100 years to '1920 POGROM' incited by (ex Mufti) al-Husseini, led by M. Aref

Submitted by Alejandra (United States), Jul 23, 2020 at 12:33

The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia ...: An Authoritative and ..., Volume 5, Isaac Landman, Louis Rittenberg, Simon Cohen - 1941, p.507

HUSSEINI , HAJ AMIN AL - , former Mufti of Jerusalem , one time head of the Moslem Supreme Council , and leader of the Arab anti-British , anti-Jewish opposition in Palestine and in the Near East , b. Jerusalem, Palestine , 1893 .

... His speeches, pamphlets and articles in the newspaper Suria al Jenobia ( Southern Syria ) were primarily responsible for the outbreak of the 1920 pogrom in Jerusalem ..

https://books.google.com/books?id=OrttAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA507

Mufti of Jerusalem; the Story of Haj Amin El Husseini - Page 12 - Moshe Pearlman - 1947

Aref was alleged to have been the person in command of the attackers . Haj Amin · was charged with incitement to violence . The spark was said to have been touched off by his inflammatory articles in the newspaper Suriyah al Janubiyah.

https://books.google.com/books?id=GNptAAAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22Amin%22

Bangladesh Historical Studies, 1979, Volume 4, p.77

The emergence of Haj Amin al ... He was frank and open in his views and had strong hatred against the Jews and the British.

He became prominent in 1920 riots . Haj - Amin became Mufti of Jerusalem in 1921 and President of the Supreme Muslim Council in 1922

(Maurice Pearlman: Mufti of Jerusalem : The story of Haj Amin al - Husaini London , 1947 , pp. 12-15).

https://books.google.com/books?id=DjduAAAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q="Prominent+in+1920+riots"

The Evening Star, Bradford, Pa., Wednesday Evening:, June 12, 1946. Page Three

MacKenzie Column

The Grand Mufti Is on the Loose Again

By DEWITT MACKENZIE (Associated Press Foreign Affairs Analyst)

Word that the powerful grand mufti of Jerusalem who is anti everything that is British or Jewish has evaded surveillance in France and again is at large somewhere among the Moslems of the Middle East, isn't calculated to ease the crisis which has arisen in Palestine over the fiery problem of Jewish immigration.

Dangerous Man

The highly educated grand mufti is a dangerous man to those against whom he conspires. For many years he has been leader of the Arab campaign for an independent Palestine and against the establishment of a Jewish national home as promised by the British. And it is an ironic circumstance that it was Sir Herbert Samuel, first British high commissioner of Palestine under the league of Nations mandate, who appointed him mufti. The 53-year-old Haj Amin El Husseini to give him his name not only is spiritual head of Palestine's some 1,000,000 Moslem Arabs but is political leader as well.

Moreover his influence extends into Trans-Jordan, Iraq, Arabia, Egypt, Iran and Syria, for he is gifted with leadership, has a strong personality and is as crafty as a fox.

Most of his life. Husseini has made war on the Jews of Palestine.

Indeed in 1920, when his brother was grand mufti, he fled to Trans-Jordan after being sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for his part in anti-Jewish riots.

Next year the brother died and Haj Amin was granted amnesty, after which High Commissioner Samuel appointed him grand mufti, it being the custom for this high office to remain In the same family.

Banished in 1937

Finally in 1937 the British banished the grand mufti from Palestine. He took refuge first in Syria, and then in Iran and finally in Italy, keeping just ahead of the British forces as they occupied the Middle East in 1941.

Of course the grand mufti was welcomed by Mussolini with open arms, for both Il Duce and Hitler were doing their utmost to inflame the Moslems of the Middle East against the Allies.

He carried on his anti-British activities from Italy until he again was forced to flee, this time to France where ultimately he came under Allied control.

Now the grand mufti is loose again and is reported to have gone by air to Syria, but his whereabouts is a mystery.

It scarcely can be mere coincidence that the grand mufti has made this spectacular get-away as the moment nears when a decision must be made whether the Anglo-American Committee recommendation shall be carried out.

June 20 is the time set for both Jews and Arabs to give formal reports of their reactions to the recommendation.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/76752197/

Reclaiming Israel's History: Roots, Rights, and the Struggle for Peace - David Brog - 2017

THE RIOTS OF 1920 AND 1921

On March 7, 1920, the Syrian Arab Congress declared Syrian independence under the reign of King Feisal. Less than a month later, on April 4, tens of thousands of Arabs streamed into Jerusalem for the annual Nebi Musa festival. This religious celebration provided a perfect opportunity for Palestine's Arab nationalists to send a strong message to their British overlords.

They took to the streets carrying photos of King Feisal and demanding that the British cede Palestine cede Palestine—which they called "Southern Syria"—to the new monarch.

When the procession reached Jerusalem's Arab Club, a number of nationalist leaders appeared on the balcony to address the crowd below. Speaker after speaker demanded independence and unity with Syria.

They also called for violence against the Jews. Observers recalled hearing the crowd chant, " Slaughter the Jews,"21 "We will drink the blood of the Jews," and "Palestine is our land, the Jews are our dogs." In Arabic, this last phrase forms a rhyming couplet.

Thus incited, Arabs wielding knives, clubs, and stones burst into the Jewish quarter. They ransacked Jewish homes and looted Jewish stores. They raided synagogues and yeshivas and ripped up Torah scrolls. And they attacked any Jews they found.

By the time the riots finally ended several days later, 5 Jews had been killed and 211 had been wounded. Many of the female victims had been raped.

The British police quickly concluded that a young nationalist leader (and future Mufti), Amin al-Husseini, was responsible for the violence. A court found Husseini guilty of inciting the riots and sentenced him to ten years in prison. He evaded jail by fleeing to Damascus.

A year later, on May 1, 1921, Palestine's Arabs launched another round of violence against their Jewish neighbors. This time the Arabs of Jaffa went on the attack. Author... describes what followed:

"Arab men broke into Jewish buildings and murdered the occupants; women came afterward and looted. Bearing clubs, knives, swords, and in some cases pistols, Arabs attacked Jewish pedestrians and destroyed Jewish homes and stores. They beat and killed Jews, children included, in their homes; in some cases they split the victims' skulls open."

The attacks quickly spread from Jaffa to neighboring villages and beyond.

On the morning of May 5, two to three thousand Arab villagers and Bedouin attacked the Jewish town of Petach Tikvah. This time, however, the British intervened. British infantry, aided by armored cars and air support, turned back the Arab assault.

Two more attacks followed the next day. Several thousand Arabs from Ramle attacked the neighboring Jewish town of Rehovot, shouting, "Slaughter the Jews." Rehovot's residents successfully repelled the offensive. Further north, hundreds of Arabs from Tulkarem and its surrounding villages attacked the Jewish town of Hadera. Here the British intervened with infantry and air power to rout the invaders.

By the time the British had quelled the 1921 riots, 47 Jews had been killed and another 146 had been wounded.

https://books.google.com/books?id=WxYbDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT114

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