, who helped the British Administration in every
conceivable way. They were astounded and mystified by the hostility
displayed towards them by the local Military Administration, and it is
not too much to say that they went in fear of their lives, for the
hooligan element in the Arab quarter began to declare openly that they
would slaughter them.
The day when an outbreak on the part of the cut-throats was expected was
Friday, 2nd April, for on that date the celebrated "Nebi Musa"
procession was to take place. Moslems from all parts of Palestine meet
once a year for prayer at the Mosque of Omar (built on the site of
Solomon's temple), and then form a procession to the Tomb of Moses in
the Jordan Valley, near the Dead Sea. The Moslem world holds Moses in
great veneration as a Prophet, and believes that when he died on Mount
Nebo, a Bedouin carried his body across the Jordan and buried it at the
shrine now known as Nebi Musa, which is annually visited by thousands of
Moslem pilgrims.
The day dreaded by the Jews passed without incident, but in the light of
what took place a couple of days later, I am inclined to think that this
desirable result was achieved, not so much by the precautions taken by
the Administration, as by those taken by the Jewish Self-Defence Corps,
which was known to be held in readiness for all eventualities on that
day.
On Sunday, 4th April, a belated crowd of pilgrims from Hebron approached
the Holy City by the Jaffa Gate. Fanatical agitators posted themselves
on the balcony of the Municipality Building and, for the space of two
hours, delivered brutally inflammatory speeches against the Jews to this
mob, in the presence of British officials who understood Arabic. It must
be remembered that these pilgrims were armed, and yet no attempt was
made to suppress the agitators, although there was ample police and
military strength available in the neighbourhood.
Immediately after the inflammatory speeches, acts of violence began.
I reproduce here extracts from a couple of letters which I received,
giving graphic descriptions of the outbreak by eye-witnesses, one of
them a Senior British Officer, not a Jew:
PALESTINE,
10TH APRIL, 1920.
MY DEAR COLONEL,
We are passing through terrible and unprecedented times. Who
could ever have thought that a pogrom "à la Russe," with all its
horrors, could take place in Jerusalem under British rule! Who
could ever have conceived that it should be possible, in the
Holy City of Jerusalem, that for three days Jews, old and young,
women and children could be slaughtered; that rape should be
perpetrated, Synagogues burnt, scrolls of the Law defiled, and
property plundered right and left, under the banner of England!
The anti-Jewish feeling of the Administration here you, of
course, know all about, as you have experienced it yourself, but
latterly the notorious _Syria Genuba_ (an Arab daily in
Jerusalem) printed day after day inflammatory articles against
the Jews....
Anti-Jewish demonstrations were allowed to take place and
inflammatory speeches were allowed to be made against the Jews.
The evil men amongst the Arabs openly declared that they would
slaughter the Jews at the Festival of Nebi Musa. The Government
was warned by the Jewish press, and by Jewish responsible
leaders, but these were not listened to, and, as a matter of
fact, the Feast was proclaimed with great pomp, Lord Allenby and
Major-General Louis Jean Bols, the Chief Administrator, being
present....
(Signed) XX.
PALESTINE, 11TH APRIL, 1920.
MY DEAR COLONEL,
... with my wife I went up to Jerusalem to spend the Easter
week-end, and a very nice week-end it surely was! Long before
this letter reaches you, you will have learned something of the
happenings in the Holy City, but as my wife and I saw the first
blow struck, and had very personal experience of the immediately
ensuing bother, you may be interested.
The happenings here have raised all sorts of questions, and
while for the moment the trouble is over, I fear the end is not
yet.
On the morning of Easter Sunday we were standing on the balcony
of the New Grand Hotel watching the progress of an Arab
procession just arrived from Hebron. As the procession reached
the entrance to the Jaffa Gate it just had the appearance of the
usual show of this kind--a bit noisy, but apparently
well-behaved. It was escorted by two officers of the Military
Administration and a few of the Arab police. All at once the
members of the procession formed themselves into a square, just
inside the gate, and the first thing we saw then was an old Jew,
about 70 years of age, get his head split open with an Arab's
sword, and as soon as he was down he was stoned; within a few
minutes a lot more Jews got like treatment. By this time the
crowd was well out of hand and rushed quickly into the old City
looting and killing, and a few hours afterwards there was a
steady evacuation of battered Jews. There was no military
present.
The following day the trouble started again, and a lot more were
injured, and the third morning there was more looting and more
casualties, and then at last the military took strong steps and
the trouble was at an end.
....
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) E.N.
In less than half an hour from the beginning of the outbreak, two
companies of the Self-Defence Corps marched to the Jaffa and Damascus
Gates to assist in quelling the disturbance within the walls, but they
found the gates closed to them and held by British troops. It is very
significant that within a few minutes of the commencement of the pogrom,
British troops held all the gates of the city, with explicit orders to
allow no one in and _no one out_--not even helpless women, fleeing from
the horrors that were being enacted in the Jewish quarter, unless they
held special permits.
For nearly three days the work of murder, rape, sacrilege, and pillage
went on practically unchecked--all under British rule. There is only one
word which fittingly describes the situation, and that is the Russian
word "pogrom." It means a semi-lawful attack on Jews. The assailants
believe that they may murder, rape, burn and loot to their hearts'
content, with the silent blessing of the authorities, and it is a very
significant fact that all through this Jerusalem pogrom the hooligans'
cry was "_El dowleh ma ana,_" which means "_The Government is with us._"
The attackers were absolutely convinced of the truth of their battle
cry.
During these three terrible days several Jews were killed, hundreds were
wounded (many of these being old men, women and children), rape was
perpetrated, Synagogues were burnt, and tens of thousands of pounds
worth of Jewish property was looted or destroyed.
The pogrom was confined to that part of Jerusalem within the walls of
the old City, where the Moslems greatly outnumber the Jews--in fact the
latter are here a small and helpless minority. They take no part in
politics, not even in political Zionism, but are absorbed in religious
practices and observances, and abhor all things worldly. Even
self-defence is repellent to them, and all forms of violence anathema.
These harmless people dwell in half-a-dozen narrow tortuous streets and
bazaars, in one corner of the old City. This Jewish quarter is quite
easy to defend. A few armed men posted at the narrow entrances could
hold any mob at bay. Why did not the military authorities see that this
was done? It was not until the third day that effective action was
taken. In the meantime, hell was let loose on these unfortunate people.
Even the wretched few who got to the City gates, unless they possessed
special permits, were refused permission to escape and were forced to
return to the devilries being enacted by the murdering, raping, looting
mob.
It is a black page in our history, and those responsible should not be
allowed to escape just punishment.
To cover their own blunders the local Administration looked round for a
scapegoat, and arrested Jabotinsky and some score members of the Jewish
Self-Defence Corps.
Jabotinsky was tried on a ridiculous charge of "banditism, instigating
the people of the Ottoman Empire to mutual hatred, pillage, rapine,
devastation of the country, and homicide in divers places"--in fact the
Ottoman penal code was ransacked to trump up these absurd charges
against him. Jabotinsky had been guilty of nothing except that he had
organised the Self-Defence Corps with the full knowledge of the
authorities, many weeks before the outbreak, and it was owing to the
existence of this Corps that the pogrom did not take much more serious
dimensions. By far the greater part of the Jews, and practically all the
Zionist Jews, dwell outside the old City in the modern part of
Jerusalem, and it would naturally be upon these that the mob would have
fallen, but not a Jewish house outside the City walls was raided, for
the simple reason that the Jewish Self-Defence Corps was there and ready
to act.
The Self-Defence Corps did nothing whatever against the British
Authorities, and many members of it were in fact used by the
Administration to police the environs of the City. Nevertheless, a
British Military Court, which publicly stated that it would be bound by
no rules of procedure, was found, which convicted Jabotinsky, and
inflicted upon him the savagely vindictive sentence of FIFTEEN YEARS'
PENAL SERVITUDE!
This trumping up of the preposterous charges mentioned is a disgrace to
British Justice, and the whole history of this atrocious outrage is a
foul stain on our fair fame.
It may be noted in passing that two Arabs caught raping Jewish girls
during the pogrom received the same sentence as Jabotinsky, whose only
crime was that he was a Jew.
Jabotinsky was cast into prison, clothed in prison garb, had his hair
cropped, and was marched in company with the two Arabs convicted of rape
through Jerusalem and Kantara, places where he was well known as a
British officer. Even the worst Hun that we have read of could hardly
have exceeded the savagery and tyranny shown by the Military Authorities
of the E.E.F. towards Jabotinsky, an officer who fought stoutly for us
and helped England and her cause in every possible way to the full
extent of his power during the War.
Of course a storm of public indignation was aroused. In fact one of our
leading Statesmen, on seeing the telegram announcing the barbarous
sentence, was heard to remark:--
"The Military in Palestine must have gone mad."
The matter was raised in the House of Commons, and Mr. Churchill, who
was then Secretary of State for War, was called upon to make a
statement. The War Office took action and, in a very short time, the
sentence was annulled.
It apparently required this outrage to open the eyes of the Home
Government to what was going on in Palestine. As soon as they realised
the situation, matters began to move in the right direction, and one of
the first steps taken was the removal of the Military Administration
which had failed so hopelessly to carry out the policy of the Imperial
Government.